The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan


Beatrix Potter - 1905
    The aim of these editions is to be as close as possible to Beatrix Potter's intentions while benefiting from modern printing and design techniques. The colours and details of the watercolours in the volumes are reproduced more accurately than ever before, and it has now been possible to disguise damage that has affected the artwork over the years. Most notably, The Tale of Peter Rabbit restores six of Potter's original illustrations. Four were sacrificed in 1903 to make space for illustrated endpapers, and two have never been used before. Of course, Beatrix Potter created many memorable children's characters, including Benjamin Bunny, Tom Kitten, Jemima Puddle-duck and Jeremy Fisher. But whatever the tale, both children and adults alike can be delighted by the artistry in Potter's illustrations, while they also enjoy a very good read. Because they have always been completely true to a child's experience, Potter's 23 books continue to endure.

Crimson Twilight


Heather Graham - 2014
    What could be happier than the event of their wedding? Their Krewe friends will all be there, and the event will take place in a medieval castle transported brick by brick to the New England coast. Everyone is festive and thrilled . . . until the priest turns up dead just hours before the nuptials. Jane and Sloan must find the truth behind the man and the murder—the secrets of the living and the dead—before they find themselves bound for eternity—not in wedded bliss but in the darkness of an historical wrong and their own brutal deaths.

Old Mother West Wind


Thornton W. Burgess - 1914
    Burgess said that imagination was "the birthright of every child." His Old Mother West Wind stories, first published in 1910, have worked their magic on generations of children.

Hazel and Gray


Nic Stone - 2020
    A beckoning mansion in a dark clearing. A short modern-day retelling of Hansel and Gretel by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin.It’s bad enough that Hazel and Gray have defied the demands of Hazel’s foul stepfather. The Monster has forbidden their romance. Now they’ve awakened in the forest, phones dead, hours past curfew. But not far away is a grand estate in the middle of nowhere. The door is open. In this short story about choosing your own path, the fury of the Monster that awaits them back home may be nothing compared to what lies ahead.

The Diamond as Big as the Ritz


F. Scott Fitzgerald - 1922
    Scott Fitzgerald’s ongoing lush fantasies about the extremes of wealth with his much more somber understanding of what underpins it.  Loosely inspired by a summer he spent as a teenager working on a ranch in Montana, The Diamond as Big as the Ritz is Fitzgerald’s hallucinatory paean to the American West and all its promises.It’s the story of John T. Unger, a young Southerner who goes to Montana for summer vacation with a wealthy college classmate. But the classmate’s family proves to be much more than simply wealthy: They own a mountain made entirely of one solid diamond. And they’ve gone to dreadful lengths to conceal their secret … meaning John could be in danger.But the family also has a daughter, lovely Kismine, and with her help, John may yet escape the fate her family has meted out to all their other guests so far …

Down The Chimney


Debra Dunbar - 2018
    Roped into being the Ruling Council's Christmas ambassador, Sam finds herself more Santa than Satan at a slew of human social events, all while trying to score an impossible-to-get gift for Lux and plan the most amazing Christmas celebration any imp has ever thrown.

The Throme of the Erril of Sherill


Patricia A. McKillip - 1973
    Brave Cnite Caerles seeks her hand, but her father the King has set a price: You want Damsen. I want the Throme of Sherill. Find it for me and I will give you anything you want. And so begins a quest that will wind from the Mirk Well of Morg to the borebel pits to the Floral Wold to the Dolorous House of a dead Dolerman and, finally, to the Western Wellsprings, where the answer to the Everything lies.

The Boy Who Cried Over Everything


Betsy Childs - 2011
    An experience with a slingshot and a sparrow helps him realize that it's okay to cry when you are sad, but it's best not to cry when you're mad.

Zachary Zombie and the Lost Boy


John H. Carroll - 2011
    She sent him to fetch newts from the forest. Along the way, he finds a lost boy named Tobias who had been following an emo bunny in the hopes of holding it and making it feel better. When the boy asks nicely for help getting to his home in the village, Zachary agrees.Along the way, they run into a cranky stag and a pretty woman who dreams of meeting a prince. A party in the cemetery isn’t the proper place to take a boy, but zombies aren’t always proper and one of the worst things about villagers is that they always seem to have a supply of pitchforks and torches.Will the boy make it home? Will Zachary give in to the craving for brainsss?Caution: This story is not for normal children. If you have any intention of raising a well adjusted child, this is not the right tale for you.

