A Library to Build Great Americans (Ages 3–7)
A guided reading path for ages 3–7, built for families and learners who want real structure. From Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm through Laura Ingalls Wilder and E.B. White: fairy tales, fables, picture books, and chapter books in one sequence you can actually follow.
Here's what the path actually looks like
Preview the sequence. Step through the journey.
A Great Grief
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A grieving man learns that even the deepest sorrow can be transformed through the passage of time.
A Leaf from the Sky
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A leaf falls from heaven carrying blessings and takes root in unexpected soil.
A Picture-Book Without Pictures
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. The moon narrates a series of vivid scenes glimpsed through windows each night; telling stories of life below.
A Picture from the Fortress Wall
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A brief sketch captures a moment of life and memory seen from the old fortress wall.
A Rose from the Grave of Homer
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A nightingale sings over Homer's grave and from it springs the most beautiful rose in the world.
A Story
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A tale about the nature of stories themselves and how even the simplest events can hold deep meaning.
A Story from the Sand-Dunes
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A shipwrecked young man is raised among the sand dunes of Jutland and searches for love and belonging across years of wandering.
A String of Pearls
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A journey through Denmark's regions is told as a string of pearls; each pearl representing a different town or landscape.
Anne Lisbeth
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A woman who abandoned her child is haunted by guilt and ultimately confronts the consequences of her choices.
Auntie
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A beloved aunt who adores the theater shares her passion and memories in a warm; humorous portrait.
Auntie Toothache
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A young man suffering from a terrible toothache receives a visit from his auntie; who tells the strange story of how the pain became a tale.
Brownie and the Dame
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A household brownie must choose between his love of poetry and his love of porridge when the dame's house catches fire.
By the Almshouse Window
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. An old woman gazes out the almshouse window and reflects on the joys and sorrows of her long life.
Charming
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A prince sets out to find the most charming thing in the world and discovers it in an unexpected place.
Children's Prattle
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. The innocent remarks of children reveal truths that adults would prefer to keep hidden.
Everything in Its Right Place
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Over generations; the social order of a village is upended as those once considered lowly rise and the proud are humbled.
Five Out of One Pod
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Five peas in a pod each dream of a different destiny; and one ends up bringing hope to a sick girl.
Godfather's Picture-Book
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A godfather tells the history of Copenhagen through the pages of a magical picture book.
Good Humour
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A story about how good humour and a cheerful outlook can transform even the dreariest circumstances.
Good Luck Can Lie in a Pin
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A simple pin brings unexpected fortune to its finder; proving that luck can hide in the smallest things.
Grandmother
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A child remembers a beloved grandmother who has passed away; finding comfort in the belief that she watches from heaven.
Great Claus and Little Claus
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Clever Little Claus outwits greedy Great Claus again and again in this darkly comic tale of trickery and comeuppance.
Great-Grandfather
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A family gathers to hear stories of their great-grandfather and reflects on how times have changed across the generations.
Hidden Is Not Forgotten
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A tale about how acts of kindness and love are never truly lost; even when they seem forgotten by the world.
Holger the Dane
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. The legendary Danish hero Holger Danske sleeps beneath Kronborg Castle; ready to awaken when Denmark needs him most.
Ib and Christine
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Childhood sweethearts Ib and Christine are separated by fate and fortune; each following a very different path through life.
In a Thousand Years
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A vision of the future imagines travelers flying from America to Europe in a single day a thousand years hence.
In the Duck-Yard
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A proud Portuguese duck holds court in the duck-yard; where vanity and gossip rule among the barnyard birds.
In the Nursery
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Toys come alive in the nursery at night and put on a play; but their little drama does not end as planned.
In the Uttermost Parts of the Sea
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Deep beneath the ocean; the sea creatures celebrate in a way that mirrors and mocks the world above the waves.
It's Quite True!
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A hen loses a small feather and the story is exaggerated from creature to creature until it becomes a scandalous tale.
Jack the Dullard
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A cheerful simpleton wins the princess by being bold and witty where his clever brothers fail.
Little Ida's Flowers
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Little Ida believes her wilting flowers go to a secret ball at night; and one evening she sees them dance.
Little Tuk
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A boy who falls asleep over his lessons is carried away on a magical dream journey through the cities and history of Denmark.
Ole Luk-Oie
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. The Sandman visits a boy each night for a week; opening a magical umbrella that brings wonderful dreams and stories.
Ole the Tower-Keeper
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. An old tower-keeper reflects on his life of solitude high above the city and the wisdom he has gained from watching the world below.
