Folk Myths

King David Kalākaua introduces us to the people upon whom the legend of the Pele family is based. They departed Samoa as war refugees in the 12th century, settling in the foothills of Mauna Loa. As earthquakes and eruptions occurred during their interactions with the Hawaiians, this family of kahuna were accorded what the king described as “unique sanctity and power”. Pele was as mighty as she was beautiful. The tales of the volcano goddess earned the attention of Kamapuaa, the outcast son of the chief of Oahu who terrorized the island with his band of renegades.

This is a story from the Tales from the Arabian Nights collection.

Hoping to erase her tragic past, Empress Wu fills her kingdom with all beautiful things. She wants the Nightingale for its beautiful song. After sending her advisors to find the bird, Nightingale comes to her and offers to stay in her kingdom. Saddened by his captivity, Nightingale wishes to leave. Will the empress allow him to go?

Andrew Lang drew upon his classical learning to recreate the Greek myths for children. He follows Ulysses from his boyhood, thorugh the Trojan Wars, to his voyage to seek the son of Achilles. The story of Helen of Troy, and the Trojan Horse, is told with the pace of a modern adventure. Lang's collection of retold myths includes Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece, and recounts the lives and heroic deeds of two other major figures: Theseus, who slew the Minotaur; and Perseus, who freed the princess Andromeda as one of his many tests, with the helo of the gorgon's head. Perseus, Andromeda, and her parents, Cephus and Cassiopeia, are remembered in the constellations of the summer sky. Not only will theres tales bring to life for children of all ages the quest for good and the struggle against eveil embodied in the myths, they also reveal the roots of characters referenced throughout Western litereature from Shakespeare's time to the present day. In the true spirit of adventure, Lang dedicated his book to H. Rider Haggard.

15 der schönsten Märchen der Brüder Grimm - auf deutsch und englisch! Klassiker wie Schneewittchen (Snow white), Rumpelstilzchen (Rumpelstiltskin), Hänsel und Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), Das tapfere Schneiderlein (The brave little taylor) und viele mehr.

In the tradition of his best-selling debut novel The Lost Books of the Odyssey, Zachary Mason's Metamorphica transforms Ovid's epic poem of endless transformation. It reimagines the stories of Narcissus, Pygmalion and Galatea, Midas, and Atalanta and strings them together like the stars in constellations - even Ovid becomes a story. It's as though the ancient mythologies had been rewritten by Borges or Calvino.

All his life, Jack has longed for an adventure, so when giants turn up in the neighbor's cabbage patch, he is thrilled! Soon Jack is chasing them to a land beyond the clouds, with his little sister, Annabella, in tow. The kingdom of giants is full of super-sized fun: Puddings to swim in, spoons to use as catapults, monster toads to carry off pesky little sisters...But Jack and Annabella are on a mission. The king of the giants has taken something that belongs to them, and they’ll do anything - even dive into a smelly tureen of green bean soup - to get it back.

Elliot and Uchenna have barely recovered from their first adventure with the Unicorn Rescue Society when the mysterious Professor Fauna approaches them with an all-new quest. And this time, they're going to have to cross the Atlantic Ocean to the Basque Country of Northern Spain. Elliot and Uchenna, with Jersey in tow, soon wonder whether their newest fire-breathing rescue might be more than they can handle. And why do the evil-doing Schmoke Brothers seem to be involved yet again?

The tales of the Norse gods, of the giants, demons, trolls and dwarves, still have the power to fascinate more than a thousand years after they were first told. Here are the stories of the one-eyed god Odin, Tyr the god of war, of the cunning Loki, of Thor the mighty thunder god and a host of others.

Times are changing at Fairy Tale Reform School. At least that's what Gilly's heard. Rumor is that notorious trickster Rumpelstiltskin has taken over management from Headmistress Flora, and he's locked down the school tighter than the Pied Piper's pants. Not that this news concerns Gilly - she's been released from FTRS and is now suffering through attending Jack of All Trades School, where she gets to learn about different kinds of shoe leather and ways to measure feet (truly riveting stuff!).

時間どろぼうと、ぬすまれた時間を人間にとりかえしてくれた女の子モモのふしぎな物語。人間本来の生き方を忘れてしまっている現代の人々に〈時間〉の真の意味を問う、エンデの名作。

What do you do when your new best buddy has been designated a scourge by the community and marked for imminent extermination? Just ask Kenny Rabbit. When the simple folks in the sleepy little village of Roundbrook catch wind that there's a dragon running loose in the countryside, they get the wrong idea and the stage is set for a fight to the death.

The struggle of good versus evil continues as Bobby Pendragon follows Saint Dane to the territory of Zadaa. Saint Dane's influence has fueled the fire of discontent between two warring tribes: the Rokador and the Batu. This is also the territory where the Traveler Loor lives as a member of the Batu. Together she and Bobby must work to thwart Saint Dane's efforts to destroy Zadaa.

Nils Holgersson is a naughty boy who pulls the tails of cats and trips up his mother while she is carrying the milk pail. Then one day he discovers he has been magically turned into a tiny imp. He climbs on the back of a gander and takes off with a flock of wild geese as they fly over Sweden, soaring above patchwork fields, through storms, to castles and lakes and even to a city under the sea. As he learns about the world, he also learns what it means to care for living things, in Selma Lagerlöf's timeless and beloved fable.

He was once an immortal God, now he's an awkward teenager. Things aren't going well for Apollo. There's only one way he can earn back Zeus' favour, and that's to seek and restore the ancient oracles - but that's easier said than done. Apollo must head to the American Midwest where, rumour has it, a haunted cave may hold answers. There are a few things standing in his way though. The cave could kill him, or drive him insane. Oh, and a Roman Emperor, whose love of bloodshed makes Nero look tame.

When the world first formed, the night was black and filled with dark creatures. The Elders knew their people couldn't survive under such a threat. So they gave their hearts to the sky in the form of stars to keep evil away. Now, 11-year-old Kyro is a Star Shepherd like his father. He's spent his life tucked away in the small town of Drenn. There, the family watches the night sky for falling stars - and rushes to rescue them when they do.

Sleeping Beauty's younger, non-magical sister, Annie, still can't rest while trouble in the kingdom threatens her good friend, Snow White. Snow White's evil stepmother has disappeared, and her father wants her married off right away - but who should she choose? How can she tell which prince is best? It's Annie and her good friend Liam to the rescue! A hilarious and fantastical romp through a fairy tale landscape from beloved author E. D. Baker.

The Trojan War is over, and Odysseus longs to return to wife and son on his island kingdom of Ithaca. But between hero and home stands an array of dangers unlike any ever faced by mortal man.

Twelve-year-old Winston Chu is supposed to learn impulse control at the cooking academy his mom enrolled him in. But learning to think before he acts won't happen overnight. While skateboarding home with a pie in hand, Winston inadvertently stops a robbery at Mr. Pang's Whimsies, an oddities shop in Chinatown. As a reward, Mr. Pang invites Winston to choose any item in the store. But the strange old man warns Winston to browse carefully, for the first thing Winston touches will be the thing he gets.

As William turns 12, he wonders if Jason is still his best friend. In the past year, Jason has grown a foot taller, while William is still a shrimp. When Jason challenges William to “jump the trains,” William is terrified. How else can he prove himself to Jason? William gets his answer when his former housekeeper sends him a magic token that once again transports him to Sir Simon’s castle in the Middle Ages, this time with Jason.