Serafina's Stories

Serafina's Stories
Author: Rudolfo Anaya
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 167
Release: 2015-06-02
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1504011791

This innovative novel combines Spanish folktales with Native American legends to create a captivating Southwestern version of The Arabian Nights. Like Scheherezade, who ensured her survival by telling her royal husband stories, the title character in Rudolfo Anaya’s creative retelling of The Arabian Nights must entertain the recently widowed governor with legends of Nueva Mexicana, or she and her fellow captives will die. With fresh snow covering the high peaks of Sangre de Cristo, a group of native dissidents prepare for revolt. In seventeenth-century Santa Fe, insurrection against a colony of the king of Spain is punishable by death. A Spaniard loyal to the governor names twelve conspirators. One of them is a young woman. Raised in a mission church, fifteen-year-old Serafina speaks excellent Spanish and knows many of her country’s traditional folktales. She and the governor strike a bargain: Each evening, she will tell him a cuento. If he likes it, he will release one prisoner the following day. The twelve tales recounted here mirror the struggle of a divided country. They include the social and political symbolism behind “Beauty and the Beast” and retell “Cinderella” as “Miranda’s Gift.” Interspersed with these timeless cuentos is the story of Serafina herself, and that of a people battling to preserve a vanishing way of life under the long shadow of the Inquisition.

Serafina's Promise

Serafina's Promise
Author: Ann E. Burg
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2013-09-24
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0545549949

A luminous novel in verse from the author of the Jefferson Cup award winner ALL THE BROKEN PIECES. Serafina hasa secret dream. She wants to go to schooland become a doctorwith her best friend, Julie Marie. But in their rural villageoutside Port-au-Prince, Haiti,many obstaclesstand in Serafina’s way--little money,never-ending chores,and Manman’s worries. More powerful eventhan all of theseare the heavy rainsand the shaking earththat test Serafina’s resolvein ways she never dreamed. At once heartbreaking and hopeful,this exquisitely crafted storywill leave a lasting impressionon your heart.

Serafina and the Black Cloak

Serafina and the Black Cloak
Author: Robert Beatty
Publisher: Disney Electronic Content
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2015-07-14
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 148471511X

"Never go into the deep parts of the forest, for there are many dangers there, and they will ensnare your soul." Serafina has never had a reason to disobey her pa and venture beyond the grounds of the Biltmore estate.There's plenty to explore in her grand home, although she must take care to never be seen. None of the rich folk upstairs know that Serafina exists; she and her pa, the estate's maintenance man, have secretly lived in the basement for as long as Serafina can remember. But when children at the estate start disappearing, only Serafina knows who the culprit is:a terrifying man in a black cloak who stalks Biltmore's corridors at night. Following her own harrowing escape, Serafina risks everything by joining forces with Braeden Vanderbilt, the young nephew of the Biltmore's owners. Braeden and Serafina must uncover the Man in the Black Cloak's true identity...before all of the children vanish one by one. Serafina's hunt leads her into the very forest that she has been taught to fear. There she discovers a forgotten legacy of magic, one that is bound to her own identity. In order to save the children of Biltmore, Serafina must seek the answers that will unlock the puzzle of her past.

Serafina and the Splintered Heart

Serafina and the Splintered Heart
Author: Robert Beatty
Publisher: Disney Electronic Content
Total Pages: 364
Release: 2017-07-03
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1484781236

In the highly-anticipated next installment of the Serafina series, Serafina must confront the darkest threat she's ever encountered at Biltmore Estate. She knows she can face anything with her best friend and closest ally, Braeden Vanderbilt, by her side. But when a sinister force tears them apart, Serafina scrambles to uncover the mystery of her most formidable challenge yet...and about herself and the destiny that awaits her.

Serafina and the Seven Stars

Serafina and the Seven Stars
Author: Robert Beatty
Publisher: Disney Electronic Content
Total Pages: 311
Release: 2019-07-09
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1368010628

Serafina and Braeden make an epic return in the hotly anticipated fourth installment of Robert Beatty's #1 New York Times best-selling series. Serafina, the Guardian of Biltmore Estate, has won battle after battle against the dark forces encroaching on her home. Now, tranquility has returned to Biltmore. Serafina doesn’t trust it. She patrols the grounds night and day, hardly sleeping, uncertain of her place after her best friend Braeden Vanderbilt's departure for boarding school in New York. When Mr. Vanderbilt, the kind master of Biltmore, asks Serafina to move upstairs into one of the house's grandest rooms, she's sure it's to keep an eye on the guests who have arrived for the estate's annual hunt. But as Serafina investigates, she becomes more and more unsettled by what Biltmore has become—a place haunted by nameless terrors where no dark corridor is safe. Even worse, she begins to doubt her own senses. Is Braeden really hundreds of miles away, or did he return to Biltmore for one strange night before vanishing? Is the bond between them truly broken or is it stronger than ever? Then Serafina witnesses a crime that turns her world upside down. How can all that once seemed good and worthy of protection now be evil? And how can she guard those around her when she can't even be sure of the truth of her own heart? Serafina and the Seven Stars marks the return of a heroine like no other, as master storyteller Robert Beatty weaves his darkest, most astonishing tale yet.