On the Last Day
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. On the day of judgment; a soul reviews its life and discovers what truly mattered in the end.
Peter Pete and Peterkin
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Three Peters with very different characters each make their way through life; showing how temperament shapes destiny.
Poultry Meg's Family
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. The fortunes of a poultry-keeper's family rise and fall across generations in a story about pride and humble origins.
Removing-Day
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. On moving day in Copenhagen; the chaos and upheaval of the annual household shuffle reveals the comedy and sadness of city life.
She Was Good for Nothing
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A washerwoman is dismissed as worthless by the town; but her hard work and devotion to her child tell a different story.
Something
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Five brothers each set out to prove they can become 'something' in the world; and the one who builds something useful for others succeeds best.
Soup on a Sausage-Peg
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Four mice travel the world seeking the secret of making soup from a sausage peg; each returning with a fantastical recipe.
Sunshine's Stories
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. The sunshine itself narrates stories of what its rays have witnessed shining into different lives around the world.
The A.B.C. Book
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Each letter of the alphabet introduces a verse celebrating the wonder and variety of the world.
The Angel
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. An angel carries a dead child to heaven; gathering flowers along the way whose stories reveal the beauty in humble things.
The Beetle
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A vain beetle who once lived in the emperor's stable travels the world convinced of his own greatness.
The Bell
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A mysterious bell rings from the forest and those who seek its source discover the sublime beauty of nature.
The Bell-Deep
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A sunken church bell beneath the river still rings; and those who listen can hear its stories of the town's past.
The Bird of Popular Song
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. The bird of popular song flies through the world; landing wherever the spirit of folk music and poetry lives.
The Bishop of Börglum and His Kinsmen
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A powerful medieval bishop rules with an iron hand until fate and justice catch up with his cruelty.
The Bond of Friendship
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A Danish artist traveling in Greece forges a bond with a young Greek man; and the friendship endures across distance and death.
The Bottle-Neck
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A bottle-neck tells the story of its many adventures; from holding fine wine at a celebration to ending up as a bird's drinking cup.
The Buckwheat
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A proud stalk of buckwheat refuses to bow before the storm and is scorched by lightning for its vanity.
The Butterfly
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A butterfly searches for the perfect flower to marry but waits so long that he ends up pinned in a collector's case.
The Candles
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Two candles—one of tallow and one of beeswax—argue about their worth; revealing that true value comes from the light you give.
The Child in the Grave
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A grieving mother sits by her child's grave and is shown that her sorrow; if unchecked; could harm the child's peace in heaven.
The Comet
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A comet appears in the sky and the people below react with wonder; fear; and foolishness.
The Cripple
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A crippled boy receives a book of fairy tales that transforms his inner world and gives him strength beyond his broken body.
The Daisy
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A humble daisy loves the lark that sings above it; but both are helpless against the cruelty of thoughtless boys who cage the bird.
The Darning-Needle
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A vain darning-needle is convinced she is a fine sewing-needle and narrates her increasingly absurd misadventures after being lost.
The Days of the Week
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. The seven days of the week gather for a party and each boasts about why it is the most important day.
The Door-Key
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A magical door-key reveals hidden truths about anyone who touches it; exposing secrets and surprising its owners.
The Drop of Water
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. An old man looks at a drop of ditch water through a magnifying glass and sees tiny creatures fighting viciously—only to learn it is the city of Copenhagen.
The Dryad
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A dryad bound to her tree longs to see Paris during the 1867 World Exhibition; and her wish is granted at a terrible cost.
The Dumb Book
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A pressed flower inside an old book silently tells the story of the love and heartbreak it once witnessed.
The Elder Tree Mother
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. An old man drinks elder tea and a spirit emerges from the pot; telling stories of memory; youth; and the passage of time.
The Elf-Hill
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. The elf king prepares a grand feast inside the hill to entertain visiting trolls and goblins in this lively supernatural comedy.
The Emperor's New Clothes
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Two swindlers convince a vain emperor they have made him a magnificent suit visible only to the wise; until a child reveals the truth.
The Farm-Yard Cock and Weathercock
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A farm-yard rooster and a weathercock debate which of them is more important; each puffed up with self-regard.
The Fir Tree
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A restless young fir tree longs for the future instead of enjoying the present; and only realizes what it had after it is too late.
The Flax
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A stalk of flax endures being pulled; spun; woven; and worn; finding that each painful transformation leads to a higher purpose.
