Chapters: The Stars' Tennis Balls, Making History, the Liar, the Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within, Moab Is My Washpot, the Hippopotamus, Paperweight, Stephen Fry's Incomplete and Utter History of Classical Music. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: The Stars' Tennis Balls is a psychological thriller novel by Stephen Fry, first published in 2000. In the United States, the title was changed to Revenge. In the Afterword to the 2003 American edition, Fry admits that the story "is a straight steal, virtually identical in all but period and style to Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo" but denies plagiarism, since Dumas also admits that the plot was taken from a contemporary urban legend. The main character, Edward (Ted/Tedward) Maddstone, is a seventeen year old schoolboy who appears to be the sort of person for whom everything goes right. He is captain of school, talented at sports and following in the footsteps of his father towards Oxford University, then a career in politics. He is happy and has fallen in love with a girl called Portia. But a few bizarre twists and turns of fate ensure that his life is turned upside down. As mentioned above, the plot is extremely similar to the story of The Count of Monte Cristo. The original title comes from a quotation taken from John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi. In full it reads: "We are merely the stars' tennis balls, struck and banded which way please them." The novel's dedication reads simply "To M'Colleague" - "M'Colleague" being the name by which Fry and Hugh Laurie referred to each other in their TV sketch show A Bit of Fry and Laurie.

    Twelve-year-old Marco knows he is being trained for something, but he isn't sure what. All his life he has traveled with his father in secrecy, learning many languages and the ways of a gentleman, but forbidden to speak about their country of origin, Samavia. Samavia has been fraught with war for the last 500 years, ever since the prince mysteriously disappeared. But now, there is hope that peace may come at last, as it has been rumored that a descendant of the lost prince may have been found.

    But he takes the funny fruit from the tree back into the house - and gets the shock and delight of his life when a tiny dragon hatches! The tree is a dragonfruit tree, and Tomas has got his very own dragon, Flicker ...Tomas soon finds out that life with Flicker is great fun, but also very ... unpredictable. Yes, dragons are wonderful, but they also set fire to your toothbruth and leave your pants hanging from the TV aerial. Tomas has to learn how to look after Flicker - and quickly. And then something extraordinary happens - more dragonfruits appear on the tree. Tomas is officially growing dragons ...

    Her pony's accident provides Cassie with an introduction to show horses.

    in full color. "The hero of this hilarious tale discovers that in attempting to avoid trouble one often encounters even greater difficulties. Seuss fans will be enthralled."--Childhood Education.

    Marden reports that some of her valuables have gone missing, the twins investigate.

    He was there to open his present--a teddy bear--and to watch his older sisters and brother open their gifts. His siblings went off to play with each other's new toys, but nobody wanted to play with Morris's bear. So Morris found something new to play with--a disappearing bag. He jumped right in and became invisible! Now he has something everybody wants to try. But they have to find him first. This warm and humorous story proves that sometimes the littlest bunny gets the last laugh.* "Irresistible . . . The author-artist does some wonderful things with Morris's cars and eyes, expressing exactly the sentiments of a put-out preschool rabbit."--Booklist, starred review

    Travers, the author featured in the major motion picture, Saving Mr. Banks. From the moment Mary Poppins arrives at Number Seventeen Cherry-Tree Lane, everyday life at the Banks house is forever changed. It all starts when Mary Poppins is blown by the east wind onto the doorstep of the Banks house. She becomes a most unusual nanny to Jane, Michael, and the twins. Who else but Mary Poppins can slide up banisters, pull an entire armchair out of an empty carpetbag, and make a dose of medicine taste like delicious lime-juice cordial? A day with Mary Poppins is a day of magic and make-believe come to life!

    She′s funny. She′s lively. She has the mind of a Great Detective ...Dear DiaryIt′s official. Our whole family has moved to the country. The pets are disturbed and restless. My sisters are disturbed and restless -- although that′s normal. What is not normal is a cursed fox and a haunted clubhouse. That is definitely unnormal.At least the country people now have an expert in their midst. Someone with a cool head and a sharp eye. Someone who can solve intriguing mysteries and knows how to keep detailed Secret Spy Files.Really, it′s lucky I came along when I did.TrulyTanAges:8--12

    Nights with Uncle Remus gathers seventy-one of Harris's most popular narratives, featuring African American trickster tales, etiological myths, Sea Island legends, and chilling ghost stories. Told through the distinct voices of four slave storytellers, indispensable tales like "The Moon in the Mill-Pond" and other Brer Rabbit stories have inspired writers from Mark Twain to William Faulkner, Zora Neale Hurston to Toni Morrison, and helped revolutionize modern children's literature and folktale collecting.

    But there is one big problem...someone has already taken it. Will we find out who the donut thief is? Read along and help Sammy solve the case of the missing donut! This is a read aloud kids book and is easy to read. The target age range audience is for toddlers, preschool and young children. The Donut Thief is a book that any child will love, especially at bedtime. This book is suitable for parents to read to their children. Grandparents will definitely enjoy reading this book to their grandchildren. Read this children's book FREE as part of your PRIME or Kindle Unlimited membership!

