R.M. Romero

Swan Lake meets The Last Unicorn by way of the Brothers Grimm in a dreamy, original fairytale in verse which transports readers to the Bavarian Alps. Bavaria. 1880. Hilde was dreamed into existence by the god Odin, and along with her five sisters, granted cloaks that transform them into swans. Each sister’s cloak is imbued with a unique gift, but Hilde rejects her gift which connects her to the souls of dying creatures and forces her to shepherd them into the afterlife—the “Other Wood.” While guiding the soul of a hawk to the Other Wood, Hilde meets the handsome Baron Maximilian von Richter, whose father was once a favorite of the king and left him no inheritance. Hilde is intrigued by Richter’s longing for a greater life and strikes a deal with him: She will manifest his dreams of riches, and in return, he will take her to the human world, where she will never have to guide souls again. But at the court of King Ludwig II in Munich, Hilde struggles to fit in. After learning that fashionable ladies are having themselves painted, she hires non-binary Jewish artist Franz Mendelson, and is stunned when Franz renders her with swan wings. The more time she spends with Franz, the more she feels drawn to the artist’s warm, understanding nature, and the more controlling Richter becomes. When Hilde’s swan cloak suddenly goes missing, only Franz’s ability to paint souls can help Hilde escape her newfound prison.

Hadestown meets “Orpheus and Eurydice” when two Miami teens travel to the underworld to retrieve their girlfriend’s soul. Andres Santos of São Paulo was all swinging fists and firecracker fury, a foot soldier in the war between his parents. Until he drowned in the Tietê River… and made a bargain with Death for a new life. A year later, his parents have relocated the family to Miami, but their promises of a fresh start quickly dissolve in the summer heat. Instead of fists, Andres now uses music to escape his parents’ battles. While wandering Miami Beach, he meets two girls: photographer Renee, a blaze of fire, and dancer Liora, a ray of sunshine. The three become a polyamorous triad, happy, despite how no one understands their relationship. But when a car accident leaves Liora in a coma, Andres and Renee are shattered. Then Renee proposes a radical solution: She and Andres must go into the underworld to retrieve their girlfriend’s spirit and reunite it with her body—before it’s too late. Their search takes them to the City of the dead, where painters bleed color, songs grow flowers, and regretful souls will do anything to forget their lives on earth. But finding Liora’s spirit is only the first step in returning to the living world. Because when Andres drowned, he left a part of himself in the underworld—a part he’s in no hurry to meet again. But it is eager to be reunited with him... In verse as vibrant as the Miami skyline, critically acclaimed author R.M. Romero has crafted a masterpiece of magical realism and an openhearted ode to the nature of healing.

En la tierra de las muñecas existe la magia. En la tierra de los humanos existe la guerra. En ambos sitios existe el dolor. Pero cuando se unen, existe la esperanza. Karolina es una muñeca que vive en la Tierra de las Muñecas. Pero cuando el rey y la reina de su país son derrocados, Karolina será enviada a la ciudad humana de Cracovia, en Polonia, donde se encontrará reencarnada en una nueva muñeca de la tienda de juguetes propiedad de un veterano de la Primera Guerra Mundial, conocido como "El fabricante de muñecas", un hombre con un poder inusual y un pasado marcado. La sonrisa y valentía de Karolina llevarán al fabricante a tramar amistad con un violinista judío y su hija. Pero su felicidad se ve truncada cuando los soldados nazis invaden Cracovia. Karolina y el fabricante se darán cuenta rápidamente de que sus amigos judíos están en grave peligro, y están decididos a salvarles por encima de todo, sin importar lo que pueda suceder. Una novela destinada a convertirse en clásico que mezcla los cuentos de hadas y el folklore con la Segunda Guerra Mundial como telón de fondo. El fabricante de muñecas nos recuerda la importancia de la creatividad y del amor en tiempos de dolor y guerra.

Pologne, 1939. Un soir, une poupée du nom de Karolina prend vie dans l'atelier de Cyril, le fabricant de jouets. La joie et le courage de la petite poupée enchantent le quotidien de l'homme solitaire. Karolina lui apprend que le monde des poupées d'où elle vient est en guerre, tout comme celui des hommes. En ces temps sombres et tourmentés, la magie de karolina et de Cyril suffira-t-elle à protéger ceux qu'ils aiment ? Oppression, survie, solidarité, résistance jusque dans le ghetto de Cracovie pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale : un conte singulier et merveilleux.

Há guerra. Há dor. Mas há magia e há esperança. Cracóvia, Polónia, 1939. Por magia, uma boneca chamada Karolina adquire vida numa loja de brinquedos e torna-se amiga do amável e discreto fabricante de bonecas, que é também o proprietário da loja. Quando a ocupação nazi se abate sobre a cidade, Karolina e o Fabricante de Bonecas têm de recorrer à magia para salvar, custe o que custar, os seus amigos judeus dos perigos iminentes que pairam sobre eles. Reunindo uma atmosfera de magia, história, tradições e cultura local, O Fabricante de Bonecas de Cracóvia fala-nos sobre como encontrar esperança e amizade nos lugares mais tenebrosos. Na linha de A Rapariga que Roubava Livros e O Rapaz do Pijama às Riscas, esta impressionante narrativa demonstra maravilhosamente o poder do amor e do instinto de sobreviência.