The Flea and the Professor
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A professor and his trained flea travel to a foreign land where the flea's talents lead to an unexpected reversal of fortune.
The Flying Trunk
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A merchant's son flies to a foreign kingdom in a magical trunk and wins a princess by telling wonderful stories.
The Garden of Paradise
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A prince discovers the hidden Garden of Paradise and is tempted by the fairy queen; but cannot resist the forbidden.
The Gardener and the Family
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A humble gardener's skill and taste consistently surpass his masters' expectations; though they are reluctant to admit it.
The Girl Who Trod on the Loaf
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A vain girl uses a loaf of bread as a stepping-stone to keep her shoes clean and sinks into a terrible underworld as punishment.
The Goblin and the Huckster
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A goblin lives in a grocer's shop for the sake of free jam; but is secretly drawn upstairs by the student's love of poetry.
The Golden Treasure
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A drummer boy's life unfolds from poverty through war to old age; and the golden treasure he sought turns out to be the music within him.
The Goloshes of Fortune
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A pair of magical galoshes grants wishes to anyone who wears them; but each wish leads to unexpected and often comic consequences.
The Great Sea-Serpent
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. The creatures of the deep are bewildered when a transatlantic telegraph cable is laid across the ocean floor.
The Happy Family
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A family of snails lives contentedly among the burdock leaves; dreaming of someday being cooked and served on a silver dish.
The Hardy Tin Soldier
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A one-legged tin soldier falls in love with a paper ballerina and endures a harrowing journey before meeting a fiery end.
The Ice Maiden
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A young Swiss man marked by the Ice Maiden at birth must struggle against her cold claim on his life as he grows to love a mortal girl.
The Jewish Girl
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A Jewish girl attends a Christian school and is deeply moved by the faith she encounters; though she remains true to her father's religion.
The Jumper
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A flea; a grasshopper; and a jumping jack compete to see who can jump highest; and the cleverest wins the princess.
The Last Dream of the Old Oak Tree
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. An ancient oak tree dreams on Christmas Eve of rising toward heaven; seeing the whole of its long life spread out below.
The Last Pearl
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. An angel gathers pearls of sorrow and joy from a newborn's life; and the last and most precious pearl is a mother's tear.
The Little Green Ones
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Tiny green creatures—the aphids of a rose bush—believe their world is the entire universe and philosophize grandly about it.
The Little Match Girl
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A poor girl selling matches on a freezing New Year's Eve lights them one by one; each flame bringing a beautiful vision before she perishes in the cold.
The Little Sea Maid
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A young mermaid gives up her voice and her ocean home for the chance to win the love of a human prince and an immortal soul.
The Loveliest Rose in the World
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A queen lies dying and only the loveliest rose in the world can save her; but it is found in the most unexpected place.
The Lovers
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A top and a ball are in love; but the ball thinks herself too grand for the top—until years later they meet again in a dustbin.
The Marsh King's Daughter
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A Viking woman raises the wild daughter of the Marsh King; and the girl's dual nature—gentle by night; savage by day—drives a sweeping tale of redemption.
The Metal Pig
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A poor boy in Florence rides a magical metal pig through the city at night; glimpsing the art treasures that will shape his destiny.
The Money-Pig
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A stuffed money-pig sits on a shelf knowing he is the richest thing in the room; while the other toys put on a play about love and marriage.
The Most Incredible Thing
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A king offers his daughter to whoever can do the most incredible thing; and the contest produces a stunning surprise.
The Muse of the New Century
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A vision of the muse who will inspire the coming century appears; born from the achievements and spirit of the modern age.
The Naughty Boy
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A kind old poet lets a shivering boy inside on a stormy night; only to discover the boy is Cupid; who repays him with an arrow to the heart.
The Neighbouring Families
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Sparrows and a family of roses live as neighbors; and the sparrows' gossipy commentary on the roses reveals a world of petty rivalries.
The Nightingale
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A Chinese emperor banishes his real nightingale in favor of a jeweled mechanical one; then nearly dies when the artificial bird breaks down.
The Old Bachelor's Nightcap
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. An old bachelor looks back on his life and the love he never pursued; realizing too late what his timidity cost him.
The Old Church Bell
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. The old church bell of Marbach tells of witnessing the birth of Friedrich Schiller and the passage of time around it.
The Old Gravestone
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. An old gravestone in a courtyard tells the forgotten story of the married couple buried beneath it.
The Old House
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A lonely boy befriends the elderly man who lives in the crumbling old house across the street; and a tin soldier serves as their bond.
