“The Sands of Time,” Michael Hoeye, Penguin Putnam Books; 2002; 277 pp. Once in a rare while, there comes a book in which the characters outlive the story. It was certainly not easy to say goodbye to Hermux Tantamoq, the dignified little hero of ...

“Going for Stone,” Philip Gross, Oxford University Press; 2002; 224 pp. It seems there’s only one thing more terrifying than anything you could dream up — the world you actually live in. Nick is a teenager who hasn’t seen much of that world while ...

“Coraline,” Neil Gaiman, Bloomsbury; 2002; 171 pp.     ”We are small, we are many     We are many, we are small     We were here before you rose,     We will be here when you fall.” If you think this song is unnerving, here’s what makes it positively ...

“Dealing with Dragons,” Patricia C. Wrede, Magic Carpet; 2002; 228 pp. Cimorene is a princess — if you can call her one. She doesn’t have hair the color of flax; she doesn’t enjoy embroidery or dancing, or any of those things that your everyday ...

“Holes,” Louis Sachar, Bloomsbury; 2000; 233 pp. It’s hard to say why life is so downright unfair to some children. Take Stanley Yelnats: He gets bullied at school and is ignored by his teachers. And then one day, he gets hit on the head ...

“The Wish List,” Eoin Colfer, Puffin Books; 2002; 200 pp. If you couldn’t get enough of Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl series, put this book on your wish list. Fowl fans will warm to yet another exciting tale that doesn’t talk down to kids. As ...

A hundred years ago, a naughty little rabbit sneaked its way into a farmer’s garden — and into the imagination of generations of children across the world. For those who don’t know him already: Meet Peter, the world’s most famous rabbit. “My dear Noel, ...

There’s about to be a hanging at Tokyo’s Hibiya High School — and the auditorium is packed with students who’ve come to see it. The call to watch a hanging is the powerful opening scene of Charles Dickens’ “Oliver Twist” — as staged by ...

“Noughts and Crosses,” Malorie Blackman, Corgi Publishing; 2002; 445 pp. Children’s writers often conjure up imaginary worlds in their fiction; and making those worlds convincing is no easy job. Perhaps there’s one thing that’s harder, though — writing a compelling story that makes us ...

“Short and Scary!” Louise Cooper, Oxford University Press; 2002; 96 pp. If you didn’t get your share of thrills this Halloween, here’s a collection of very short, scary stories to spook you. The tales aren’t terrifying in a gut-wrenching, fangs-dripping-blood way. There’s no gore ...

History is never short on irony. The Indian subcontinent, now one of the world’s most unstable nuclear hotbeds, once cradled a religion founded on nonviolence. And what is today a breeding ground for sectarian fundamentalism was the birthplace of a rich artistic heritage that ...