The Treachery of Beautiful Things


Ruth Frances Long - 2012
    Now seventeen, she revisits the woods where Tom was taken, resolving to say good-bye at last. Instead, she's lured into the trees, where she finds strange and dangerous creatures who seem to consider her the threat. Among them is Jack, mercurial and magnetic, with secrets of his own. Determined to find her brother, with or without Jack's help, Jenny struggles to navigate a faerie world where stunning beauty masks some of the most treacherous evils, and she's faced with a choice between salvation or sacrifice--and not just her own.

The Dragonology Handbook: A Practical Course in Dragons


Dugald A. Steer - 2005
    Among the volume's charming novelty elements are:—Dr. Drake's own school report card— A pullout official ID card from the Secret & Ancient Society ofDragonologists—Four sheets of stickers featuring dragons, gems, vintage ads and posters — and more!

Something Rich and Strange


Patricia A. McKillip - 1994
    They fill our myths, our legends, and the stories we tell our children in the dark of night. They come from the air, from water, from earth, and from fire. What are these creatures that enjoin out imagination? Faeries. Something Rich and Strange creates a faerie story that's not to be missed: Megan is an artist who draws seascapes. Jonah owns a shop devoted to treasures from the deep. Their lives, so strongly touched by the ocean, become forever intertwined when enchanting people of the sea lure them further into the underwater world—and away from each other.

Dreams and Shadows


C. Robert Cargill - 2013
    Robert Cargill—part Neil Gaiman, part Guillermo Del Toro, part William S. Burroughs—that charts the lives of two boys from their star-crossed childhood in the realm of magic and mystery to their anguished adulthoodsThere is another world than our own—one no closer than a kiss and one no further than our nightmares—where all the stuff of which dreams are made is real and magic is just a step away. But once you see that world, you will never be the same.Dreams and Shadows takes us beyond this veil. Once bold explorers and youthful denizens of this magical realm, Ewan is now an Austin musician who just met his dream girl, and Colby, meanwhile, cannot escape the consequences of an innocent wish. But while Ewan and Colby left the Limestone Kingdom as children, it has never forgotten them. And in a world where angels relax on rooftops, whiskey-swilling genies argue metaphysics with foul-mouthed wizards, and monsters in the shadows feed on fear, you can never outrun your fate.Dreams and Shadows is a stunning and evocative debut about the magic and monsters in our world and in our self.

In the Realm of the Never Fairies: The Secret World of Pixie Hollow


Monique Peterson - 2006
    For just beyond the world you see, there is another world where the air shimmers with pixie dust and the impossible happens every day. Far beyond the horizon, on the magical island of Never Land, there is a patch of forest called Pixie Hollow. Never fairies have lived in these enchanted woods for as long as anyone can remember, in a realm that is all their own. Here, butterfly-herding fairies guide their flocks to fields of flowers. Water fairies create symphonies from the tiniest trickles of water. Harvest fairies collect honeysuckle nectar by hand, and animal fairies chat with hummingbirds in their own language. For among the Never fairies, there is a talent for every task, and each thing the fairies do is touched with magic. Now you can step into Pixie Hollow and take a good look around, with this complete guide to the fascinating world of the Never fairies. Learn what fairies eat for dinner, where pixie dust comes from, how to cure the fairy flu, and much more. With loads of fairy facts, profiles of your favorite fairies, and beautiful illustrations on every page, this is the ultimate guide for anyone who believes in fairies.

Rackham's Fairy Tale Illustrations


Arthur Rackham - 1979
    Combining a sensitive use of line and subdued watercolors, he skillfully depicted forests of startling trees with claw-like roots, wholesome fairy maidens, monsters, and demons, and backgrounds filled with obscure figures. His inspired illustrations for the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm (1900) brought him his first great success, with a long and distinguished career to follow.This collection of 55 full-color plates, reproduced from rare early editions, contains a rich selection of Rackham's best fairy tale images: a giant terrorizing the inhabitants of an isolated village in English Fairy Tales, a wicked witch greeting two lost children on her doorstep in Hansel and Gretel, a young maiden beset by snarling wolves in Irish Fairy Tales, and many more, including illustrations from Snowdrop and Other Tales, Little Brother and Little Sister, and The Allies' Fairy Book.

Full of Briars


Seanan McGuire - 2016
    Squire. Hockey fan. Canadian. And Crown Prince to the entire continent of North America, known as “the Westlands” to the fae, currently ruled by his parents, High King Aethlin and High Queen Maida. Not that most people know that, since he’s a blind foster squired to a changeling—not exactly something that screams “hidden royalty.”But with a new Queen on the throne in the Mists, his parents have finally come to town to see how he’s doing…and to take him home with them. That’s going to be a problem, since Quentin doesn’t particularly want to leave, and his knight, Sir October Daye, doesn’t particularly want to let him go.Set after Chimes at Midnight and before The Winter Long, it’s finally time to meet the parents in our first-ever story narrated by Quentin himself.