Now & Grim: A Grimlock Family Short


Amanda M. Lee - 2018
    All of that flies out the window when his girlfriend Maya insists on a double date with her brother and his sister. And, to make matters worse, she picks the activity … and it’s a Shakespeare in the Park event. Culture and the Grimlocks? Uh-oh. In short order, Cillian finds himself saddled with his drunk sister, his girlfriend’s intense brother, and a murder that didn’t show up on the reaper list. Oh, it also happened in public, and there are suspects around every corner. Unsure where to turn, Cillian calls his father and it’s up to the Grimlock family to solve the murder, track down the errant soul, and somehow keep his sister Aisling from causing his father to explode. So, basically, it’s a normal summer night … as long as no one gets hurt in the process, that is. Note: This is a 28,000-word short set in the Aisling Grimlock world. It’s set in the past so it can be read at any time.

The Man in the Black Suit: 4 Dark Tales


Stephen King - 1994
    I don't want to think of him, but I can't help it, and sometimes at night my old heart beats so hard and so fast I think it will tear itself right clear of my chest." A haunting recollection of a mysterious boyhood event, The Man in Black Suit read by John Cullum leads off this masterful collection from Stephen King. Other dark tales include: All That You Love Will Be Carried Away read by Peter Gerety, in which a man checks into a Lincoln, Nebraska Motel 6 to find the meaning in his life; That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French read by Becky Ann Baker presents the ultimate case of déejàa vu; and The Death of Jack Hamilton read by Arliss Howard -- a blistering tale of Depression-era outlaws on the run. Whether writing about encounters with the dead, the near dead, or about the mundane dreads of life, Stephen King's The Man In The Black Suit: Four Dark Tales is intense, eerie and instantly compelling.

Straw Into Gold


Gary D. Schmidt - 2001
    A former nursemaid to the queen’s child tells the boys that the banished queen may have the answer they seek. Danger presents itself at every turn, for the boys are pursued by the Great Barons, who are secretly plotting against the king. Another pursuer, the greedy King’s Grip, reveals a strange story of a little man who once spun straw into gold of incredible beauty for the queen but then disappeared with her firstborn son. Tousle realizes that the man he calls Da is the strange little man and, even more amazing, that he himself may be the lost prince. Or could it be Innes, who although cruelly blinded can hear the music of the dawn?This skillful blend of fantasy and adventure reveals what might have happened before the queen makes her third and last guess and the story of Rumpelstiltskin—as we know it—ends.

The Music Fairies: #1-7


Daisy Meadows - 2008
    Now Jack Frost and his pesky goblins have stolen all of the Music Fairies' magical instruments. The fairies need Kirsty and Rachel's help to find them, or the music in Fairyland will sound out of tune forever!Includes Poppy the Piano Fairy, Ellie the Guitar Fairy, Fiona the Flute Fairy, Danni the Drum Fairy, Maya the Harp Fairy, Victoria the Violin Fairy, and Sadie the Saxophone Fairy.

The Crystal Crypt


Philip K. Dick - 1954
    For the black-clad Leiters were on the prowl ... and the grim red planet was not far behind. First published in 1954.

Ava's Revenge


Teyla Branton - 2014
    One stark day in 1745, everything she loved was taken from her, ripped away by the very man who should have protected her. Somehow, miraculously, Ava survived. Now it was time for revenge. Long before Ava O’Hare became the successful leader of a modern-day Renegade cell, she had other battles to fight. If you’ve enjoyed the Unbounded series, you will love this extra peek into the events that shaped Ava’s life and made her a Guardian of Humanity. Please note: Ava’s Revenge is not as long as the books from Erin's viewpoint. It is a tie-in to the series and can be enjoyed at any time. However, the last scene is present day and fits into the Unbounded timeline just after the end of The Change (Unbounded Book 1), so readers may better appreciate Ava’s Revenge after reading the first book.