Nature Myths

Badger is happy living in his neat and tidy burrow - until Big Bad Bully Goat decides to move in! Bully Goat has such a fearsome reputation that even Badger’s biggest friends are too scared to help. All seems lost until help arrives from a very unexpected quarter and Badger realizes that size isn't everything. This traditional Iberian tale is retold with a twist by storyteller, poet, and anthologist Andrew Fusek Peters.

The town of Hamelin has a rat problem. Thousands of rats and nobody knows what to do about it. A young man offers to rid the town of rats for a price, and the town council gladly agrees. The Pied Piper blows his horn, and the rats all follow him right into the sea, where they drown. When the Pied Piper returns to collect his fee, the town council refuses to pay. The Pied Piper blows his horn again, and all the children of Hamelin follow him right through a mountain.

Aran has never truly fit in with his selkie clan. He was born in his human form, without a pelt to transform him into a sleek, strong seal. Each day he waits, left behind while his selkie family explores the deep ocean. What if his pelt never comes? Does the Moon even see him? Is he putting his clan at risk? When his mother undertakes a journey to the far north to seek help, Aran is left in the care of a reclusive human woman on remote Spindle Island. Life on land is full of more wonders - and more dangers - than Aran could have ever imagined.

When his brother Kartikeya challenges him to a race around the world, Ganesha knows he cannot win with speed. He may not be as fast as Kartikeya, but clever Ganesha knows that every problem has more than one solution! A celebration of the dynamic bond between siblings and a loving tribute to family, Ganesha’s Great Race is the story of their most famous contest and will delight readers with a tale of muscles, mangoes, and the meaning of the world.

Every critter has their own kind of music, but they still gotta choose. Buzz ‘bout the mud and bad weather...or sing ‘bout the good stuff we share in the dat ole bayou. In this Cajun fable, M’sieu Fly wakes up one morning to find that all his friends are missing. During his search - which takes him from Louisiana bayou to the moon - M’sieu Fly discovers what’s important in life and how to both get and keep friends.

Olga is an orphan and a thief, relying on trickery and sleight of hand to make her way in the world. But it’s magic, not thievery, that could get her into trouble. When Olga and her partner-in-crime Pavel learn of a valuable jewel kept in a secluded castle, Olga sees an opportunity to change their lives: a prize so big, they’d never have to steal again. But the castle is not as it seems, ruled by an enchanter who hosts grand balls every night, only for the guests to disappear each morning, replaced by swans.

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'.

Jungle Nama is a beautiful verse adaptation of a legend from the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest. It tells the story of the avaricious rich merchant Dhona, the poor lad Dukhey and his mother; it is also the story of Dokkhin Rai, a mighty spirit who appears to humans as a tiger, of Bon Bibi, the benign goddess of the forest, and her warrior brother, Shah Jongoli.

"Le soleil se levait à peine quand Hermès sortit du ventre de sa mère. Il s'étira, bâilla et sauta aussitôt sur ses pieds. Puis il courut à l'entrée de la grotte où il venait de naître pour admirer le monde. "Comme c'est beau !" murmura-t-il." C'est par ces mots que débute "Le feuilleton d'Hermès", jeune dieu de la mythologie grecque qui découvre le monde à la manière d'un enfant.

Un huevo de cisne llegó al nido de una pata que vivía en una granja del campo. Al nacer, resultó ser un patito muy feo; desproporcionado en tamaño con respecto a sus agraciados hermanitos y de color diferente. Todos los demás patos se burlaban de él y lo rechazaban por ser diferente a ellos. Fue pasando el tiempo y el patito feo creció encontrando su lugar en el mundo junto a una familia de cisnes.

Pour ce troisième volet de "La mythologie grecque en cent épisodes", Murielle Szac nous invite à suivre le formidable destin d'Ulysse. Comme les feuilletons d'Hermès et de Thésée, celui d'Ulysse renoue avec l'oralité des premiers récits. Le livre audio, interprété par l'autrice elle-même, vient compléter cette magnifique collection. Ulysse le voyageur malgré lui, qui sait en quittant sa chère île d'Ithaque, sa douce Pénélope et son petit Télémaque qu'il ne les reverra pas avant vingt ans, pas avant d'avoir exploré des terres et des mers inconnues.

The short-nosed elephants go down to the river to get a drink. But lurking in the depths is a crafty crocodile, who would love to eat one of these big animals. He chooses a young elephant and grabs a hold of his stubby nose. A lengthy struggle ensues. Eventually the young elephant breaks free, but his nose has taken on a long winding shape.

Kipling’s classic tale taken from the Just So Stories. Leopard is having trouble finding the other animals in the forest because they have camouflaged themselves. But he soon learns the advantages of having a patterned hide.

Once, there was a girl named Kiki, who found a fish on the asphalt. The fish was very hot and very dry. But when Kiki put it in the bathtub, it started swimming, and growing, and . . . speaking? "I want to grant you a wish for saving me," it said. A wish-granting fish! Alas, this fish was only a fish of small wishes, and Kiki’s wish was too big. Unless . . . there was a way for both their dreams to come true.

Die graue Kätzin hob den Kopf. "Ich habe gesehen, was geschehen wird", brummte sie. "Finstere Zeiten stehen bevor." Endlich, nach langer Reise, haben die Katzen des Waldes einen Ort entdeckt, an dem sie bleiben könnten! Rund um den großen See gibt es genug Beute und Land für alle. Die Zeit des Abschieds für die große Reisegemeinschaft scheint gekommen. Jeder Clan muss nun wieder allein für sich selbst und das eigene Überleben kämpfen. Aber ist dies auch wirklich das Ziel ihrer Reise, die neue Heimat?

Who wouldn't love to have a cat like the one in Charles Perrault's amusing fairytale?

The Velveteen Rabbit is the classic tale of a beloved stuffed rabbit who, while once fluffy and huggable, has become worn out and threadbare after years of being loved. He is saved after being discarded and taken to Rabbitland, where he becomes “Real” and is cherished for the rest of time.

When a princess accidentally drops her favorite golden ball into a pond, a frog agrees to help her retrieve it. In return, the frog asks for her friendship. At first, the princess doesn’t want to be anywhere near the slimy creature. But in time, she is surprised to learn that the frog is more than he appears to be. This classic fairy tale, originally collected by the Brothers Grimm, has been adapted by LibraryCall to delight children and parents alike!

The mighty chicken Thundercluck is in trouble. He and Brunhilde have run a-fowl of the gods of Asgard, and the best friends must fly the coop. But when a seasoned foe serves up more danger, it’s out of the frying pan and into the fire for these plucky heroes. Can their friendship handle the heat...or will they both be cooked?

"لم يرفض ماركس فكرة الطبيعة البشرية. وقد كان على حق في ذلك" هذا ما يصل إليه هذا العمل الجديد، والجريء، والجدلي، بقلم نورمان كريس. حيث يضع كريس في هذا الكتاب سادس أطروحات ماركس عن فيورباخ تحت عدسة المجهر الصارمة، ويجادل كريس بأن هذه العبارة الغامضة – التي يُستشهد بها على نطاق واسع كدليل على أن ماركس قد تخلى عن جميع مفاهيم الطبيعة البشرية في عام 1845 – ينبغي أن تُقرأ في سياق عمل ماركس ككل. حيث استرشدت كتاباته اللاحقة بفكرة الطبيعة البشرية المحددة التي تفي بكل من الوظائف التفسيرية والمعيارية.