Still, she dared not close them for a moment in the presence of these strangers, and so it was she continued to study the men—wonder of their lives before the keep—and their secrets. It was certain they owned secrets—for did not she? All human beings owned secrets—some more than others perhaps—but all owned them. Thus, she sat in contemplation. What secrets would drive men to such solitude?"Have you sorted us all out then?" he asked unexpected. His gaze bore down upon her like the red heat of the sun. "Have you sorted the gentlemen from the miscreants? Determined who will serve as your lover and who will be your footman?"Descended of a legendary line of strength and beauty, Saphyre Snow had once known happiness as princess of the Kingdom of Graces. Once a valiant king had ruled in wisdom—once a loving mother had spoken soft words of truth to her daughter. Yet, a strange madness had poisoned great minds—a strange fever inviting Lord Death to linger. Soon it was even Lord Death sought to claim Saphyre Snow for his own—and all Saphyre loved seemed lost.Thus, Saphyre fled—forced to leave all familiars for necessity of preserving her life. Alone, and without provision, Saphyre knew Lord Death might yet claim her—for how could a princess hope to best the Reaper himself?Still, fate often provides rescue by extraordinary venues, and Saphyre was not delivered into the hands of Death—but into the hands of those hiding dark secrets in the depths of bruised and bloodied souls. Saphyre knew a measure of hope and asylum in the company of these battered vagabonds. Even she knew love—a secreted love—a forbidden love. Yet it was love itself—even held secret—that would again summon Lord Death to hunt the princess, Saphyre Snow

    His eyes are sparkling gold, and when he graces you with his smile you are his friend for life, but his promised land is not Neverland. Fourteen-year-old Nick would have been murdered by the drug dealers preying on his family had Peter not saved him. Now the irresistibly charismatic wild boy wants Nick to follow him to a secret place of great adventure, where magic is alive and you never grow old. Even though he is wary of Peter's crazy talk of faeries and monsters, Nick agrees. After all, New York City is no longer safe for him, and what more could he possibly lose?There is always more to lose.Accompanying Peter to a gray and ravished island that was once a lush, enchanted paradise, Nick finds himself unwittingly recruited for a war that has raged for centuries—one where he must learn to fight or die among the "Devils," Peter's savage tribe of lost and stolen children.There, Peter's dark past is revealed: left to wolves as an infant, despised and hunted, Peter moves restlessly between the worlds of faerie and man. The Child Thief is a leader of bloodthirsty children, a brave friend, and a creature driven to do whatever he must to stop the "Flesh-eaters" and save the last, wild magic in this dying land.

    A curse lies over Anluan's family and his people; those woods hold a perilous force whose every whisper threatens doom.For young scribe Caitrin it is a safe haven. This place where nobody else is prepared to go seems exactly what she needs, for Caitrin is fleeing her own demons. As Caitrin comes to know Anluan and his home in more depth she realizes that it is only through her love and determination that the curse can be broken and Anluan and his people set free.

    The wolf is still big and bad, but he also happens to be really, really dumb. Little Red Hood questions the wolf's personal hygiene before tricking her predator into his demise. This is one savvy little red hood.

    Variously known as Finfolk, Dinny Mara, Nereids, Blue Men, and Merrymaids, merfolk have been the source of both gifts and disasters for humankind. Now a lavishly illustrated resource offers insight into the lives, origins, language, and magic of these elusive peoples. Like a siren’s song, this fascinating tome is sure to enthrall all who fall under its spell. Special features include:— paper novelties — including sundry flaps, booklets, and gatefolds— a lavish cover with foil, embossing, and glittery jewels

    The Duchess of Whimsy is fancy and fussy—and definitely not ordinary—surrounding herself with wild friends, fabulous foods, and fancy dress. The Earl of Norm (ho hum) is completely ordinary, but he adores the Duchess. She ignores him, until the chef gets sick, and her friends have to make a super supper—which includes tracking down truffles, spinning sugar stars, and looking for quail eggs.But the Earl is hungry! He sneaks off to an ordinary grilled cheese sandwich—and suddenly takes the Duchess’s eye. Maybe there’s something to simplicity after all. Maybe there’s something to the Earl after all . . .This deliciously told and illustrated love story by the remarkable de Sèves shows how utterly charming and extraordinary a picture book can be.

    But what is a kingdom without love?

