These stories introduce a new generation of readers to age-old Celtic favorites including "The Magic Shoes," "The Pot of Gold," and the great love story "Tír Na N'Óg." Included with each story are lively illustrations, background notes, motifs from the Celtic tradition, and a pronunciation guide.Author Biography: Una Leavy is the author of Harry's Stormy Night and Goodbye Pappa. Susan Field is a television set designer and the illustrator of The Sun, the Moon and the Silver Baboon and The Smallest Whale.

    He is a rogue, a mischief maker, and a wise, lovable creature who triumphs over larger foes.In this traditional Ashanti tale, Anansi sets out on a long, difficult journey. Threatened by Fish and Falcon, he is saved from terrible fates by his sons. But which of his sons should Anansi reward? Calling upon Nyame, the God of All Things, Anansi solves his predicament in a touching and highly resourceful fashion.In adapting this popular folktale, Gerald McDermott merges the old with the new, combining bold, rich color with traditional African design motifs and authentic Ashanti language rhythms. Anansi the Spider is a 1973 Caldecott Honor Book.

    . . SCREE . . .” Terry is half asleep when he hears the wailing, rising and falling like the waves of the sea. He wishes it were a dream, but he knows it isn’t. It isn’t an owl screeching, either. Or the Flannerys’ old cat. Could it be the Banshee—the ghostly figure of Irish legend who wails outside a house when death is near? Why would she come here? In spite of his fears, Terry goes out to confront her. Is it really the Banshee, or . . . something else?

    A retelling of the four books of the Mabinogion, a collection of Welsh medieval tales about the feats and exploits of legendary Welsh kings and princes.

    How could everyone in a castle - even the flies on the walls - sleep for a century and then wake up? This magical, beautifully illustrated tale begins when the king excludes the most difficult fairy of the kingdom from a feast celebrating the birth of his beautiful daughter Briar Rose. Furious, the fairy storms in and curses the baby, pronouncing that on her fifteenth birthday she will be pricked by a distaff (from a spinning wheel) and fall down dead. The youngest fairy softens the curse to a century-long sleep. Despite the fact that the king burns all the spinning wheels in the kingdom, 15-year-old Briar Rose finds herself in the tower where the evil fairy and her fate await her. The drama of the spell unfurls as she and the other inhabitants of the castle fall instantly asleep, from courtiers to kitchen maids. Thorny briars - moodily captured by Trina Schart Hyman's masterful paintbrush - grow up around the castle. Hyman depicts those who died attempting to break through the maze of thorns to reach the legendary sleeping beauty in a nightmarish illustration. But goodness and true love prevail when the perfect prince does finally find his way through the thick vines.Hyman won a Caldecott Medal for her work in Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges, and her version of The Sleeping Beauty makes us believe in the magic of the spell. The scenes inside the castle are alive with color and movement and rich with details that children will devour eagerly. Moods and expressions are rendered exquisitely, especially those of the wild, red-haired beauty Briar Rose. This wonderful read-aloud classic is one of Hyman's best.

    The magical storytelling of award-winning author Donna Jo Napoli dramatizes these timeless tales and ignites childrens' imaginations.

    If she does, she risks her immortality. Full color.

    Favourites such as Jack the Giant-killer, Jack and the Beanstalk, Dick Whittington, The Three Little Pigs and The Babes in the Wood are all here among many others, but stories from different traditions also make their appearance, including The Three Bears and Little Red Hiding Hood.

    Josephine Poole and Angela Barrett have created just such an edition of "Snow White." Beautiful color illustrations throughout.

    Learn all about the beautiful selkies of the Scottish seas, the wily iara of Brazil who love to outwit travelers, and the fearful Ningyo of Japan who can give you eternal life. This captivating book features a mix of mermaid "facts" and short retellings of some of the most magical and enticing traditional merfolk tales.

    This is the imaginative tale of a vain Emperor who is hilariously deceived due to his own vanity and dihonesty.The Emperor, who is swindled by two crooks posing as weavers, is fooled because of his desire to be both handsome and wise.In the end, the naked truth is made known by an innocent child, and the Emperor is exposed as the greatest fool of all.

    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.

    In this absorbing story his courage and chivalry are tested to the full when he swears to save the honour of his King by marrying the Loathly Lady.Winner of the 1985 Kate Greenaway Medal.

    It is, in its earliest form, a spontaneous and instinctive endeavor to shape the facts of the world to meet the needs of the imagination, the cravings of the heart.Classics included in this volume include:One Eye, Two Eyes, Three Eyes,The Magic Mirror,The Enchanted Stag,Hansel and Grethel,The Story of Aladdin,This Story of Ali Baba,The Second Voyage of Sinbad the Sailor,The White Cat,The Golden Goose,The Twelve Brothers,The Fair One With the Golden Locks,Tom Thumb,Blue Beard,Cinderella,Puss In Boots,The Sleeping Beauty In the Wood,Jack and The Bean-Stalk

    Dark and funny, lyrical and earthy, these fifty stories are part of an important and enduring historical tradition that dates back hundreds of years. Described by Neil Gaiman as the "master", Crossley-Holland's unforgettable retellings will capture the imagination of readers young and old alike.