The Old Street Lamp
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A faithful street lamp about to be retired fears its future; but is given new life and warm memories by kindly hands.
The Pen and Inkstand
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A pen and an inkstand argue about which of them truly creates the poet's work; while the poet himself knows the answer.
The Phoenix Bird
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. The immortal phoenix is born in paradise and reborn from flames throughout history; embodying the eternal spirit of poetry.
The Porter's Son
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A talented porter's son rises above his humble station through intelligence and charm; winning respect despite the barriers of class.
The Princess on the Pea
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A prince seeks a real princess and finds one when a girl feels a single pea through twenty mattresses and twenty feather beds.
The Psyche
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A young sculptor in Rome falls in love with a beautiful girl; and after losing her; pours his grief into creating a masterpiece.
The Puppet Showman
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A puppet showman is granted a wish that his puppets would come alive with real feelings; but discovers the chaos that wish creates.
The Racers
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A snail and a fence post debate the meaning of speed and prizes; each content with its own nature in the end.
The Rags
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Rags from different countries boast about their national origins while being pulped together into paper.
The Red Shoes
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A girl becomes obsessed with her beautiful red shoes and they force her to dance without stopping until she begs for mercy.
The Rose-Elf
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A tiny elf living inside a rose witnesses a murder and helps bring the killer to justice through the power of nature.
The Shadow
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A scholar's shadow detaches; takes on a life of its own; and eventually usurps his master's identity with chilling results.
The Shepherdess and the Chimney-Sweeper
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A porcelain shepherdess and chimney sweep elope from the mantelpiece; climbing up through the chimney to see the wide world before losing their nerve.
The Shirt Collar
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A vain shirt collar proposes to every item in the laundry; is rejected by all; and ends up as a scrap of paper that tells this very tale.
The Silver Shilling
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A silver shilling is declared counterfeit abroad and passes from hand to hand; longing to return to the country where it is known to be genuine.
The Snail and the Rose Tree
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A snail mocks a rose tree for giving its blooms to the world; but the rose tree insists that giving beauty and joy is its purpose.
The Snow Man
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A snowman falls in love with the warm stove he can see through a window; longing for the very thing that would destroy him.
The Snow Queen
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A boy named Kay is enchanted by the Snow Queen and carried to her icy palace; and his brave friend Gerda journeys through many dangers to rescue him.
The Snowdrop or Summer-Geck
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A snowdrop pushes through the frozen earth in late winter; enduring cold and setbacks but finally greeting the warm sunshine.
The Stone of the Wise Men
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A quest for the philosopher's stone leads through the history of human knowledge; revealing that wisdom is found in the union of truth; goodness; and beauty.
The Storks
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Storks nesting on a rooftop endure teasing from children below and take their revenge by delivering different babies to the kind and cruel children.
The Storm Shifts the Signs
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A great storm blows all the shop and street signs into the wrong places; causing comic confusion throughout the town.
The Story of a Mother
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A desperate mother pursues Death himself through terrible trials to save her dying child; only to learn that fate may be kinder than she knows.
The Story of the Year
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. The four seasons narrate the story of a year from spring's first blossoms to winter's final snow.
The Swan's Nest
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. The Baltic region is described as a great swan's nest from which noble birds—the heroes and artists of Scandinavia—take flight.
The Swineherd
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A prince disguises himself as a swineherd to test a shallow princess; and when she fails the test; he leaves her to her vanity.
The Tea-Pot
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A proud tea-pot tells the story of its life; from its days of glory on the table to its retirement as a flowerpot.
The Thistle's Experiences
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A thistle growing beside a noble garden longs to be noticed and admired; and finally gets its wish in an unexpected way.
The Thorny Road of Honour
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A series of vignettes shows how great figures throughout history suffered for their discoveries; art; and ideals.
The Tinder-Box
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A soldier discovers a magical tinder-box that summons three enormous dogs who grant his every wish; winning him a kingdom and a princess.
The Toad
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A toad living deep in a well yearns to climb higher and see the world; driven by an unquenchable longing for something more.
The Travelling Companion
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A kind young man named Johannes is helped by a mysterious traveling companion who uses magic to win him a princess and defeat a wicked troll.
The Ugly Duckling
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A misfit bird endures mockery and hardship before discovering he has grown into a magnificent swan.
The Wicked Prince
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A proud and ruthless prince conquers the world and even wages war on heaven itself; but is finally defeated by the smallest of creatures.
The Wild Swans
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A princess must weave shirts of nettles in complete silence to save her eleven brothers who have been turned into wild swans.
