Folklore & Mythology

Encyclopedia Mythologica: Fairies and Magical Creatures (Encyclopedia Mythologica)

Introducing a dazzling new series premiere! The world’s pop-up masters invite you to peek inside the fairy realm as it transforms before your eyes.

Open this entrancing book and meet Shakespeare’s Queen Titania, springing up with her silver wings aflutter. Further on, a crystalline elfin castle rises into the clouds, not far from some scary hobgoblins and trolls. And on a truly stunning spread, a humanoid magical tree spreads its branches to reveal a face within its foliage, while flowers unfold and rearrange their petals, turning into flower fairies. Visiting mythical beings around the world, from household brownies to the merfolk lurking deep below the sea, this breathtaking 3-D book, brimming with facts and fancy, will hold humans of all ages in its spell.

Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons (Ologies)

Dragonology is presented as a faux-scholarly book with everything you ever wanted to know about dragons. Purporting to be the actual writings of English Dragonologist, Dr. Ernest Drake, this book is filled with exquisite illustrations, fascinating faux-facts, a dragon alphabet, runes to decipher, lift-up flaps, and maps to explore. Covering everything from dragon habitats, physiology and behavior to finding, tracking, taming, and flying them. A really fun book for the Harry Potter crowd and anyone enamored of Dragons. Hardcover, 32 pages. (Ages 8+)

Peter and the Starcatchers

Humorist Dave Barry and suspense writer Ridley Pearson have clearly taken great delight in writing a 400-plus page prequel of sorts to Scottish dramatist J.M. Barrie's beloved Peter Pan stories. The result is a fast-paced and fluffy pirate adventure, complete with talking porpoises, stinky rogues, possible cannibals, a flying crocodile, biting mermaids, and a much-sought-after trunk full of magical glowing green "starstuff." Ever hear of Zeus? Michelangelo? Attila the Hun? According to 14-year-old Molly Aster they all derived their powers from starstuff that occasionally falls to Earth from the heavens. On Earth, it is the Starcatchers' job to rush to the scene and collect the starstuff before it falls into the hands of the Others who use its myriad powers for evil.

On board the ship Never Land, an orange-haired boy named Peter, the leader of a group of orphaned boys being sent off to work as servants in King Zarboff the Third's court, is puzzled by his shipmate Molly's fantastical story of starstuff, but it inextricably binds him to her. Peter vows to help his new, very pretty friend Molly (a Starcatcher's apprentice) keep a mysterious trunk full of the stuff out of the clutches of the pirate Black Stache, a host of other interested parties, and ultimately King Zarboff the Third.

The downright goofy, modern 8-year-old boy humor sometimes clashes with an old-time pirate sensibility, and the rapid-fire dialogue, while well paced, is far from inventive. Still, the high-seas hijinks and desert-island shenanigans will keep readers turning the pages. Greg Call's wonderful black-and-white illustrations are deliciously old-fashioned and add plenty of atmosphere to a silly, swashbuckling story that shows us how Peter Pan came to fly and why he, and his story, will never get old. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson

Don'teven think of starting this bookunless you're sitting in a comfortable chair and have lots of time. Afast-paced, impossible-to-put-down adventure awaits as the young orphan Peterand his mates are dispatched to an island ruled by the evil King Zarboff. Theyset sail aboard the Never Land, a ship carrying a precious and mysterious trunk inits cargo hold, and the journey quickly becomes fraught with excitement anddanger.

Discoverrichly developed characters in the sweet but sophisticated Molly, the scary butfamiliar Black Stache, and the fearless Peter. Treacherous battles withpirates, foreboding thunderstorms at sea, and evocative writing immerses thereader in a story that slowly and finally reveals the secrets and mysteries ofthe beloved Peter Pan.

Pirateology: The Pirate Hunter's Companion (Ologies)

Aar! Hoist the sails for a lavish new discovery filled with treasures — a magnificent resource for pirate lovers everywhere. The eagerly awaited new title in the best-selling ’Ology series — more than 5 million sold worldwide!

Step lively, pirate foes and fanciers! Mysterious booty found inside a long-lost sea chest, hidden for hundreds of years off the coast of Newfoundland, has just been uncovered for your enjoyment. Within these covers is the fascinating eighteenth-century journal of Captain William Lubber, an earnest soul who sailed the seas in search of the vicious female pirate Arabella Drummond. Prepare for a mesmerizing tale of the golden age of piracy — from storm-tossed sailing ships to tantalizing treasure islands, from pirates’ flags and fashions to their wily weapons and wicked ways. An extraordinary find for pirateologists, here is a true and complete companion for the dedicated pirate hunter.

Pirateology’s special treasures include:
— a stunning cover bearing a working compass and glittering gems—treasure map with a missing piece — for the canny reader to find
— multiple flaps, maps, charts, and booklets harboring codes and clues
— intricate drawings of ships’ interiors
— a packet of gold dust — a pocket sundial
— a cache of pirate letters, pieces of eight— and a jewel as a final reward

The Trojan Horse: How the Greeks Won the War (Step-Into-Reading, Step 5)

Illus. in full color. "An ancient history lesson emerges from this account of the way the Greeks tricked the Trojans and rescued Helen of Troy. The book is well tailored to younger readers with careful explanations and short sentences; a pronunciation guide is appended. Drawings portray the story's main events. A nice supplement to units on ancient Greece or mythology."--Booklist.  

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (Classic Literature With Classical Music. Junior Classics)

The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales

Not since Bruno Bettelheim's The Uses of Enchantment has there been such an illuminating contribution to the world of children's fairy tales.

The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales celebrates the best-loved stories of childhood through the vision of Maria Tatar, a leading expert in the field of folklore and children's literature. Challenging the notion that fairy tales can be read for their morals and used to make model citizens of little children, Tatar guides readers through the stories, exploring their historical origins, their cultural complexities, and their psychological effects. By providing children with powerful models for navigating reality, Tatar shows, these tales help children survive in a world ruled by adults. Tatar presents twenty-six classic stories—including "Beauty and the Beast," "Little Red Hiding Hood," "Jack and the Beanstalk," and "The Little Mermaid." She has personally retranslated the stories that did not appear originally in English and has also assembled over 300 often rare, mostly four-color photographs, paintings, and illustrations, creating a volume that will rank as one of the finest fairy tale collections in many decades. 350 four-color illustrations.

Stories from Around the World (Stories for Young Children)

Tales of the Greek Heroes: Retold From the Ancient Authors (Puffin Classics)

In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World