    A modern take on Cinderella, Joey must find the girl of his dreams, Mary, after she disappears from the costume ball he is attending.

    She isn’t the best at school or at sports, and her most remarkable talents are squeezing into tight places and touching her nose with her tongue. This is why Poppy never expects that on her 12th birthday, she will learn something perfectly extraordinary. She is a genie!But genie privileges, such as living in a bottle and granting wishes, don’t come automatically. Poppy must pass all of her classes at Tweenie Genie School—and manage to keep her new identity a complete and total secret. Training to be a genie is hard work. Can Poppy do it?

    Or, as his brother Detective Joe Dumpty thinks, was he pushed? This case isn't all its cracked up to be. Suspects are plenty (as are the puns) in this scrambled story of nursery rhyme noir. Was it Little Miss Muffet? There's something not right about her tuffet. Or could it have been Chicken Little, who's always been a little cagey? Or was it the Big Bad Wolf, who's got a rap sheet as long as a moonless night? Joe's on the beat and determined to find the truth. Readers of all ages will delight in the word play and hilarious illustrations in this mystery of what really happened to Humpty Dumpty on that fateful day.

    Three little gators strike out on their own in an east Texas swamp. Their mother warns them to build strong houses that can protect them from Big-bottomed Boar, who likes to eat tasty, tender gators for his snack. Soon, First Gator builds himself a nice house out of rocks. Second Gator reckons rocks are too much work, so he builds his house with sticks. And Third Gator’s house of sand is the easiest one to build! But soon Big-bottomed Boar shows up. With a bump, bump, bump of the fierce boar's rump, he knocks over Third Gator's house of sand. It doesn't take long for that rump to bump Second Gator's house of sticks. But he can't knock over Third Gator's house of stones, so he tries another way in - through the chimney! Guess what happens to the Boar's rump after that?!

    His dream girl shows up unexpectedly in the form of his old friend Pippa, who is all too happy to pitch a tent or play a hard game of hockey, after which she finds the perfect use for that packet of peas! In this twist on the fairy tale, Tony Wilson and Sue DeGenarro deliver a freshly humorous take on one prince s search for the just-right girl of his dreams.

    . . . In a Hugo Award�winning story, a great detective must solve a most unsettling royal murder in a strangely altered Victorian England. . . . Two teenage boys crash a party and meet the girls of their dreams�and nightmares. . . . These marvelous creations and more showcase the unparalleled invention and storytelling brilliance�as well as the terrifyingly dark and entertaining sense of humor�of the incomparable Neil Gaiman. By turns delightful, disturbing, and diverting, Fragile Things is a gift of literary enchantment from one of the most original writers of our time.

    As the ugly duckling searches for a place where he can fit in, Isadora's vibrant collages capture the beauty in everything from glistening feathers to shimmering sunsets.

    In these dozen stories of adventure and magic from the Orient, a maiden encounters an "oni" demon in the forest, a bride discovers her mother-in-law is a fox woman, a samurai must appease his sister's angry ghost, strange luck is found in a jade locket, and dark and light are two sides of harmony.A striking debut collection from Eugie Foster.

    Images of Rapunzel alone in her tower, Cinderella’s pumpkin becoming a golden carriage, and Thumbelina's search for a home are unforgettable. Richly sparkling art in splendid colors, warm humor, and all of the charm found in Mary Engelbreit's Fairy Tales make it a treasure with immediate appeal and long-lasting value. You’ll want to share it with those you love.

    There are stories from across the globe, which include classic tales as well as some lesser-known gems. Six themed sections provide lots of choice and each story has its own reading time. Exquisitely illustrated throughout.

    A large lizard, ever conscious of tripping hazards, picks up the infant and takes her home, where she soon grows into a pretty, pampered, and generally useless young woman named Isabella. Despite her adoptive mother's efforts (for the lizard is really a witch in disguise) to shape her up, the girl prefers the alluring life offered her by the charming Prince Rupert, a world of cooks and servants, palaces and jewels, luxury and indolence. Luckily, the lizard woman is a canny, concerned parent. She does not suffer fools lightly and is not about to let her daughter's too-easy transition to palace life go unchallenged. And so she arranges a surprise transformation for her daughter one that puts the prince's marital plans on hold and gives the witch just enough time to hammer home a few lessons about the downside of idleness, the inanity of vanity, and the satisfactions of self-reliance. In this witty, modern interpretation of a classic Italian folktale, Leah Marinsky Sharpe has crafted a light-hearted mother-daughter fable with a moral that is sure to strike a chord with readers of all ages. The illustrations by Jane Marinsky glow with rich color and playful humor. Together, words and pictures provide a zesty treat for parents and children alike.