The Will-o'-the-Wisps Are in the Town Says the Moor-Woman
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. The moor-woman warns that will-o'-the-wisps have come to town disguised as people; spreading confusion and mischief.
The Wind Tells About Waldemar Daa and His Daughters
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. The wind narrates the downfall of a proud nobleman and his three daughters who lose everything to vanity and alchemy.
The Windmill
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A proud windmill boasts of its importance until it is destroyed by fire; revealing how fleeting worldly pride can be.
There Is a Difference
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A story about how the same flower can be seen as precious or worthless depending on where it grows and who looks at it.
Thumbelina
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A tiny girl no bigger than a thumb is swept away from home on a series of adventures before finding happiness with a flower prince.
Twelve by the Mail
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Twelve travelers in a mail coach on New Year's Eve each represent a month of the year; telling what gifts they bring.
Two Brothers
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A brief tribute to the famous Oersted brothers—one a physicist; the other a statesman—and the bonds between them.
Two Maidens
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Two maidens—one made of flesh and one of flax—debate their merits and discover that each has her own kind of strength.
Under the Willow Tree
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Two childhood friends part ways; and the young man carries his unrequited love through years of wandering before returning to find everything changed.
Vaenoe and Glaenoe
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Two small Danish islands are personified and their quiet; pastoral beauty is celebrated in a brief poetic sketch.
What Old Johanna Told
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Old Johanna tells the story of a family's joys and sorrows across the years; weaving together memory; loss; and faith.
What One Can Invent
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A young man is told to invent something useful by Easter and discovers that the best inventions come from everyday observation.
What the Old Man Does Is Right
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A farmer trades his horse for progressively lesser animals; but his wife always says he is right; and they win a bet because of her faith in him.
What the Whole Family Said
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Each member of a family offers a different piece of wisdom; and together their sayings form a picture of how life works.
Who Was the Luckiest?
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A rose bush and its blooms debate which of them had the luckiest fate; and each petal's story reveals a different kind of good fortune.
Saving the Birds
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A young boy rescues a nest of baby birds and learns a lesson about kindness to all living creatures.
Another Bird Story
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A tale of compassion toward birds that reveals the gentle character of a famous person.
Speaking a Piece
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. Young Demosthenes overcomes a speech impediment through determination and practice to become the greatest orator in Greece.
Writing a Composition
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A young student struggles with writing but learns through patience and effort how to compose well.
The Whistle
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. Young Benjamin Franklin overpays for a whistle and learns a lasting lesson about the true value of things.
The Ettrick Shepherd
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. James Hogg, a poor Scottish shepherd boy, teaches himself to read and write and becomes a celebrated poet.
The Caliph and the Poet
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A caliph tests a poet's wit and wisdom, and the poet's clever reply earns him great reward.
Becos! Becos! Becos!
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. An Egyptian king conducts an experiment to discover the oldest language in the world by raising children in isolation.
A Lesson in Humility
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A proud and powerful person is taught by a simple encounter that true greatness lies in humility.
The Midnight Ride
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. Paul Revere rides through the night to warn the American colonists that British soldiers are coming.
The Boy and the Wolf
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A young boy's courageous encounter with a wolf reveals the bravery that would define his famous life.
Another Wolf Story
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A second tale of a daring confrontation with wolves shows the courage and resourcefulness of a young person.
The Horseshoe Nails
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A blacksmith's carelessness with a few horseshoe nails leads to disaster, illustrating how small things can have great consequences.
The Landlord’s Mistake
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. An innkeeper judges a guest by his humble appearance and learns too late that the stranger was a person of great importance.
A Lesson in Manners
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A famous leader teaches the importance of courtesy and good manners through a memorable personal example.
Going to Sea
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A boy dreams of sailing and adventure, and his early longing for the sea sets the course of his remarkable life.
The Shepherd-Boy Painter
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. Young Giotto is discovered drawing pictures of his sheep on stones, and his talent leads him from the pasture to greatness as an artist.
Two Great Painters
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. The ancient Greek painters Zeuxis and Parrhasius compete to see who can create the most lifelike painting.
The King and the Bees
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A wise king solves a difficult puzzle by watching the behavior of bees, proving that wisdom can be found by observing nature.
Our First Great Painter
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. Benjamin West's early attempts at painting as a child in colonial Pennsylvania mark the beginning of America's first great artist.
The Young Scout
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A boy proves himself as a frontier scout through his sharp wits and knowledge of the wilderness.
