Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them


Newt Scamander - 2001
    Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is an indispensable introduction to the magical beasts of the Wizarding World. Scamander's years of travel and research have created a tome of unparalleled importance. Some of the beasts will be familiar to readers of the Harry Potter books - the Hippogriff, the Basilisk, the Hungarian Horntail ... Others will surprise even the most ardent amateur Magizoologist. This is an essential companion to the Harry Potter stories, and includes a new foreword from J.K. Rowling (writing as Newt Scamander) and six new beasts!

Alfred Hitchcock's Monster Museum: Twelve Shuddery Stories for Daring Young Readers


Alfred HitchcockMiriam Allen deFord - 1965
    Clair [writing as Idris Seabright ]• Henry Martindale, Great Dane (1954) • shortstory by Miriam Allen deFord• The Microscopic Giants (1936) • shortstory by Paul Ernst• The Young One (1954) • novelette by Jerome Bixby• Doomsday Deferred (1949) • shortstory by Murray Leinster [as by Will F. Jenkins ]• "Shadow, Shadow, on the Wall ..." (1951) • shortstory by Theodore Sturgeon• The Desrick on Yandro (1952) • shortstory by Manly Wade Wellman• The Wheelbarrow Boy (1950) • shortstory by Richard Parker• Homecoming (1946) • shortstory by Ray Bradbury (variant of The Homecoming)

The Floating Island


Elizabeth Haydon - 2006
    Recently discovered by archaeologists, a few fragments of his original journals are reproduced in this book. Great care has been taken to reconstruct the parts of the journal that did not survive, so that a whole story can be told..." Charles Magnus Ven Polypheme--known as Ven--is the youngest son of a long line of famous shipwrights. He dreams not of building ships, but of sailing them to far-off lands where magic thrives. Ven gets his chance when he is chosen to direct the Inspection of his family's latest ship--and sets sail on the journey of a lifetime. Attacked by fire pirates, lost at sea and near death, Ven is rescued by a passing ship on its way to the Island of Serendair. Thankful to be alive, little does Ven know that the pirate attack--and his subsequent rescue--may not have been an accident. Shadowy figures are hunting for the famed Floating Island, the only source of the mystical Water of Life. They think Ven can lead them to this treasure, and will stop at nothing to get it--even murder. In a narrative that alternates entries from his journals and drawings from his sketchbooks, Ven begins the famous chronicles of his exciting and exotic adventures--adventures that would later earn him renown as the author of "The Book of All Human Knowledge" and "All the World's Magic."

Fairy Tales


Hans Christian Andersen - 1835
    Writing in the midst of a Europe-wide rebirth of national literature, Anderson broke new ground with his fairy tales in two important ways. First, he composed them in the vernacular, mimicking the language he used in telling them to children aloud. Second, he set his tales in his own land and time, giving rise to his loving descriptions of the Danish countryside. In contrast to such folklorists as the Brothers Grimm, Anderson’s tales are grounded in the real and often focus on the significance of small or overlooked things.Tinderbox --Little Claus and big Claus --Princess on the pea --Thumbelina --Traveling companion --Little mermaid --Emperor's new clothes --Steadfast tin soldier --Wild swans --Flying trunk --Nightingale --Sweethearts --Ugly duckling --Fir tree --Snow queen --Red shoes --Shepherdess and the chimney sweep --Shadow --Old house --Little match girl --Story of a mother --Collar --Bell --Marsh King's daughter --Wind tells of Valdemar Daae and his daughters --Snowman --Ice maiden --Wood nymph --Most incredible thing --Auntie toothache.

Short & Shivery: Thirty Chilling Tales


Robert D. San Souci - 1987
    Those who are found the next day, if they are still alive, will have gone mad.”  Chills and thrills to make your flesh crawl with fear! Turn the lights down low and grab your favorite reading chair. But first, you’d better check behind you. . . .   Ghosts, monsters, murders, and madmen! These thirty stories have been collected for your reading displeasure from all over the globe, and represent the world’s best scary stories and frightening folktales, featuring famous authors such as Washington Irving and the Brothers Grimm. Welcome to a chilling world of hair-raising tales!

The Book of Virtues


William J. Bennett - 1993
    Bennett's bestselling The Book of Virtues is an inspiring anthology that helps children understand and develop moral character—and helps parents teach it to them.Responsibility. Courage. Compassion. Honesty. Friendship. Persistence. Faith. Everyone recognizes these traits as essentials of good character. In order for our children to develop such traits, we have to offer them examples of good and bad, right and wrong. And the best places to find them are in great works of literature and exemplary stories from history. William J. Bennett has collected hundreds of stories in The Book of Virtues. From the Bible to American history, from Greek mythology to English poetry, from fairy tales to modern fiction, these stories are a rich mine of moral literacy, a reliable moral reference point that will help anchor our children and ourselves in our culture, our history, and our traditions—the sources of the ideals by which we wish to live our lives. Complete with instructive introductions and notes, The Book of Virtues is a book the whole family can read and enjoy—and learn from—together.

