Peter Sís

In 1938, twenty-nine-year-old Nicholas Winton saved the lives of almost 700 children trapped in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia—a story he never told and that remained unknown until an unforgettable TV appearance in the 1980s reunited him with some of the children he saved. Czech-American artist, MacArthur Fellow and Andersen Award winner Peter Sís dramatises Winton’s story in this distinctive and deeply personal picture book. He intertwines Nicky’s efforts with the story of one of the children he saved—a young girl named Vera, whose family enlisted Nicky’s aid when the Germans occupied their country. As the war passes and Vera grows up, she must find balance in her dual identities—one her birthright, the other her choice. Nicky & Vera is a masterful tribute to a humble man’s courageous efforts to protect Europe’s most vulnerable, and a timely portrayal of the hopes and fears of those forced to leave their homes and create new lives.

Peter Sís blends a true story from his childhood with the fictional adventure of Robinson Crusoe to create a magical picture book filled with heart and imagination that readers will want to return to again and again.

*"S s delivers an encomium to summer, to the power of learning, and to that beloved, creamy-cold treat." --Kirkus, starred reviewSavor summer anytime with this breezy, sweet and irresistible picture book from Hans Christian Anderson Award winner and three-time Caldecott Honoree Peter S s Dear Grandpa, Summer is going well. I am very busy. But don't worry, I am not forgetting about school I read every day. I practice my math facts. And I am even studying world history Peter S s's delicious tongue-in-cheek vision of summer dishes up the whole scoop on everyone's favorite frozen treat, and proves that ice cream is every bit as enriching for the mind as it is for the taste buds. Readers everywhere will be begging for seconds and thirds

'A fascinating book, THE PILOT AND THE LITTLE PRINCE invites big kids (literal and metaphorical) to take the time... to dig in its pages ... to lose oneself in delicate drawings, dreamlike and peppered with sly winks.' Libération 'A sumptuous allegory, magnificently drawn, by another poet who has wandered far from his home in order to find his own horizon.' Le Monde

Peter S s's remarkable biography The Pilot and the Little Prince celebrates the author of The Little Prince, one of the most beloved books in the world. Antoine de Saint-Exup ry was born in France in 1900, when airplanes were just being invented. Antoine dreamed of flying and grew up to be a pilot--and that was when his adventures began. He found a job delivering mail by plane, which had never been done before. He and his fellow pilots traveled to faraway places and discovered new ways of getting from one place to the next. Antoine flew over mountains and deserts. He battled winds and storms. He tried to break aviation records, and sometimes he even crashed. From his plane, Antoine looked down on the earth and was inspired to write about his life and his pilot-hero friends in memoirs and in fiction. A Frances Foster Book This title has Common Core connections.

An award-winning author and illustrator offers a beautiful and uplifting adaptation of the beloved Sufi poem Celebrated children's book creator Peter Sis presents his first book for adults with The Conference of the Birds--a lyrical and richly illustrated story of love, faith, and the beauty of the human journey. Sis's deeply felt version of the classic twelfth-century Persian epic poem tells the story of a flock of birds in search of the true king, Simorgh, who lives on the mountain of Kaf. Drawn from all species, the flock travels through the seven valleys: quest, love, understanding, detachment, unity, amazement, and death. The birds that endure reach the mountain to learn a profound lesson: that Simorgh the king is, in fact, each of them and all of them.

The epic poem by the twelfth-century Persian mystic and poet Attar of Nishapur, is here re-told by the acclaimed author and illustrator Peter Sís in a dazzlingly new graphic form. Part allegorical quest, part spiritual meditation, Sís's sumptuously re-imagined adaptation traces the adventures of a flock of birds, led by the hoopoe, their different species reflecting the range of human character.

Complete with state bird, flower, tree, capital, origin of the state name, and year of statehood, a colorful collection of fifty freight cars provides readers with a user-friendly resource filled with fun facts and detailed illustrations. Reprint.

I was born at the beginning of it all, on the Red side - the Communist side - of the Iron Curtain. Through annotated illustrations, journals, maps, and dreamscapes, Peter Sis shows what life was like for a child who loved to draw, proudly wore the red scarf of a Young Pioneer, stood guard at the giant statue of Stalin, and believed whatever he was told to believe. But adolescence brought questions. Cracks began to appear in the Iron Curtain, and news from the West slowly filtered into the country. Si;s learned about beat poetry, rock 'n' roll, blue jeans, and Coca-Cola. He let his hair grow long, secretly read banned books, and joined a rock band. Then came the Prague Spring of 1968, and for a teenager who wanted to see the world and meet the Beatles, this was a magical time. It was short-lived, however, brought to a sudden and brutal end by the Soviet-led invasion. But this brief flowering had provided a glimpse of new possibilities - creativity could be discouraged but not easily killed.Annotated illustrations, maps, and dreamscapes explore how the artist-author's life was shaped while growing up in Czechoslovakia during the Cold War, in a powerful graphic memoir.

As far as I can judge, I am not apt to follow blindly the lead of other men . . . Charles Darwin was, above all else, an independent thinker who continues even now to influence the way we look at the natural world. His endless curiosity and passion for detail resulted in a wealth of notebooks, diaries, correspondence, and published writings that Peter Sis transforms into a visual treasure trove. A multilayered journey through Darwin's world, The Tree of Life begins with his childhood and traces the arc of his life through university and career, following him around the globe on the voyage of the Beagle, and home to a quiet but momentous life devoted to science and family. Sis uses his own singular vision to create a gloriously detailed panorama of a genius's trajectory through investigating and understanding the mysteries of nature. In pictures executed in fine pen and ink and lush watercolors - cameo portraits, illustrated pages of diary, cutaway views of the Beagle, as well as charts, maps, and a gatefold spread - Peter Sis has shaped a wondrous introduction to Charles Darwin.

"If they had seen what we see, they would have judged as we judge." -- Galileo Galilei In every age there are courageous people who break with tradition to explore new ideas and challenge accepted truths. Galileo Galilei was just such a man--a genius--and the first to turn the telescope to the skies to map the heavens. In doing so, he offered objective evidence that the earth was not the fixed center of the universe but that it and all the other planets revolved around the sun. Galileo kept careful notes and made beautiful drawings of all that he observed. Through his telescope he brought the starts down to earth for everyone to see. By changing the way people saw the galaxy, Galileo was also changing the way they saw themselves and their place in the universe. This was very exciting, but to some to some it was deeply disturbing. Galileo has upset the harmonious view of heaven and earth that had been accepted since ancient times. He had turned the world upside down. In this amazing new book, Peter S s employs the artist's lens to give us an extraordinary view of the life of Galileo Galilei. S s tells his story in language as simple as a fairy tale, in pictures as rich and tightly woven as a tapestry, and in Galileo's own words, written more than 350 years ago and still resonant with truth. This title has Common Core connections. Starry Messenger is a 1997 Caldecott Honor Book.

"Mad about dragons, the boy who narrates this picture book is pleased when his doting parents decide to take him to Indonesia, home of the Komodo dragon.... The boy] takes the road less traveled through the jungle, where he encounters the dragon of his dreams....Full of intriguing detail....picture book, original in concept and beautiful in design."--Booklist.

In a pictorial retelling first published in 1991, Christopher Columbus overcomes a number of obstacles to fulfill his dream of sailing west to find a new route to the Orient. An ALA Notable Children's Book.