The Lad Who Rode Sidesaddle
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A boy's unusual way of riding a horse draws mockery, but his persistence and character prove his doubters wrong.
The Whisperers
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A group of conspirators whispering together are discovered, showing that secret plots rarely stay hidden for long.
How a Prince Learned to Read
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. Young Prince Alfred is motivated to learn to read when his mother promises a beautiful book of poems to the first of her sons who can master it.
Read and You Will Know
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A child who asks too many questions is told to find the answers by reading books, sparking a lifelong love of learning.
The Young Cupbearer
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. Nehemiah serves as cupbearer to the Persian king and wins permission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem through his faithful service.
The Sons of the Caliph
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A caliph's sons are tested to see which is most worthy, and the one who shows wisdom and virtue wins his father's favor.
The Boy and the Robbers
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A bold young boy outsmarts a band of robbers through quick thinking and fearless courage.
A Lesson in Justice
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A ruler demonstrates the importance of fair dealing and justice through a striking act that leaves a lasting impression.
The General and the Fox
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A famous general shows unexpected tenderness when he stops to help a fox, revealing his compassionate nature alongside his military strength.
The Bomb
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. Napoleon remains calm and fearless when a bomb explodes nearby, showing the composure that made him a legendary leader.
A Story of Old Rome
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A tale from ancient Rome illustrates the Roman virtues of duty, honor, and sacrifice for one's country.
Saved by a Dolphin
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. The ancient Greek poet Arion is thrown overboard by greedy sailors but is rescued by a dolphin charmed by his music.
Little Brothers of the Air
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. Saint Francis of Assisi preaches to the birds and treats all living creatures as his brothers and sisters.
A Clever Slave
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. Aesop, a clever enslaved man in ancient Greece, uses his wit and storytelling to win his freedom.
The Dark Day
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. When a mysterious darkness falls over New England and people fear the end of the world, a calm legislator insists they carry on with their duties.
The Surly Guest
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A rude and ill-mannered guest is taught a lesson in courtesy by a gracious host who refuses to stoop to his level.
The Story of a Great Story
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. The tale behind how a famous literary work came to be written, showing that great stories often have surprising origins.
The King and the Page
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A king rewards a faithful young page whose loyalty and honesty set him apart from others at court.
The Hunted King
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A king on the run from his enemies hides in desperate circumstances, relying on the loyalty of humble people to survive.
Try, Try Again!
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A famous person fails repeatedly but refuses to give up, proving that persistence is the key to success.
Why He Carried the Turkey
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A man of high station surprises onlookers by carrying a turkey through the streets, teaching a lesson about humility and practical good sense.
The Paddle-Wheel Boat
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A young inventor dreams up the idea for a paddle-wheel steamboat, foreshadowing the invention that would transform river travel.
The Caliph and the Gardener
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A caliph meets an old gardener who plants trees he will never see bear fruit, and learns a lesson about working for the future.
The Cowherd Who Became a Poet
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. Caedmon, a humble cowherd who could not sing, receives the miraculous gift of poetry and becomes the first known English poet.
The Lover of Men
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A great leader's deep compassion for ordinary people and commitment to their welfare earns him the title of a true lover of mankind.
The Charcoal Man and the King
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A humble charcoal burner meets the king in disguise and treats him as an equal, showing that true worth does not depend on rank.
Which Was the King?
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A king dressed plainly mingles with common people, and no one can tell who among them is the ruler because true kingship lies in character, not appearance.
The Golden Tripod
From 50 Famous People by James Baldwin. A golden tripod is passed from one wise man to another as each insists someone else is more deserving, illustrating true wisdom and humility.
King Alfred and the Cakes
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. King Alfred, hiding from his enemies in a peasant's hut, is scolded for letting the cakes burn because his mind is on saving England.
King Alfred and the Beggar
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. King Alfred gives his last loaf of bread to a beggar and is later rewarded for his generosity.
King Canute on the Seashore
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. King Canute orders the ocean tide to stop in order to show his flattering courtiers that even a king's power has limits.
The Sons of William the Conqueror
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. William the Conqueror's three sons each reveal their true character when asked what they would like to be, foreshadowing their different fates as rulers.
The White Ship
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. The heir to the English throne perishes when the White Ship sinks, and it is said the king never smiled again.
King John and the Abbot
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. King John poses three impossible riddles to an abbot, but the abbot's clever shepherd answers them all and saves his master.
