Bernadette Watts

"Varenka lives contently in her cottage in the woods, until passersby warn her that war has broken out. Pack up a bundle and come along with us. But Varenka can't leave. Who will care for the children who wander and get lost in the forest? Who will shelter the animals and feed the birds when winter comes? Soon, Varenka shelters a young artist, an old farmer and his goat, and a lost child. And each night she prays for a wall to be built around her...

A retelling of the Grimm brothers' fairy tale.

A once proud scarecrow becomes more and more bedraggled as the children neglect him during the winter months, and he loses hope of ever feeling happy again.

A poor shoemaker becomes successful with the help of two elves who finish his shoes during the night.

Retells the story of the race between the tortoise and the hare.

When the town mouse and the country mouse visit each other, they find they prefer very different ways of life.

The rabbit family and the other animals don't like the scarecrow, but when Little Jack Rabbit and his friends get lost in a snowstorm, the scarecrow proves to be a good friend.

While Isobel is playing with her best friend's beautiful doll house, she takes the golden plate home without asking permission. But the plate doesn't look right in Isobel's doll house and she feels guilty. Her mother helps her find a solution that makes Isobel feel better.

Stories, fables and fairy tales from Aesop, Hans Christian Andersen, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Jean de la Fontaine, Gerda Marie Scheidl, and Leo Tolstoy are illustrated by Bernadette Watts.