Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave


Marianna Mayer - 1994
    One night the stepmother sends Vasilisa to visit Baba Yaga, an errand from which the gentle girl has little chance of returning alive. "An engaging text and accomplished paintings set this version apart....A stylized and classy offering."--School Library Journal.

The Kitchen Knight: A Tale of King Arthur


Margaret Hodges - 1990
    Noble Gareth defeats a dreaded knight and wins the hand of a fair maiden.

The Moomins and the Great Flood


Tove Jansson - 1945
    It´s the story about Moominmamma and Moomintroll´s search for the missing Moominpappa and how they found their way to the Moominvalley.

The Secret of Platform 13


Eva Ibbotson - 1994
    Carefully hidden from the world, the Island is only accessible when the door opens for nine days every nine years. A lot can go wrong in nine days. When the beastly Mrs. Trottle kidnaps the prince of the Island, it's up to a strange band of rescuers to save him. But can an ogre, a hag, a wizard, and a fey really troop around London unnoticed?

Fearless Girls, Wise Women & Beloved Sisters: Heroines in Folktales from Around the World


Kathleen Ragan - 1998
    Gathered from around the world, from regions as diverse as sub-Saharan Africa and Western Europe, from North and South American Indian cultures and New World settlers, from Asia and the Middle East, these 100 folktales celebrate strong female heroines.Fearless Girls, Wise Women, and Beloved Sisters is for all women who are searching to define who they are, to redefine the world and shape their collective sensibility. It is for men who want to know more about what it means to be a woman. It is for our daughters and our sons, so that they can learn to value all kinds of courage, courage in battle and the courage of love. It is for all of us to help build a more just vision of woman.

King Arthur and His Knights


Maude Radford Warren - 1903
    The stirring tales of these chivalrous knights awaken the reader's admiration for courage and gentleness and high sense of honor essential in all ages. Suitable for ages 9 and up.

King Midas and the Golden Touch


M. Charlotte Craft - 1999
    When a mysterious stranger offers to reward Midas for a kindness, the king does not hesitate: He wishes that all he touches would turn to gold. To his delight, his wish is granted and he soon sets about transforming his ordinary palace into a place of golden beauty. But to his dismay, when he accidentally turns his beloved daughter into a golden statue, Midas learns that what at first seems a blessing can also become a curse.

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 Age of Chivalry (Bulfinch's Medieval Mythology)


Thomas Bulfinch - 1858
    The second volume, reprinted here, focuses on Arthurian legends, and covers such notables as Sir Gawain, Launcelot, Richard the Lion-Hearted, Tristan and Isolde, Robin Hood, and much more.

The Tale of Despereaux


Kate DiCamillo - 2003
    It is also the story of a rat called Roscuro, who lives in the darkness and covets a world filled with light. And it is the story of Miggery Sow, a slow-witted serving girl who harbors a simple, impossible wish. These three characters are about to embark on a journey that will lead them down into a horrible dungeon, up into a glittering castle, and, ultimately, into each other's lives. What happens then? As Kate DiCamillo would say: Reader, it is your destiny to find out.

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats


T.S. Eliot - 1939
    Eliot for his godchildren and friends in the thirties. They have delighted generations of children since, and inspired Andrew Lloyd Webber's brilliant musical Cats.

Beauty and the Beast


Bayard Taylor - 1872
    "You've got to get the girl to fall in love with you!"The Beast's only chance to break the spell is for him to fall in love with Belle and earn her love in return.