A Story of Robin Hood
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. Robin Hood and his merry men live in Sherwood Forest, robbing the rich to help the poor and outwitting the Sheriff of Nottingham.
Bruce and the Spider
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. After six defeats, the Scottish king Robert the Bruce watches a spider try again and again to spin its web, inspiring him to fight once more and win Scotland's freedom.
The Black Douglas
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. Sir James Douglas, the feared Scottish warrior, recaptures his family castle from the English through a daring surprise attack.
Three Men of Gotham
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. Three men of Gotham go to sea in a bowl and display such foolishness that their story becomes a classic tale of absurdity.
Other Wise Men of Gotham
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. More comically foolish deeds by the men of Gotham, who try to drown an eel and fence in a cuckoo bird.
The Miller of the Dee
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. A happy miller tells the king he would not trade places with anyone, for he envies nobody and nobody envies him.
Sir Philip Sidney
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. Wounded on the battlefield, Sir Philip Sidney gives his cup of water to a dying soldier, saying the man's need is greater than his own.
The Ungrateful Soldier
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. A soldier whose life was saved forgets his rescuer's kindness, showing how ingratitude is one of the worst human failings.
Sir Humphrey Gilbert
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. The brave explorer Sir Humphrey Gilbert faces a terrible storm at sea and calmly declares that heaven is as near by water as by land.
Sir Walter Raleigh
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. Sir Walter Raleigh spreads his fine cloak over a muddy puddle so that Queen Elizabeth can cross without soiling her shoes.
Pocahontas
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. The young Powhatan girl Pocahontas saves the life of Captain John Smith by throwing herself between him and her father's warriors.
George Washington and His Hatchet
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. Young George Washington chops down a cherry tree and confesses to his father, declaring he cannot tell a lie.
Grace Darling
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. A young lighthouse keeper's daughter rows through a raging storm with her father to rescue shipwrecked sailors clinging to the rocks.
The Story of William Tell
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. The Swiss hero William Tell is forced to shoot an apple off his own son's head by a cruel tyrant, then leads his people to freedom.
Arnold Winkelried
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. The Swiss hero Arnold Winkelried sacrifices his life by gathering the enemy's spears into his own body, opening a gap for his countrymen to charge through.
The Bell of Atri
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. A bell is hung in the Italian town of Atri so that anyone who suffers injustice may ring it, and one day a starving old horse rings it to accuse its neglectful owner.
How Napoleon Crossed the Alps
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. Napoleon leads his army over the treacherous Alpine passes in a bold march that his enemies believed impossible.
The Story of Cincinnatus
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. The Roman farmer Cincinnatus is called from his plow to save Rome as dictator, and after winning the battle he gives up his power and returns to his farm.
The Story of Regulus
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. The Roman general Regulus keeps his promise to return to captivity in Carthage even though it means certain death, because he gave his word.
Cornelia's Jewels
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. When a wealthy woman shows off her jewels, the Roman mother Cornelia presents her two sons and declares that they are her most precious treasures.
Androclus and the Lion
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. A runaway slave pulls a thorn from a lion's paw, and years later the same lion refuses to attack him in the arena, remembering his kindness.
Horatius at the Bridge
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. The brave Roman soldier Horatius holds off an entire invading army on a narrow bridge while his countrymen destroy it behind him to save Rome.
Julius Caesar
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. The story of how Julius Caesar rose from a young man of ambition to become the most powerful ruler in the Roman world.
The Sword of Damocles
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. A courtier who envies the king's life is invited to sit on the throne, only to discover a sword hanging above him by a single hair, showing that power brings constant danger.
Damon and Pythias
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. Two friends prove the strength of their loyalty when one offers his own life as a guarantee that the other will return to face execution.
A Laconic Answer
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. When an invading king threatens to destroy Sparta if he enters their land, the Spartans send back the famously brief reply: If.
The Ungrateful Guest
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. A guest repays his host's generous hospitality with ingratitude, illustrating the ancient belief that hospitality is sacred.
Alexander and Bucephalus
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. Young Alexander tames the wild horse Bucephalus by noticing that the animal is afraid of its own shadow, and the two become inseparable.
Diogenes the Wise Man
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. The philosopher Diogenes lives in a barrel and when Alexander the Great offers him anything he wishes, asks only that the king stop blocking his sunlight.
The Brave Three Hundred
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. King Leonidas and three hundred Spartan warriors make their legendary last stand at the pass of Thermopylae against the vast Persian army.
Socrates and His House
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. When people mock Socrates for building a house that is too small, the philosopher replies that he wishes he could fill even this small space with true friends.
