Nature Myths

Edgar Award-nominated author Brenda Seabrooke reimagines the tale of the three little pigs in this enchanting fable. Here James, Marvin, and Lester Pygg have just put the finishing touches on their new brick house when a knock sounds at the door. It’s a wolf! But the Pyggs know better than to let a big, bad wolf in. So the wolf hatches a new plan - sit and wait until the Pyggs come out.

Big bodies. Razor-sharp teeth. Crushing jaws. Great white sharks are some of the most feared sharks. Some people say they seek out people as food. But this is a myth. Attacks on people are very rare. Some people say great whites live only in warm waters. This is a myth too! You can’t believe everything you hear! Listeners will bust more myths about these top ocean predators.

A long time ago in Japan, a great warrior was pestered by a large rat. He tried using traps and his sword, but the rat was too clever. Strong cats and speedy cats are no match for this clever rat. Will the samurai’s new cat be able to outsmart the rat?

Long ago a trickster rabbit cheated other animals in order to become more elegant. What happened when the other animals caught on? Find out in this tale from Uganda. The rabbit wants the fox’s tail, the fish’s scales, the bird’s feathers, and the leopard’s spots and greedily tosses away one feature for the next.

"Je suis Artémis, j'ai choisi de vivre sans contrainte dans les forêts, je suis entourée de compagnes qui ont fait le même choix que le mien et qui ne sont pas prêtes à suivre le modèle imposé par Aphrodite (...). Et pourtant nous sommes toutes des femmes, oui, comme elle !" Être femme et être libre : telle est l'exigence de la déesse de la nature, de la chasse, des naissances et de l'éducation des adolescents. Fille de Léto et Zeus, soeur jumelle d'Apollon, Artémis choisit de vivre loin de l'Olympe et de ses intrigues.

Twelve-year-old Hilly has landed her dream job, riding on the set of Brunhilda, an epic film based on the fearless warrior of Icelandic legend. Norse fire ritual tells that on midsummer’s day, animals and humans can shape-shift, and one night Hilly finds herself connected to the young warrior and her fire stallion. As the two girls’ lives intertwine, Hilly soon realises that they’ll both have to risk everything for the love of their horses....

When Joey is bitten by an elderly rat, he goes from aspiring seventh-grader to three-inch tall rodent. At first, Joey is amazed by his new rat self. The city streets call to him at night. Smells that would have repelled him before are suddenly tantalizing. (A chicken bone? Yes! A squashed cockroach? Like perfume!) And wow, the freedom! But when a bout of hunger leads Joey to pull the spork from the scone, he finds himself at the center of a longtime rat prophecy.

A Cherokee couple spends their days fishing and making cornmeal. When a giant dog steals their cornmeal, the neighbors all gather to help. Find out how this Cherokee legend explains the creation of the Milky Way.

Uni is just like all the other unicorns...except for one thing: She believes that little girls are REAL. This magical story by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (author of I Wish You More) illuminates Uni's not-so-fantastical dream and celebrates the sparkle of believing.

In this traditional Afghan folk tale, all the animals wait in line to buy delicious honey from the bees. Everything is harmonious until a bullying bear begins to cut in line and take honey without paying.

Ben and his trained dog, Sancho, run away from the circus and soon find a warm welcome in a kind community where spirited games are played. Theatricals and imaginative pageantry are all part of the fun.

Uncle Wiggily has been a reassuring friend to millions of children since early in the 20th century. He is a cheerful "bunny rabbit gentleman" who understands people-talk and has dedicated his life to helping animals and children with his wonderful knack for setting things right.

A big bully lion is no match for the Clever Monkey in this retelling of a classic story from West Africa

Había una vez en el bosque, tres cerditos hermanos, a los cuales perseguía sin descanso el Lobo Feroz. Para conseguir protegerse del malvado Lobo Feroz, los 3 cerditos decidieron construirse una casa cada uno. Pero cada casa era de una manera diferente...

Había una vez una madre pato sentada en sus huevos. Los patitos fueron rompiendo los cascarones y saliendo a jugar con los otros animales. Cuando ya habían salido todos los patitos, quedaba nada más un huevo, más grande que el resto, y de él salió un patito mucho más grande que sus hermanos. Sus plumas eran oscuras y feas, y los otros animales lo maltrataron, golpeándolo y empujándolo hasta que tuvo que irse, volando hacia tierras lejanas.

A big bully lion is no match for the Clever Monkey in this retelling of a classic story from West Africa

Renowned rewilder Derek Gow has a dream: that one day we will see the return of the wolf to Britain as it has already returned elsewhere. As Derek worked to reintroduce the beaver, he began to hear stories of the wolf, both real and mythical, and his fascination with this creature grew. With increasing curiosity, Derek started to piece together fragments of information, stories and artefacts to reveal a shadowy creature that first walked proud through these lands and then was hunted to extinction as coexistence turned to fear, hatred–and domination.

Without our realising it, a single, slippery concept has become a secular deity throughout the modern industrial world. We make terrible sacrifices in its name: of our money, our health and our planet. That deity is nature itself. From supermarket shoppers to evolutionary biologists, from atheists to pastors, from Alex Jones to Gwyneth Paltrow, we are all prone to the intuitive faith that life should be lived 'naturally'.

Cuando el joven Rey Buby pierde su primer diente, el ratón de los dientes viene a visitarlo.

For the past three decades, Pleasant DeSpain has explored Latin America – its people, customs, cultures, and especially the myths and legends. The 15 tales in this collection are full of compassionate souls, tricks and humor, explanations of nature and geography – and as always, memorable characters and places. Mario Lamo-Jiménez's Spanish translation that accompanies the English version reverberates with the rich, vibrant quality that has become the bench mark for the best stories from Latin America.