From Sea to Shining Sea: A Treasury of American Folklore and Folk Songs


Amy L. CohnTrina Schart Hyman - 1993
    Illustrated by award-winning artists.

How to See Faeries


Brian Froud - 2011
    How does one discover faeries in one’s backyard or a garden, forest, or meadow? Through insets, hidden messages, magical signs, reflective mirrors, and other paper mechanics, Froud and Matthews reveal how anyone may discover the way to the land of Faerie. All you need is to believe and to own this book!

The Iron Wolf and Other Stories


Richard Adams - 1980
    Each has a special magic, an aura that is sometimes beautiful and fascinating, sombre and frightening, or exciting and colourful. But what unites all these stories is the essential quality of folk-lore, something that transcends the boundaries of nations, of custom and time, that gives them their permanence and universality of appeal. "Authors need folk-tales," Richard Adams says, "in the same way as composers need folk-song. They're the headspring of the narrator's art, where the story stands forth at its simple, irreducible best. They don't date, any more than dreams, for they are the collective dreams of humanity." In order to preserve as far as possible the immediacy and directness of authentic folk story-telling, each of the nineteen tales is presented as being told by an imagined narrator to one or more hearers at a particular time and place, sometimes past, sometimes present. However, the reader is never told the identity either of the teller or his hearers, but is left free to infer both them and the occasion solely from the narrator's own words. This original technique adds a novel dash of piquancy to this fine collection.

Folktales from India


A.K. Ramanujan - 1992
    Gods disguised as beggars and beasts, animals enacting Machiavellian intrigues, sagacious jesters and magical storytellers, wise counselors and foolish kings--all inhabit a fabular world, yet one that is also firmly grounded in everyday life. Here is an indispensable guide to India's ageless folklore tradition.With black-and-white illustrations throughoutPart of the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library

Italian Folktales


Italo Calvino - 1956
      Filled with kings and peasants, saints and ogres—as well as some quite extraordinary plants and animals—these two hundred tales bring to life Italy’s folklore, sometimes with earthy humor, sometimes with noble mystery, and sometimes with the playfulness of sheer nonsense.   Selected and retold by one of the country’s greatest literary icons, “this collection stands with the finest folktale collections anywhere” (The New York Times Book Review).   “For readers of any age . . . A masterwork.” —The Wall Street Journal   “A magic book, and a classic to boot.” —Time

Carmina Gadelica: Hymns and Incantations


Alexander Carmichael - 1992
    During his travels, Alexander Carmichael spent hours with peasants in their huts in front of peat fires listening as they "intoned in a low, recitative manner" these poems and prayers. This unique collection of living spirituality drawn from the depths of Celtic Christianity, represents a hidden oral tradition of great power and beauty, handed down through countless generations of Hebridean peasants.Previously available only as a bilingual text in six volumes, this edition in English contributes to a broader awareness of Celtic literature in general. John MacInnes' introduction puts the poems in the context of the life and folklore of the Gaelic community.

The Complete Fairy Tales


George MacDonald - 1882
    This volume brings together all eleven of his shorter fairy stories as well as his essay "The Fantastic Imagination". The subjects are those of traditional fantasy: good and wicked fairies, children embarking on elaborate quests, and journeys into unsettling dreamworlds. Within this familiar imaginative landscape, his children's stories were profoundly experimental, questioning the association of childhood with purity and innocence, and the need to separate fairy tale wonder from adult scepticism and disbelief.

An Earthly Knight


Janet McNaughton - 2003
    The year is 1162. Sixteen-year-old Jenny has always enjoyed her freedom as second daughter of a Norman nobleman in Teviotdale, Scotland. But when Jenny's sister, Isabel, disgraces the family by running away with a dangerous suitor, Jenny is thrust reluctantly into the role of elder daughter. While Jenny worries about her sister's future, her father's attention turns keenly toward Jenny, and finding her a worthy suitor. When Jenny is chosen as a potential bride for William de Warenne, brother of the king of Scotland and heir to the crown, redemption of her family's name seems within reach. Amid formal banquets and jousting tournaments, she struggles to impress the aloof Earl William. At the same time, however, she finds herself drawn to Tam Lin, a mysterious young man. Rumored to have been kidnapped by fairies, Tam harbors a dark secret from his past that threatens everyone close to him . . . including Jenny. Glimmering with exquisite detail, Janet McNaughton's beautifully woven story transports readers to a magical medieval world where one young woman navigates the forceful tides of tradition and the ancient power of fairies to define her own destiny.

Tam O'Shanter


Robert Burns - 1791
    It's considered a classic poem and was written in a mix of English and Scots. The poem concerns a Scotsman who, on his way home late one night, comes across a hellish supernatural scene.This ISBN (9780907526506) refers to the Alloway Publishing printed edition of the poem.

Puss in Boots


Charles Perrault - 1697
    So the question arises: Do we really need another edition of Puss? Presented with Fred Marcellino's magnificent interpretation of this nimble new translation of the authentic text, book lovers young and old are apt to decide that this Puss in Boots belongs on their shelf of special favorites.Long regarded as the preeminent designer of book jackets in America, Fred Marcellino provides an unstinting visual feast in his first full-color picture book. The eadventures of that rascal, Puss, and his master, the miller's sonare portrayed in a lavish series of illustrations that range from sumptuous grandeur to comedy both boisterous and sly.

The Girl Who Married a Skull: and Other African Stories


Kel McDonald - 2014
    But surely you've heard the story about the crocodiles who held a vote on whether or not to eat a man that had saved one of their lives? NO? Wow. Have we got some stories for you.

A Flight of Angels


Rebecca Guay - 2011
    They call a tribunal to decide his fate, each telling stories that delve into different interpretations of these winged, celestial beings: tales of dangerous angels, all-powerful angels, guardian angels and death angels, that range from the mystical to the mysterious to the macabre.This original graphic novel spotlights the painted work of award-winning artist Rebecca Guay, whose other workds include the Vertigo titles VEILS and DESTINY: A CHRONICLE OF DEATHS FORETOLD, as well as World of Warcraft, Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons.

Legends of the Celts


Frank Delaney - 1989
    Recognize themes that appear in the myths of other lands (such as the story of Tristan and Iseult), and find the amazing reasons behind the parallels.

Anansi and the Magic Stick


Eric A. Kimmel - 2001
    Warthog, Lion, and Zebra laugh so hard at his messy house that they wake him up. Anansi stomps off in a huff--right into an amazing secret! Hyena has a magic stick that follows his orders. If Anansi steals the stick, he'll never have to work again, and his home will be the neatest one in town. Is the magic stick his secret for success? Or the beginning of disasters he can't even imagine?

Magic Unbound


Jill Nojack - 2013
    When Eamon slips an ancient amulet around her neck, the memories of Lizbet’s many past lives come slamming back to her to change her summer plans in a way she could never have expected.Forced to go on the run when murderous monks show up at the back door, Lizbet hops a plane to Scotland accompanied by Eamon, the whispering voices of her past lives, and geekily cute James, the college boy from next door. Not only does she have to dodge the monks, but she’s racing against time and greedy land developers to prevent the entire race of the Fae from being destroyed.The only thing Lizbet knows for sure is that if she fails and can't produce a few live fairies at the end of her journey, she is going to be grounded for life...and probably for her next life, too.