The Iron Man


Ted Hughes - 1968
    A trap is set for him, but he cannot be kept down. Then, when a terrible monster from outer space threatens to lay waste to the planet, it is the Iron Man who finds a way to save the world.

Tales of Mystery and Madness


Edgar Allan Poe - 2011
    The grim death known as the plague roams a masquerade ball dressed in red....A dwarf seeks his final revenge on his captors....A sister calls to her beloved twin from beyond the grave....Prepare yourself. You are about to enter a world where you will be shocked, terrified, and, though you'll be too scared to admit it at first, secretly thrilled. Here are four tales -- "The Black Cat, The Masque of the Red Death, Hop-Frog, " and "The Fall of the House of Usher" -- by the master of the macabre, Edgar Allan Poe. The original tales have been ever so slightly dismembered -- but, of course, Poe understood dismemberment very well. And he would shriek in ghoulish delight at Gris Grimly's gruesomely delectable illustrations that adorn every page. So prepare yourself. And keep the lights on.

Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale


John Steptoe - 1987
    Who will the king choose?Award-winning artist John Steptoe’s rich cultural imagery of Africa earned him the Coretta Scott King Award for Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters. The book also went on to win the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. This stunning story is a timeless treasure that readers will enjoy for generations.Coretta Scott King Award for IllustrationCaledcott HonorReading Rainbow BookBoston Globe-Horn Book

A Charlie Brown Christmas


Charles M. Schulz - 1965
    It seems like everybody has forgotten what Christmas is truly about. But Lucy, Linus, and the whole Peanuts gang have some holiday surprises that will make even Charlie Brown feel merry!

Fairy Tale Comics: Classic Tales Told by Extraordinary Cartoonists


Chris DuffyCraig Thompson - 2013
    Seventeen fairy tales are wonderfully adapted and illustrated in comics format by seventeen different cartoonists, including Raina Telgemeier, Brett Helquist, Cherise Harper, and more. Edited by Nursery Rhyme Comics' Chris Duffy, this jacketed hardcover is a beautiful gift and an instant classic.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs


Wanda Gág - 1938
    She always gets the answer she wants, until Snow White turns seven, and the mirror must truthfully answer, "Snow White." At the news, the Queen turns yellow and green with envy and commands the huntsman to kill Snow White and bring her "lung and liver as a token." Thus begins another enchanting fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm! Kirkus Reviews called this collaboration between Randall and Nancy Eckholm Burkert "a sort of legend even before its time of publication." Jarrell also wrote The Bat-Poet and The Animal Family, a Newbery Honor Book. Jarrell retained the Grimm (and grim) ending to the tale, as the stepmother is forced to dance to her death. Burkert's illustrations are magical, light-filled creations that more than earn the book its Caldecott Honor Book status. This delightful book's extra-large format showcases the fabulously detailed illustrations, alternating two facing pages of art with two pages of straight text. This is an unforgettable interpretation of a well-loved story. (Ages 6 to 9)

Goldilocks and the Three Bears


Jan Brett - 1987
    Jan Brett's lavish illustrations for this classic tale, full of details and surprises, gives this edition a special flair. Children will marvel at the enchanted world created herein.

The Ordinary Princess


M.M. Kaye - 1980
    Unlike her six beautiful sisters, she has brown hair and freckles, and would rather have adventures than play the harp, embroider tapestries . . . or become a Queen. When her royal parents try to marry her off, Amy runs away and, because she's so ordinary, easily becomes the fourteenth assistant kitchen maid at a neighboring palace. And there . . . much to everyone's surprise . . . she meets a prince just as ordinary (and special) as she is!"This delightful fairy tale is sure to please young romantics . . . Neither Kaye's princess nor her book should be considered ordinary." (School Library Journal)

A Bear Called Paddington


Michael Bond - 1958
    and Mrs. Brown first met Paddington, a most endearing bear from Darkest Peru on a railway platform in London. A sign hanging around his neck said, "Please look after this bear. Thank you" So that is just what they did.From the very first night when he attempted his first bath and ended up nearly flooding the house, Paddington was seldom far from imminent disaster. Jonathan and Judy were delighted with this havoc and even Mr. and Mrs. Brown had to admit that life seemed to be more filled with adventure when there was a bear in the house.

The Tale of Tsar Saltan


Alexander Pushkin - 1831
    Betrayed by her sisters, a tsarina and her infant son are marooned on a barren island until a magical swan helps them regain their rightful heritage.

Puff, the Magic Dragon


Peter Yarrow - 2007
    Yet singer/songwriter Peter Yarrow and co-composer Lenny Lipton have never allowed a picture book adaptation of this magical tale…until now. With Yarrow’s and Lipton’s blessing, Puff, Jackie Paper, and the land of Honalee finally live on the page. The exquisite package includes a cloth case with a tipped-in illustration and an embossed jacket with foil touches, as well as an exclusive CD featuring not only Puff, but several other songs performed by Yarrow, his daughter Bethany, and cellist Rufus Cappadocia. This is a publishing event sure to attract broad attention and please Puff’s many fans.In richly-hued paintings of the deepest sea blues and greens, Puff and his friend Jackie Paper frolic in the land of Honalee—traveling in a fantastic boat with billowed sails, climbing red castle stairs onto a balcony to meet with noble kings and princes, and watching pirate ships lower their flags for the roaring dragon. Artist Eric Puybaret has brought an entire magical world into being with enthralling landscapes, color, and characters. And everyone will love the way the art cleverly turns the song’s end, which at first seemed so sad, into a surprising and joyful moment.Best of all—this is only the first of many more collaborations with Peter Yarrow to come!

Little Red Riding Hood


Vera Southgate - 1920
    The tale is sensitively retold, retaining all the key parts of the story beginning with Little Red Riding Hood heading to her grandmother's house, only to meet with the big bad wolf! Other exciting titles in the Ladybird Tales series include The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Cinderella, The Three Little Pigs, Jack and the Beanstalk, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Gingerbread Man, Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty, Rumpelstiltskin, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Rapunzel, The Magic Porridge Pot, The Enormous Turnip, Puss in Boots, The Elves and the Shoemaker, The Big Pancake, Dick Whittington, Chicken Licken, Princess and the Frog, The Ugly Duckling, Little Red Hen, Beauty and the Beast and The Princess and the Pea. Ladybird Tales are based on the original Ladybird retellings by Vera Southgate, with beautiful pictures of the kind children like best - full of richness and detail. Children have always loved, and will always remember, these classic fairy tales and sharing them together is an experience to treasure. Ladybird has published fairy tales for over forty-five years, bringing the magic of traditional stories to each new generation of children.

Disney's Beauty and the Beast


Teddy Slater - 1991
    Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is retold in the classic Little Golden Book format.

The Three Pigs


David Wiesner - 2001
    But when the Big Bad Wolf comes looking for a snack, he huffs and puffs the first little pig right out of the story . . . and into the realm of pure imagination! Dialogue balloons pepper a wide variety of illustration styles taking readers through a dazzling fantasy universe to the surprising and happy ending. You will never look at “The Three Little Pigs”—or artwork—the same way again!"A funny, wildly imaginative tale that encourages readers to leap beyond the familiar; to think critically about conventional stories and illustration, and perhaps, to flex their imaginations and create wonderfully subversive versions of their own stories." — ALA Booklist , Starred Review

The Lump of Coal


Lemony Snicket - 2008
    This is a story about a lump of coal who can think, talk, and move itself around.Is there a more charming holiday tale to behold? Probably, but Lemony Snicket has not written one.