    It is winter all year round. Persephone must return to Earth - but how can spring return where winter reigns?

    It tells how once upon a time zebras didn't have stripes until a greedy baboon changed all that.

    The use of larger font adds to the convenience of the young readers."

    A cloth-bound book that retells eighteen classic fairytales from across the world such as 'The Frog Prince', 'Sleeping Beauty', 'Prince Ivan and the Firebird', 'Cinderella', 'Beauty and the Beast', and 'The Snow Queen'.

    . . Transport yourself to a faraway land of enchantment--a magical world where wondrous fantasies abound and anything is possible. Created by internationally renowned tarot artist Lisa Hunt, this unique tarot deck brings to life our most beloved fairy tales from around the world.See the cunning Puss in Boots as the Mentor (High Priest), Little Red Riding Hood as the Fool, and the Fairy Godmother as the Empress. Built within the Rider-Waite tradition, The Fairy Tale Tarot invites you to call upon your imagination and find your own adventures. Charming and evocative artwork in the tarot card deck and book vividly portrays each fairy tale Delightful retellings of the stories and an explanatory discussion of the symbolism Suggested tarot card spreads and layouts for divination.

    When a fireball-wielding wizard shows up instead and makes a determined effort to murder her, her stubborn cousin Rana decides it’s time to make the prince come, any way she can.But the wizard hasn’t given up — and he’s got more in mind than just murder…

    The ending in particular suggests both the sorrow that impends upon love and loss, as well as the possibilities of a life of freedom beyond the emotional struggle. The art by acclaimed Gond artist Bhajju Shyam is delicate, evocative, and magical, contrasting the worlds of land and ocean and the strange inner life of the mermaid and her sisters.Letterpressed on tea-stained handmade paper, this is a truly handsome numbered collector’s edition.

    "You’ll be eaten. You’d better run!" he tells them. And so the tamales jump out the window. The first runs to the prairie and builds a house of sagebrush. The second runs to a cornfield and builds a house of cornstalks. The third runs to the desrt and builds a house of cactus. Then who should come along but Señor Lobo, the Big Bad Wolf, who plans to blow their houses down!Valeria Docampo’s oil-and-pencil illustrations add zest and humor to this rollicking southwestern version of a popular tale.

    How big is your Littlest Pet Shop bookshelf? This 8x8 is a retelling of the classic story!This 8x8 paperback storybook is a retelling of the classic fairy tale-starring the Littlest Pet Shop pets!

    Just the name conjures up images of long golden hair and tall stone towers. She remains part of our popular culture thanks to countless children's books, as well as advertising, movies, and merchandise. Rapunzel, far from falling into historical obscurity, is very much a part of modern culture. However, she is far from the only maiden in a tower to be found in folklore. Her tale and those of other imprisoned women reach back hundreds of years and come from many cultures from around the world. This anthology of tales offers several stories similar to Rapunzel. A few better resemble the tale of Maid Maleen, another imprisoned daughter. Most are tales of other imprisoned maidens, princesses, and wives from around the world. Not all of the women are kept in literal towers, some are entombed instead, but all are unwilling captives. They are imprisoned by their parents for their own safety, as punishment, or to guard their virtue. Wives are imprisoned by jealous husbands hoping to avoid cuckolding. A few women are political prisoners. A surprising number of the tales come from France where tower prisons were popular devices of the French salon authors, especially Madame d'Aulnoy. This collection contains over fifty tales and stories--some well-known, some almost forgotten--reaching back to ancient myths and moving forward to recent centuries. Also included are two tales newly translated into English from the original French, "Persinette" and "Parsillette," the latter a rare variant of the tale with an unusual ending. Whether you are a student of folklore or an armchair enthusiast, this anthology offers a diverse array of tales with a unifying theme that both entertains and educates, all gathered for the first time in one helpful collection.

    Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Spotlight is a division of ABDO.

    Tales of brave heroes and heroines are retold alongside tales of wonderful magic, of strange and faithful creatures, and of how things first began. These fascinating stories are narrated in such a way that young listeners and young readers will find them easy to understand and enjoy.

