Myths For Children

Princess Harriet Hamsterbone hasn't been home for long, but she's already missing her life of grand adventure. How's a girl supposed to have any fun when her parents are constantly reminding her to be careful and act like a princess? So when her pal Prince Wilbur needs help retrieving a stolen hydra egg, Harriet happily takes up the quest. The thief's trail leads them to a wicked witch and a tall tower. It isn't long before Harriet discovers that the egg isn't the only one locked inside.

Nationally acclaimed storyteller J.J. Reneaux grew up Cajun for true, surrounded by the stories, music, food, and culture of rural communities in southeastern Texas and southern Louisiana. A traditional storyteller who collects by word-of-mouth, Reneaux has developed her repertoire over years of collecting: on front porches, school playgrounds, and her beloved fishing trips, as well as at nursing homes, airports, and at neighborhood fais-dodos.

Here are four of Hans Christian Andersen’s best-loved short stories, specially adapted for young children and read by some of Britain’s most well-known actors. The Emperor’s New Clothes: An emperor is promised a special suit of clothes by a pair of tailors. The Little Mermaid: A beautiful mermaid falls in love with a prince. The Fir Tree: A little fir tree is desperate to grow up and be like the other trees in the forest.

Of course you think I was the bad guy, terrifying poor little Jack. You don't know the other side of the story. Well, let me tell you....

Born in 1628, Parisian Charles Perrault was aptly credited as being the “father” of a then-new literary genre: the fairy tale. Often drawing from his own surroundings (the Chateau Ussé was the model for "Sleeping Beauty", while the Marquis of the Château d'Oiron inspired the delightful "Puss-in-Boots"), Perrault originally penned the tales as moral stories for his own three children.

This audiobook recounts the famous tale of the race between the persevering turtle and the boastful rabbit.

David Ezra Stein is an accomplished author of children’s books and has been honored with the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award. In Interrupting Chicken, Papa warns little red chicken not to interrupt as he sets about reading their nightly bedtime stories - but the eager chicken just can’t help warning the fairy-tale characters about the dangers they face. Frustrated to no end, Papa finally gives the little chicken the chance to tell a tale. Now will Papa be able to stop himself from interrupting?

Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school...again. No matter how hard he tries, he can't seem to stay out of trouble. But can he really be expected to stand by and watch while a bully picks on his scrawny best friend? Or not defend himself against his pre-algebra teacher when she turns into a monster and tries to kill him? Of course, no one believes Percy about the monster incident; he's not even sure he believes himself.

You think you know the story of Little Red Riding Hood? THINK AGAIN! This retelling of the classic story, told from the wolf's perspective, will give you a fresh spin on this famous tale. Was the wolf just really hungry for apples? Was Little Red Riding Hood rotten? This fun fractured tale will leave you with a whole new understanding of the classic story.

The Pied Piper pipes a village free of rats, and when the villagers refuse to pay him for the service he pipes away their children as well.

Ten-year-old Zeus is mystified (and super annoyed) by the fact he keeps getting hit by lightening. He also longs for adventure, as he has never been far from the cave where he grew up. Zeus gets his wish - and a lot more than he bargained for - when he is kidnapped by dangerous, giant Titans! In self-defense, Zeus grabs the first thing he sees - an actual thunderbolt he pulls from a stone that is covered in mysterious markings. Zeus is the only one who can decipher the markings, and he sets off on a quest to rescue his fellow Olympians from the evil Cronus.

You think you know the story of "Three Billy Goats Gruff"? You're in for a surprise. The troll SAID he wanted to gobble up the billy goats, but what's the real story behind his stomps and roars? A classic fairy tale gets a trip-trapping twist as the troll tells all.

When twelve-year-old Billy Chan finds out his parents are sending him to a summer camp in middle-of-nowhere China, he doesn't know what to expect. There he meets fellow campers Dylan, Charlotte, and Ling-Fei, and together they stumble upon an age-old secret: there are four powerful warrior dragons hidden deep within the mountain behind the camp! They need the children's help to set them free before evil in the guise of the Dragon of Death is unleashed upon the earth. Billy and his friends must set off on a dangerous adventure that will take them to the heart of the Dragon Realm.

Captivating the hearts and minds of kids and adults for generations, Aesop, a former Greek slave, developed simple and meaningful adventures featuring animals or insects to teach a moral standard or lesson for living. The most well-known and well-loved of Aesop's fables are included here.

Princess Harriet has absolutely no interest in brushing her hair, singing duets with woodland animals, or any other typical princess activities. So when a fairy tells a very bored Harriet about 12 mice princesses who are cursed to dance all night long, she happily accepts the quest and sets off with a poncho of invisibility and her trusty battle quail. But when she arrives at the Mouse Kingdom, she discovers there's more to the curse than meets the eye, and trying to help is dangerous business...even for a tough princess like Harriet.

The Underworld usually isn't really meant to be a fun place - but tell that to Hades! He loves the dark and the stinky smell of sulfur. However, there is one thing that Hades is not a fan of: dogs. And when Zeus and his fellow Olympians encounter Cerberus - a snarling, three-headed dog - Hades must conquer his fears and tame the hound so everyone can continue into the Underworld and deposit their Titan prisoner, Oceanus, back where he belongs!

Hazel Trépas has always known she wasn’t like the rest of her siblings. A thirteenth child, promised away to one of the gods, she spends her childhood waiting for her godfather—Merrick, the Dreaded End—to arrive. When he does, he lays out exactly how he’s planned Hazel’s future. She will become a great healer, known throughout the kingdom for her precision and skill. To aid her endeavors, Merrick blesses Hazel with a gift, the ability to instantly deduce the exact cure needed to treat the sick. But all gifts come with a price.

The merciless Cronus and his Titan buddies are in hot pursuit of Zeus, Hera, and Poseidon, who plan to travel across the treacherous boiling sea in order to save a fellow Olympian. They have a boat, but they also have a problem: Poseidon can't swim and is terrified of the water (well, really of the creatures that lurk in its depths). The group faces danger after danger as they battle singing sirens, a fishy and ferocious Titan named Oceanus, and people-eating monsters sent by Cronus himself.

The Otherworld is at war. The Academy for the Unbreakable Arts trains warriors. And Kelcie Murphy—a foster child raised in the human world—is dying to attend. A place at AUA means meeting Scáthach, the legendary trainer of Celtic heroes. It means learning to fight with a sword. It means harnessing her hidden powers and—most importantly—finding out who her parents are, and why they abandoned her in Boston Harbor eight years ago. Kelcie is a survivor, and she’ll do whatever it takes to find her parents and her place in their world. Even if that means making a few enemies.

A magical beanstalk leads to a giant surprise in book four of Ursula Vernon's critically acclaimed Hamster Princess series. Harriet Hamsterbone doesn't go looking for trouble. Somehow it always finds her. So she isn't completely shocked when a salesman attempts to sell her some magic beans, or when one of those beans grows into a towering beanstalk leading up into the clouds. But even Harriet is surprised to find a giant castle - complete with one very poetically challenged giant - at the top of it.