Fairy Folk

Why were some fairy tales constructed in accordance with the Ad Herennium, an ancient Latin text containing the earliest recorded instructions for the creation of memory systems? How does one explain the fact that the Ad Herennium's instructions mirror one of the key images from the synoptic Gospels, the scourging of Jesus? Could it be that the Gospels' authors were actually skilled practitioners of the Art of Memory, who utilized that system within the Gospels for the secret encryption and storage of information? And how is all of this connected to the millennia-old conflict between the ...

Uniting universal themes with a wonderfully personal vision of the world, Hans Christian Andersen found magic in the landscape of childhood. His talking animals and living toys shine a sparkling light on the strange wisdom of innocence and the deceptive nature of adulthood. These stories have now been adapted into countless classic films (including The Little Mermaid, The Red Shoes, and Frozen - which was based on “The Snow Queen”) and have become part of our everyday speech, such as when we talk about “ugly ducklings” and “the emperor’s new clothes.”

It’s 1955, and Laurie Valentine’s best friend Dickie has contracted polio. Confined to a breathing machine in the hospital, he begs Laurie to stay by his side and tell him a story. As Laurie creates the tale of the giant Collosso and the young boy destined to stop him, Dickie starts to believe he’s part of the story. But when Laurie is forced to stop telling the story, Dickie has to reach within himself to create his own ending.

Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold onto. Jude learned this lesson when she released her control over the wicked king, Cardan, in exchange for immeasurable power. Now as the exiled mortal Queen of Faerie, Jude is powerless and left reeling from Cardan's betrayal. She bides her time, determined to reclaim everything he took from her. Opportunity arrives in the form of her deceptive twin sister, Taryn, whose mortal life is in peril.

Nyroc has exiled himself from the Pure Ones. He flies alone, feared and despised by those who know him as Kludd's son, hunted by those whose despotism he has rejected, and haunted by ghostly creatures conjured by Nyra to lure him back to the Pure Ones. He yearns for a place he only half believes in - the great tree - and an uncle - the near-mythic Soren - who might be a true father to him. Yet he cannot approach the tree while the rumor of evil still clings to him.

Zeus has punished his son Apollo - god of the sun, music, archery, poetry, and more - by casting him down to earth in the form of a gawky, acne-covered 16-year-old mortal named Lester. The only way Apollo can reclaim his rightful place on Mount Olympus is by restoring several Oracles that have gone dark. What is affecting the Oracles, and how can Apollo/Lester do anything about them without his powers?

When Henry H. Neff published the second book of his Tapestry series, Kirkus Reviews proclaimed that “young readers will clamor for more.” With The Fiend and the Forge, Neff unveils his most riveting adventure yet. Astaroth has claimed the Book of Origins, and the world is thick with goblins and trolls.

Ever since Soren was kidnapped and taken to the St. Aegolius School for Orphaned Owls, he has longed to see his sister, Eglantine, again. Now Eglantine is back is Soren's life, but she's been through an ordeal too terrible for words. Deep within Soren's gizzard, something more powerful than knowledge tells him there's a connection between these mysterious events.

A hooded man, his face marred by a mysterious black brand, walks the Plain of Savlos. Some say he has the power to summon demons. Others say he is the only one who can vanquish them. His name is Konrad, and he has a secret.... Once an ordinary soldier, his life was forever changed by a fateful meeting with a dying sorcerer. Now he is all that stands between civilization and the creeping evil of the shadow world.

Jason Walker has often wished his life could be a bit less predictable--until a routine day at the zoo ends with Jason suddenly transporting from the hippo tank to a place unlike anything he's ever seen. In the past, the people of Lyrian welcomed visitors from the Beyond, but attitudes have changed since the wizard emperor Maldor rose to power. The brave resistors who opposed the emperor have been bought off or broken, leaving a realm where fear and suspicion prevail.

This small volume completes the translation of Karel Erben’s A Hundred Genuine Popular Slavonie Fairy Stories. The first volume, Segnius Irritant, maps out, so to say, the primitive folklore weather myth of which nearly the whole of the succeeding 92 stories are wholly or in part reproductions.

Explore magical moments from faraway lands in this vibrant storybook featuring a mysterious little box and more engaging tales from different cultures.

A collection of 28 Scottish fairy tales, perfect for children (and adults) of all ages. Herein you will find what may be called Celtic stories, which were handed down for centuries by word of mouth by professional storytellers who went about from clachan to clachan in the Highlands and Islands, earning a night's shelter by giving a night's entertainment.

Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother's mysterious death, he's lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers. One day, he's tracked down by an uncle he barely knows - a man his mother claimed was dangerous. Uncle Randolph tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god. The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday.

Rick Riordan’s newest Percy Jackson adventure is full of hilarious set pieces, a diverse cast of gods and monsters, and many other delightful tricks and treats. Percy Jackson, now a high school senior, needs three recommendation letters from the Greek gods in order to get into New Rome University. He earned his first one by retrieving Ganymede’s chalice. Now the goddess Hecate has offered Percy another “opportunity”—all he has to do is pet sit her polecat, Gale, and mastiff, Hecuba, over Halloween week while she is away. Piece of cake, right?

Cole Randolph never meant to come to The Outskirts, but when his friends were kidnapped on Halloween he had to try and save them. Now he’s trapped in a world that lies between wakefulness and dreaming, reality and imagination, life and death. Cole’s search for his friends has led him to Elloweer, another of the five kingdoms that make up The Outskirts.

At the conclusion of The Mark of Athena, Annabeth and Percy tumble into a pit leading straight to the Underworld. The other five demigods have to put aside their grief and follow Percy's instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death. If they can fight their way through the Gaea's forces, and Percy and Annabeth can survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to seal the Doors from both sides and prevent the giants from raising Gaea. But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth be able to escape?

Robin and Marian have lived very different lives in very different places. Their paths should never, ever cross - but before they know it, they are thrown together on a quest that requires legendary bravery, quick-witted escapes, and the ability to...get along with each other. The sky's no longer the limit on what Robin and Marian can do - as long as they manage to do it together.

Outlaw Princess of Sherwood is award-winning author Nancy Springer's third delightful tale of Rowan Hood. Her popular adventure novels provide a fresh new vision of the medieval period. When Princess Ettarde refuses to marry the man her father, King Solon, has chosen for her, she flees to Sherwood Forest and joins Rowan Hood's band of outlaws.

Hal and the Herons have done the impossible. This group of outsiders has beaten out the strongest, most skilled young warriors in all of Skandia to win the Brotherband competition. But their celebration comes to an abrupt end when the Skandians' most sacred artifact, the Andomal, is stolen - and the Herons are to blame. To find redemption they must track down the thief, Zavac, and recover the Andomal. But that means traversing stormy seas, surviving a bitter winter, and battling a group of deadly pirates.