    Old wives' tales, fairy tales, and folklore-whatever terms are chosen-are part of our earliest literature and have often provided the medium for women's voices, for women's stories. Like the women of the French Salons who used traditional stories to create and recreate tales that both inspired and criticized their world and its expectations, women writers have long been recording and rewriting fairy tales for their own generations. The practice continues up to current times and will easily continue on past our own generations into a distant future. One such author from the Victorian era was Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie, the eldest daughter of William Makepeace Thackeray. Ritchie rewrote nine fairy tales into short stories and novellas, exploring and reinterpreting the tales for the audience of her time. She wasn't the first to do so--and certainly not the last--but she firmly belongs in this literary legacy, one in which she has all too often been overlooked. Edited with a new introduction by Heidi Anne Heiner, this volume includes Anne Thackeray Ritchie's nine short stories and novellas from Five Old Friends and Bluebeard's Keys and Other Stories: "The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood," "Cinderella," "Beauty and the Beast," "Little Red Riding Hood," "Jack the Giant-killer," "Bluebeard's Keys," "Riquet a la Houppe," "Jack and the Bean-stalk," and "The White Cat." Additional materials include Ritchie's introduction to The Fairy Tales of Madame D'Aulnoy and "Bluebeard's Ghost" by William Makepeace Thackeray, Ritchie's father. Heidi Anne Heiner is the creator and keeper of one of the world's top folklore websites at SurLaLuneFairyTales.com."

    What could go wrong? Abu Nuwas sits in the bazaar on his threadbare rug; a cup and sign proclaim him a teller of tales. For one small coin, he bids passers by to listen. A poor girl, Najda, sells spices from a tray. Would he, she asks, trade a tale for a packet of spice? Abu Nuwas agrees and begins the epic adventures of a girl and her genie. As did Scheherazade before him, Abu leaves Najda hanging in the middle of each yarn to keep her coming back. Between stories, he questions the girl about her life. He discovers that she’s been promised in marriage to an old man whom she hates, but she must wed him to save her sick mother’s life. The rich bridegroom will pay for the doctors the mother needs. Meanwhile, Najda sells spices in the market to earn enough money to keep her mother alive. He relates the adventures of Setara, the bored daughter of a rich merchant, and her genie, Basit, as they encounter the creatures of legend and folklore: a lonely cave demon seeking a home; a flying, fire-breathing horse who has lost his mate; a dragon searching for his family; an evil genie hunting for the man who put him in a lamp; and a merboy prince cast out of his undersea kingdom.

    

    A handful are re-imaginings of old favorites, such as David Sklar’s Little Red Riding Hood, “Red ’Hood”, which could have happened—be happening—in any major city today; C. S. Inman’s lyrical Beauty and the Beast, “The Castle of Masks”; Cindy Lynn Speer’s regency-flavored Bluebeard, “A Necklace of Rubies”; and Imogen Howson’s futuristic “Falling”, a retelling of Rapunzel.Some of these stories are entirely new but still tell us tales we know in our heart of hearts. In “Dream-Drinker,” Heather Ingemar’s Isabele must rise to a frightening occasion and be the heroine she never dreamed she could be. In “Flame in the Night Regions,” J. A. Howe’s heroine fights to give the woman she loves exactly what she wants. Which, you know, in fairy tales never ends as well as one might like. Bree Donovan takes us to a thoroughly modern Ireland for a tale of a kind of green knight, a man who uncovers the best in everyone he meets.Trulie Peterson’s story, “Spellbound”, is a quest tale and the fairy tale of my youth. It’s the most traditional in style, made new and utterly beautiful, and then Francesca Forrest takes us back to the fairy tale before the Grimm brothers made it pretty in “The Gallows Maiden”. G. L. Simmons’ is a Jack story. In “The Orb of Enori,” an innocent Jac makes the right decisions for all the right reasons, despite what people might think. Joselle Vanderhooft’s lyrical prose marries grace and myth to make the villain real in “The Chess-Girl and the Sorcerer-King”. Finally, Mureall Hebert finishes the collection with a novella that takes us to another world, a once upon a time where Gods and Monsters touch the earth and are touched by it with “In the Light of the World There is a Tree”.There was no editor who could care for these stories any better than Cindy Lynn Speer, one of my favorite authors and a woman with a deft hand for a fairy tale. Whether the well-loved stories of my childhood re-imagined or new tales, I will treasure these stories just as long as I have those stories I read when I was far too old to be reading them. I hope you love them as much as I do. Deena Fisher, Publisher

    Business was bad. "Don't give up so easily," advised the cat. "Make me some beautiful boots, and I will do the rest!" This clever cat can deal with anything, even a shoe-loving monster.Ayano Imai's delightful twist on the classic Puss in Boots story, sees the loyal cat taking on a terrible monster-and winning.