A spellbinding and lyrical Jewish Narnia for a new age, with lavish illustrations that bring the fairy tale magic to life. After her mother passes away and her father retreats into his grief, 11-year-old Anne Applebaum is afraid the only happy endings she’ll ever have are in The World to Come, a collection of fairy tales about the flying forest of Bei Ilai. In its pages, children outsmart demons, girls train as knights, and songs come to life. But even these stories can’t stop Anne from feeling alone. So when a raven tells her that she has a long-lost twin brother named Rainer, she sets out to find him. Anne soon learns that Bei Ilai is a real place—and she must step through the door into this magical realm to seek her brother. But the dangers in the flying forest are just as real as its beauty. To overcome the challenges and monsters she faces, Anne must lean into the magic contained within her and her Jewish faith—especially when she discovers Rainer is locked away by a being more frightening than any dragon. Because the most terrifying villain of all is one who used to be a hero.

In the land of dolls, there is magic.In the land of humans, there is war.Everywhere there is pain.But together there is hope. Karolina is a living doll whose king and queen have been overthrown. But when a strange wind spirits her away from the Land of the Dolls, she finds herself in Krakow, Poland, in the company of the Dollmaker, a man with an unusual power and a marked past. The Dollmaker has learned to keep to himself, but Karolina's courageous and compassionate manner lead him to smile and to even befriend a violin-playing father and his daughter--that is, once the Dollmaker gets over the shock of realizing a doll is speaking to him. But their newfound happiness is dashed when Nazi soldiers descend upon Poland. Karolina and the Dollmaker quickly realize that their Jewish friends are in grave danger, and they are determined to help save them, no matter what the risks.

In the vein of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and Number the Stars, this fusion of fairy tales, folklore, and World War II history eloquently illustrates the power of love and the inherent will to survive even in the darkest of times. In the land of dolls, there is magic.In the land of humans, there is war.Everywhere there is pain.But together there is hope. Karolina is a living doll whose king and queen have been overthrown. But when a strange wind spirits her away from the Land of the Dolls, she finds herself in Kraków, Poland, in the company of the Dollmaker, a man with an unusual power and a marked past. The Dollmaker has learned to keep to himself, but Karolina’s courageous and compassionate manner lead him to smile and to even befriend a violin-playing father and his daughter—that is, once the Dollmaker gets over the shock of realizing a doll is speaking to him. But their newfound happiness is dashed when Nazi soldiers descend upon Poland. Karolina and the Dollmaker quickly realize that their Jewish friends are in grave danger, and they are determined to help save them, no matter what the risks.

Magic will burn you up. Sent to stay with her aunt in Prague and witness the humble life of an artist, Ilana Lopez—a biracial Jewish girl—finds herself torn between her dream of becoming a violinist and her immigrant parents’ desire for her to pursue a more stable career. When she discovers a forgotten Jewish cemetery behind her aunt’s cottage, she meets the ghost of a kindhearted boy named Benjamin, who died over a century ago. As Ilana restores Benjamin’s grave, he introduces her to the enchanted side of Prague, where ghosts walk the streets and their kisses have warmth. But Benjamin isn't the only one interested in Ilana. Rudolph Wassermann, a man with no shadow, has become fascinated with her and the music she plays. He offers to share his magic, so Ilana can be with Benjamin and pursue her passion for violin. But after Ilana discovers the truth about Wassermann and how Benjamin became bound to the city, she resolves to save the boy she loves, even if it means losing him—forever. With spellbinding verse prose, R.M. Romero channels the spirit of myth into a brilliantly original tale, inspired by her experiences restoring Jewish cemeteries in Eastern Europe.

This darkly fantastical climate change tale explores hope, memory, and what really makes a monster—set after the end of the world. Climate change culminated in the Flood, an enormous wave that wiped out entire countries. Malka and her younger brother Ezra survived and now live with Dr. Jonas Hollman on the Island, the only piece of land left on Earth. Scavenging useful things from the shoreline under the watchful eye of the Island’s sinister leader Mr. Gray, Malka and her family get by. Barely. But an illness called the Sorrow is changing people into monsters when their memories of the Mainland grow too sad…and Ezra is the latest to get sick. Desperate not to lose her brother, Malka throws herself into helping “Uncle” Jonas with his research to find a cure. Then her family’s dismal lives are turned upside down by the mysterious Olivia, who crashes a plane on the beach. More people are out there, she says. The world isn’t lost forever. To save Ezra and the other Islanders, Malka will have to uncover the secrets of her flooded world—and the lies even the people she loves have told her about the true nature of the Sorrow. R.M. Romero tackles our fear and anxiety surrounding climate change and weaves it through with hope in this beautifully told adventure that will resonate with readers young and old.

Волшебную Страну Кукол захватывают полчища крыс. Кукла Каролина бежит в Польшу, где находит друзей - Кукольника, владельца игрушечного магазина Сирила и еврейскую девочку Рену. Но война догоняет Каролину и в мире людей. Рене, как и другим детям, грозит газовая камера. Сможет ли волшебство Кукольника спасти девочку?..