Grape Thief


Kristine L. Franklin - 2003
    In fact, Cuss loves languages, period: unlike his older brothers, who left school after sixth grade to work in the coal mines, he likes reading about as much as he likes goofing around with his friends - or planning the great grape heist of Roslyn. But when bootleggers stir up trouble and force his big brothers to skip town, Cuss feels the weight of family responsibility dropping onto his shoulders. How can he hold on to his dream to stay in school - and still do the honorable thing by his ma and little brother?

Quidditch Through the Ages


J.K. Rowling - 2001
    This invaluable volume is consulted by young Quidditch fans on an almost daily basis.Proceeds from the sale of this book will go to Comic Relief, who will use your money to continue improving and changing lives -- work that is even more important and astonishing than the three-and-a-half-second capture of the Golden Snitch by Roderick Plumpton in 1921.

Irish Fairy and Folk Tales


Various - 2014
    These are stories that passed down through the ages virtually unaltered in their telling. To those who told and listened to them, they expressed something fundamental about Irish culture and the Irish way of life. The stories in this volume feature a wide variety of fantastic beings, including ghosts, witches, fairies, and changelings, but several feature creatures that are virtually exclusive to Ireland: the banshee, the merrow, the pooka, and the leprechaun. Read these tales of frightening supernatural horrors, brave folk heroes, and everyday people clever enough to outwith the devil, and you'll agree that they could only take place on Irish soil.

The World Above: A Retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk and Robin Hood


Cameron Dokey - 2010
    Gen is skeptical, but adventurous Jack believes the stories--and trades the family cow for magical beans. Their mother rejoices, knowing they can finally return to their royal home.When Jack plants the beans and climbs the enchanted stalk, he is captured by the tyrant who now rules the land. Gen sets off to rescue her brother, but danger awaits her in the World Above. For finding Jack may mean losing her heart....

Such a Pretty Face: Short Stories About Beauty


Ann Angel - 2007
    James KeelsRon KoertgeChris LynchNorma Fox MazerLauren MyracleJamie PittelAnita RiggioMary Ann RodmanEllen WittlingerJacqueline WoodsonTim Wynne-Jones"A stellar line-up of young adult writers examines our relationship with beauty in stories that haunt, amuse, stir, and fascinate."A beauty queen with a chin-hair problem, an aspiring model who would rather take pictures than be in them, a boy in love with the gorgeous nurse he's never seen, a girl named Beauty who feels like anything but...the teenagers in these dozen stories feel the power of beauty, whether its to trap, save, torment, or comfort. In an era when image seems to have triumphed over virtue and reason, this timely, discussion-provoking collection asks young readers to think about what is truly beautiful.

Bruce Coville's Book of Ghosts: Tales to Haunt You


Bruce Coville - 1994
    In stories that range all the way from the humrous to the frightening, Bruce Coville and other authors show that ghosts can touch our souls in ways both terrifying and wondrous!Introduction: Restless spirits / Bruce Coville --The ghost let go / Bruce Coville --The grounding of Theresa / Mary Downing Hahn --A true story / James D. Macdonald --The pooka / Michael Markiewicz --Ghost walk / Mark A. Garland --For love of him / Vivian Vande Velde --Ghost stories / Lawrence Watt-Evans --Mrs. Ambroseworthy / Jane Yolen --Not from Detroit / Joe R. Lansdale --Jasper's ghost / Nancy Etchemendy --The secret of city cemetery / Patrick Bone --The ghost in the summer kitchen / Mary Frances Zambreno

Unnatural Creatures


Neil GaimanGahan Wilson - 2013
    Nesbit, Diana Wynne Jones, Gahan Wilson, and other literary luminaries. Sales of Unnatural Creatures benefit 826DC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students in their creative and expository writing, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.

The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm: Eragon


Christopher Paolini - 2018
    Then a vision from the Eldunarí, unexpected visitors and an exciting Urgal legend offer a much-needed distraction and a new perspective.This volume features three original stories set in Alagaësia, interspersed with scenes from Eragon's own unfolding adventure. Included is an excerpt from the memoir of the unforgettable witch and fortune-teller Angela the herbalist, penned by Angela Paolini, the inspiration for the character, herself!Relish the incomparable imagination of Christopher Paolini in this thrilling new collection of stories based in the world of the Inheritance Cycle.

The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume 2: The Romantic Period through the Twentieth Century


M.H. AbramsKatharine Eisaman Maus - 1962
    Under the direction of Stephen Greenblatt, General Editor, the editors have reconsidered all aspects of the anthology to make it an even better teaching tool.