    The stories in this book have their roots in an age-old oral story-telling tradition. They are very singular fairy tales for grown-ups - genuine and many-layered, contemporary, yet at the same time primeval. They have the surreal, fluid quality of dreams. Ilmar Lehtpere is the translator of The Drums of Silence (Oleander, 2007), awarded the Poetry Society Popescu Prize for European Poetry in Translation, and several other works by Kristiina Ehin.

    This book is an in-depth retelling of the classic fairy tale.

    

    There’s always another side to the story.

    But on their way to Grandma's house, Big Jet swoops down and steals the soup! How will the team get it back? Find out in this souper-duper adventure!Building on the success of the Baby Einstein's 93% U.S. brand awareness, Little Einsteins maintains the unique educational philosophy of using classical music, art, and real-world imagery to engage and teach preschoolers about the natural world around them.

    Jackson, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Debra Messing, Helen Mirren, Parminder Nagra, Sophie Okonedo, CCH Pounder, Alan Rickman, Jurnee Smollett, Charlize Theron, Blair Underwood, Forest Whitaker and Alfre Woodard with a special message from Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Original Music by South African legends by Johnny Clegg and Vusi Mahlasela, Directed by Alfre Woodard. The audiobook was a truly international affair recorded in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, London, and Johannesburg. The stories were chosen by the Nobel Laureate himself, from every region of Africa."We hope this audiobook will be enjoyed by people of all ages across the globe, increasing awareness of Africa's rich cultures while creating a better future for South Africa's most vulnerable children," said ANSA Executive Director Sharon Gelman.In his original foreword for the folktales, Nelson Mandela wrote, "It is my wish that the voice of the storyteller may never die in Africa, that all the children of the world may experience the wonder of books." The audiobook brings his vision full circle, as these timeless tales return to the oral tradition to be heard around the world.

    The girl wanders alone through the dark forest and soon spots a curious little house. When she knocks at the door, seven little dwarves welcome her in! Snow White lives happily with them for a time. Then, one day, the evil stepmother learns about the girl's new home. She has evil plans for her stepdaughter.

    In the new happy ending, Goldilocks makes up for her presumptuous infractions on the Three Bears' household by helping them make muffins with the berries she's picked from the woods near their home. Charming artwork--topped off with a tried-and-true recipe for homemade blueberry muffins--make this new edition of Goldilocks a story time treasure that is just right.

    Featuring lilting text and gorgeous illustrations by one of the film's animators, this jacketed picture book picks up where Disney's newest animated film The Princess and the Frog leaves off with an enchanting new princess story.

    A serial wife murderer, he keeps a horror chamber in which remains of all his previous matrimonial victims are secreted from his latest bride. She is given all the keys but forbidden to open one door of the castle. Astonishingly, this fairy tale was a nursery room staple, one of the tales translated into English from Charles Perrault's French Mother Goose Tales.Bluebeard: A Reader's Guide to the English Tradition is the first major study of the tale and its many variants (some, like -Mr. Fox, - native to England and America) in English: from the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century chapbooks, children's toybooks, pantomimes, melodramas, and circus spectaculars, through the twentieth century in music, literature, art, film, and theater.Chronicling the story's permutations, the book presents examples of English true-crime figures, male and female, called Bluebeards, from King Henry VIII to present-day examples. Bluebeard explores rare chapbooks and their illustrations and the English transformation of Bluebeard into a scimitar-wielding Turkish tyrant in a massively influential melodramatic spectacle in 1798. Following the killer's trail over the years, Casie E. Hermansson looks at the impact of nineteenth-century translations into English of the German fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, and the particularly English story of how Bluebeard came to be known as a pirate. This book will provide readers and scholars an invaluable and thorough grasp on the many strands of this tale over centuries of telling.