The Fair Folk


Marvin Kaye - 2007
     In "The Kelpie," by Patricia A. McKillip, a carefree circle of bohemian artists is confronted by a being more powerful than any muse. Jane Yolen and Midori Snyder weave a tale of two sisters long-exiled from their magical realm who must survive in ours, in "Except the Queen." In Tanith Lee's "UOUS," a young woman with a rotten family is granted three wishes by a handsome elf-and learns that nothing good comes free of charge. A hapless slob finds his world turned upside-down when an eager brownie moves in and proceeds to clean house, in Megan Lindholm's "Grace Notes." Kim Newman introduces an intrepid government investigator whose latest case pits him against a sinister brood of fairy folk known as "The Gypsies in the Wood." And the serenity of the Elves is tested in a wry fable of a long-suffering magical apprentice who can't catch a break, in Craig Shaw Gardner's "The Embarrassment of Elves.

Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg


Gail Carson Levine - 2005
    It's bad enough that she has no idea what her special talent is, but some of her behavior is remarkably, well, human. Prilla is heartbroken that she does not seem to fit in. She desperately needs help from Mother Dove, the most important creature in Neverland, who created and cares for the magical egg that prevents all who live in Neverland from growing old and dying. But tragedy strikes as the island is hit by a hurricane, and the Never egg is destroyed. Mother Dove must pick three fairies to set out on a dangerous quest to repair the egg. She chooses Rani, the best water-talent fairy; Vidia, the most selfish, but fastest fast-flying-talent fairy; and, to everyone's surprise-Prilla. The three embark on a journey filled with danger, sacrifice, and adventure. The fate of Neverland-and their world as they know it-rests on their shoulders.

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.

Iron Hearted Violet


Kelly Barnhill - 2012
    This isn’t most fairy tales.Princess Violet is plain, reckless, and quite possibly too clever for her own good. Particularly when it comes to telling stories. One day she and her best friend, Demetrius, stumble upon a hidden room and find a peculiar book. A forbidden book. It tells a story of an evil being—called the Nybbas—imprisoned in their world. The story cannot be true—not really. But then the whispers start. Violet and Demetrius, along with an ancient, scarred dragon, may hold the key to the Nybbas’s triumph . . . or its demise. It all depends on how they tell the story. After all, stories make their own rules.Iron Hearted Violet is a story of a princess unlike any other. It is a story of the last dragon in existence, deathly afraid of its own reflection. Above all, it is a story about the power of stories, our belief in them, and how one enchanted tale changed the course of an entire kingdom.

The 13 Clocks


James Thurber - 1950
    It is beautiful and it is comic. It is philosophical and it is cheery. What we suppose we are trying fumblingly to say is, in a word, that it is Thurber.There are only a few reasons why everybody has always wanted to read this kind of story: if you have always wanted to love a Princess; if you always wanted to be a Prince; if you always wanted the wicked Duke to be punished; or if you always wanted to live happily ever after. Too little of this kind of thing is going on in the world today. But all of it is going on valorously in The 13 Clocks.

Walking Your Octopus: A Guidebook to the Domesticated Cephalopod


Brian Kesinger - 2013
    Thirty panoramic, full-page illustrations humorously chronicle the duo's home and social activities that include (among other things) bathing, biking, dating, cooking, playing croquet, and pumpkin carving. Accompanying text explains the "do"s and "don't"s of living with a large land octopus. The book's art is extremely detailed, and each illustration tells its own visual story. The Victorian era characters and period-influenced design elements combine to create a wonderful, collectible art-object for those who still value the classic elegance of ink-on-paper. The hardcover binding is plussed with two-layer embossing and spot varnish, and the interior is printed on extra heavy paper. An exquisite volume for lovers of books, art and pets.

Wicked Lovely


Melissa Marr - 2007
    Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in the mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty - especially if they learn of her Sight - and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens.Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries.Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer.Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention.But it's too late. Keenan is the Summer King, who has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost — regardless of her plans or desires.Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.Faery intrigue, mortal love, and the clash of ancient rules and modern expectations swirl together in Melissa Marr's stunning twenty-first-century faery tale.

A Guinea Pig Pride & Prejudice


Alex Goodwin - 2015
    It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.Jane Austen's classic story of love, manners and muslin, retold in an entirely new way.