Book excerpt: 27 illustrated short stories full of heart and whimsy, by the Carnegie Medal–winning author—a perfect read-aloud collection for middle grade readers who love folklore and fairy tales. In The Little Bookroom, Eleanor Farjeon mischievously tilts our workaday world to reveal its wonders and follies. Her selection of her favorite stories describes powerful—and sometimes exceedingly silly—monarchs, and commoners who are every bit their match; musicians and dancers who live for aft rather than earthly reward; and a goldfish who wishes to “marry the Moon, surpass the Sun, and possess the World.” Featuring an afterword by Rumer Godden