Serafina and the Twisted Staff

Serafina and the Twisted Staff
Author: Robert Beatty
Publisher: Disney Electronic Content
Total Pages: 367
Release: 2016-07-12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1484778693

Serafina's defeat of the Man in the Black Cloak has brought her out of the shadows and into the daylight realm of her home, Biltmore Estate. Every night she visits her mother in the forest, eager to learn the ways of the cat¬amount. But Serafina finds herself caught between her two worlds: she's too wild for Biltmore's beautifully dressed ladies and formal customs, and too human to fully join her kin. Late one night, Serafina encounters a strange and terrifying figure in the forest, and is attacked by the vicious wolfhounds that seem to be under his control. Even worse, she's convinced that the stranger was not alone, that he has sent his accomplice into Biltmore in disguise. Someone is wreaking havoc at the estate. A mysterious series of attacks test Serafina's role as Biltmore's protector, culminating in a tragedy that tears Serafina's best friend and only ally, Braeden Vanderbilt, from her side. Heartbroken, she flees. Deep in the forest, Serafina comes face-to-face with the evil infecting Biltmore—and discovers its reach is far greater than she'd ever imagined. All the humans and creatures of the Blue Ridge Mountains are in terrible danger. For Serafina to defeat this new evil before it engulfs her beloved home, she must search deep inside herself and embrace the destiny that has always awaited her.

Willa of the Wood

Willa of the Wood
Author: Robert Beatty
Publisher: Disney Electronic Content
Total Pages: 397
Release: 2018-07-10
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1368010601

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Robert Beatty comes a spooky, thrilling new series set in the magical world of Serafina. Move without a sound. Steal without a trace. Willa, a young nightspirit of the Great Smoky Mountains, is her clan's best thief. She creeps into the homes of day-folk in the cover of darkness and takes what they won't miss. It's dangerous work—the day-folk kill whatever they do not understand. But when Willa's curiosity leaves her hurt and stranded in a day-folk man's home, everything she thought she knew about her people—and their greatest enemy—is forever changed.

Seraphina

Seraphina
Author: Rachel Hartman
Publisher: Ember
Total Pages: 425
Release: 2012-07-10
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0375896589

Lyrical, imaginative, and wholly original, this New York Times bestseller with 8 starred reviews is not to be missed. Rachel Hartman’s award-winning debut will have you looking at dragons as you’ve never imagined them before… In the kingdom of Goredd, dragons and humans live and work side by side – while below the surface, tensions and hostility simmer. The newest member of the royal court, a uniquely gifted musician named Seraphina, holds a deep secret of her own. One that she guards with all of her being. When a member of the royal family is brutally murdered, Seraphina is drawn into the investigation alongside the dangerously perceptive—and dashing—Prince Lucien. But as the two uncover a sinister plot to destroy the wavering peace of the kingdom, Seraphina’s struggle to protect her secret becomes increasingly difficult… while its discovery could mean her very life. "Will appeal to both fans of Christopher Paolini’s Eragon series and Robin McKinley’s The Hero and the Crown." —Entertainment Weekly “[A] lush, intricately plotted fantasy.” —The Washington Post "Beautifully written. Some of the most interesting dragons I've read." —Christopher Paolini, New York Times bestselling author of Eragon

Willa of Dark Hollow

Willa of Dark Hollow
Author: Robert Beatty
Publisher: Disney Electronic Content
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2021-05-04
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 136801061X

This enchanting companion to Robert Beatty's instant #1 New York Times bestseller Willa of the Wood is perfect for any reader who cares deeply about the natural world. Willa and her clan are the last of the Faeran, an ancient race of forest people who have lived in the Great Smoky Mountains for as long as the trees have grown there. But as crews of newly arrived humans start cutting down great swaths of the forest she loves, she is helpless to stop them. How can she fight the destroyers of the forest and their powerful machines?When Willa discovers a mysterious dark hollow filled with strange and beautiful creatures, she comes to realize that it contains a terrifying force that seems to be hunting humans. Is unleashing these dangerous spirits the key to stopping the loggers? Willa must find a way to save the people and animals she loves and take a stand against a consuming darkness that threatens to destroy her world.Filled with a compelling mixture of history, mystery, and magic, Robert Beatty's books are loved by readers from 8 to 108.Grow your middle grade fantasy collection with these best-selling fan favorites:Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert BeattyWilla of the Wood by Robert BeattyIf We Were Giants by Dave Matthews and Clete Barrett SmithThe Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick RiordanThe Fowl Twins by Eoin Colfer