    This is to keep you on the edge with each turn in the alleys of the Labyrinth.Labyrinth: Short Stories is an array of fifteen tales that cover genres like adventure, romance, paranormal, fantasy, history, and many more.Summary Of The BookLabyrinth: Short Stories, published in 2012, is a collection of fifteen short stories written by various Indian authors. Each tale belongs to a different genre and era, thereby giving this book a unique and refreshing feel. Labyrinth: Short Stories starts off with The Martyr, which has been written by Mainak Dhar. It revolves around young Kemal who finds himself in the middle of a war in Afghanistan. Puppet Show, by Aditi Chincholi, explains how a doctor cannot find a way to break a spell that has been cast over the natives of a valley.Bagheera Log Huts takes readers into the heart of an Indian jungle, where the search for a wild cat turns into an unexpected adventure. Shawn Pereira’s I'll Be Back describes an out-of-body experience, which shows how things can take a downward spiral when one is caught in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Aditi Chincholi’s second story, Sym World, is set in a fantasy land which the protagonist Kyoto has willingly entered, but cannot find a way out. In Mortified, written by Jeevan Varma, readers will find themselves in a small Indian township where a mortified Sharmaji is going to be attacked. This is followed by Crashing Impacts, a tale of love and sacrifice that spans almost ten years.Rishabh Chaturvedi’s The Night Of The Wokambee describes how Revant is in a quandary when a strange creature visits his house every night. Both Mists of Time by Niharika Puri, and Russkaya Rulyetka by Shawn Pereira, illustrate how a person makes impulsive decisions when he is overcome with rage and jealousy. Candies shows readers that the pursuit of love is filled with ups and downs. Travel Through The Night, authored by Rishabh Chaturvedi, follows the protagonist into dense sugarcane plantations, where he encounters strange spirits who block his path. A Day of Battle is set during the great epic battle of the Mahabharata, and the author Abhishek Dwivedi shares stories of the bravery of some of the best warriors that this world has ever seen. The next story, Farming On Facebook by Sushant Dharwadkar, takes a huge time leap, and shows how the present generation is unaware of the real world, as their focus lies only on the screens in front of them. About The AuthorsLabyrinth: Short Stories has been written by Mainak Dhar, Richard Fernandes, Jeevan Verma, Rishabh Chaturvedi, Niharika Puri, Aditi Chincholi, Abhishek Dwivedi, Sushant Dharwadkar, Rohit Das, and Shawn Pereira. They are a part of the initiative by Litizen.com. Professionally they are accountants, chefs, media professionals, doctors, and students.

    Treated as a failure at school, and unhappy at home, Billy discovers a new passion in life when he finds Kes, a kestrel hawk. Billy identifies with her silent strength and she inspires in him the trust and love that nothing else can, discovering through her the passion missing from his life. Barry Hines's acclaimed novel continues to reach new generations of teenagers and adults with its powerful story of survival in a tough, joyless world.

    If your little boy loves dump trucks, diggers, and building fun, Diggy is sure to be a treat! For fans of "Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site," and "Where do Diggers Sleep at Night."

    THE 'MUST-HAVE' COMPLETE COLLECTIONIn this irresistible, 'must-have' collection you get ALL the Legendary Ancient Writers, AND get ALL their plays, books and works at the same time. But that is not all..MULTIPLE TRANSLATIONSIn addition, you will also get 2 other important benefits:*Multiple translations of many of the works, covering their translation into Rhyming Verse, Blank Verse and Prose.*In-Depth Footnotes, Introductions and Explanations.INCLUDED WORKS: WORKS OF HOMER:THE ILIAD*ALEXANDER POPE TRANSLATION - Verse*SAMUEL BUTLER TRANSLATION - Prose*EARL OF DERBY TRANSLATION - Verse*LANG, LEAF, MYERS TRANSLATION - Prose*WILLIAM COWPER TRANSLATION - Blank VerseTHE ODYSSEY*ALEXANDER POPE TRANSLATION - Verse*SAMUEL BUTLER TRANSLATION - Prose*LANG, BUTCHER TRANSLATION - Prose*WILLIAM COWPER TRANSLATION - Blank VerseWORKS OF OVID:*HEORIDES *ARS AMORICA, AMORES (The Love Poems)*METAMORPHOSESWORKS OF SOPHOCLESTHE OEDIPUS TRILOGY:*ANTIGONE*KING OEDIPUS*OEDIPUS AT COLONOS*AIAS*ELECTRA*THE TRACHINIAN MAIDENS*PHILOCTETESWORKS OF VIRGIL*THE AENEID - Prose*THE AENEID - Verse*ECOLOGUES*GEORGICSWORKS OF APOLLONIUS*ARGONAUTICA (JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS,THE GOLDEN FLEECE)WORKS OF QUINTUS*POSTHOMERICAWORKS OF HESIOD*WORK AND DAYS*THEOGONY*HOMERICA AND HYMNS(including many rarities such as 'Contest between Hesiod and Homer' and 'The Small Iliad')WORKS OF EURIPIDES*ANDROMACHE*RHESUS*HECUBA*ION*HERACLES*HERACLIEDAE*HELEN*ELECTRA*CYCLOPS*ALCESTIS*ORESTES*PHOENISSAE*MEDEA*HIPPOLYTUS*BACCHAE*IPHIGENIA IN AULIDE*IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS*TROJAN WOMENWORKS OF APULEIUS*THE GOLDEN ASS*APOLOGIA (A DISCOURSE IN MAGIC)WORKS OF APOLLODORUS*LIBRARYWORKS OF AESOP*COMPLETE FABLESWORKS OF AESCHYLUS*PERSIANS*PROMETHEUS BOUND*SEVEN AGAINST THEBES*SUPPLIANTS*AGAMEMNON*LIBATION BEARERS*EUMENIDES*CHOEPORIWORKS OF ARISTOPHANES*THE ELEVEN COMEDIESYOUR ENVIABLE COLLECTIONImagine the joy of having this exclusive collection, which rivals many libraries, at your fingertips. Imagine the incredible pleasure of reading these nuggets of literature gold, discovering inspiration in the kind of fantastic, mythological tales you love.PLUS YOU GET FREE BONUSES:*Biographies of each of the Writers - Details of their colorful histories, intriguing personal lives and remarkable adventures in the ancient world.*Easy to navigate 'Table of Contents' - jump between works and between chapters in each work easily.