The King and His Hawk
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. Genghis Khan's pet hawk knocks his cup away three times to keep him from drinking poisoned water, but the angry king kills the hawk before discovering the truth.
Doctor Goldsmith
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. Oliver Goldsmith, a kind but careless man, gives away what little money he has to help others even when he can barely afford to feed himself.
The Kingdoms
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. A wise teacher shows a proud conqueror that the greatest kingdoms are not won by the sword but by knowledge, goodness, and self-mastery.
The Barmecide Feast
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. A rich man invites a hungry beggar to dinner and pretends to serve course after course of invisible food, testing the beggar's patience and wit.
The Endless Tale
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. A king offers a reward to anyone who can tell a story that never ends, and a clever man tells a tale about locusts carrying grain one by one from a barn.
The Blind Men and the Elephant
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. Six blind men each touch a different part of an elephant and argue about what the animal is like, showing how people can be wrong when they know only part of the truth.
Maximilian and the Goose Boy
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. Emperor Maximilian gets lost while hunting in the mountains and is rescued by a humble goose boy who does not know he is helping the emperor.
The Inchcape Rock
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. A pirate removes a warning bell from a dangerous rock to cause shipwrecks, but his own ship later strikes the same rock and sinks.
Whittington and His Cat
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. Poor Dick Whittington sends his only possession, a cat, on a trading voyage, and the cat earns him a fortune by ridding a foreign king's palace of rats.
Casabianca
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. A young boy remains at his post on a burning warship because his father ordered him to stay, refusing to leave even as the flames close in.
Antonio Canova
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. A poor Italian boy carves a lion out of butter for a banquet, and his talent is noticed by a wealthy patron who helps him become one of the world's greatest sculptors.
Picciola
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. A prisoner finds a tiny plant growing between the stones of his cell and devotes himself to caring for it, rediscovering hope and the beauty of life.
Mignon
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. A little girl stolen by wandering performers longs for her beautiful homeland and sings a haunting song about the place she can never forget.
Cautionary Verses
by Belloc, Hilaire. Poetry collection. If you are prone to telling tales or running away, then you should ignore these poems at your peril or you might suffer the same fate as Matilda, who...
Madeline
From A Madeline Treasury: The Original Stories by Ludwig Bemelmans. The smallest girl in a Paris boarding school has her appendix out, and all her friends wish they could have one too.
Madeline's Rescue
From A Madeline Treasury: The Original Stories by Ludwig Bemelmans. A brave dog rescues Madeline from the Seine, but the trustees say no dogs allowed, sparking a crisis at the old house in Paris.
Madeline and the Bad Hat
From A Madeline Treasury: The Original Stories by Ludwig Bemelmans. The Spanish ambassador's son Pepito terrorizes animals and girls alike until a close call transforms him from bad hat to good neighbor.
Madeline and the Gypsies
From A Madeline Treasury: The Original Stories by Ludwig Bemelmans. Madeline and Pepito join a traveling carnival and live a wild life with the gypsies before Miss Clavel tracks them down.
Madeline in London
From A Madeline Treasury: The Original Stories by Ludwig Bemelmans. The girls visit Pepito in London, where a retired horse from the Queen's guard follows them home to Paris.
Madeline's Christmas
From A Madeline Treasury: The Original Stories by Ludwig Bemelmans. When everyone in the old house falls ill on Christmas Eve, a mysterious rug merchant appears with magical carpets that fly the girls home for the holiday.
The Children's Book of Virtues
by Bennett, William. Classic stories collection. The Children's Book of Virtues brings together timeless stories and poems from around the world, with selections from The Book of Virtues that...
Paddington
From The Paddington Treasury by Michael Bond. The Browns find a small bear from Peru at Paddington Station and welcome him into their family.
Paddington at the Palace
From The Paddington Treasury by Michael Bond. Paddington visits Buckingham Palace and gets into his usual well-meaning trouble.
Paddington at the Zoo
From The Paddington Treasury by Michael Bond. A trip to the zoo goes sideways when Paddington’s curiosity gets the better of him.
Paddington in the Garden
From The Paddington Treasury by Michael Bond. Paddington tries his paw at gardening with marmalade-scented results.
Paddington and the Marmalade Maze
From The Paddington Treasury by Michael Bond. Paddington navigates a garden maze with a jar of marmalade and his usual good intentions.
Paddington the Artist
From The Paddington Treasury by Michael Bond. Paddington takes up painting and creates an unexpected masterpiece.
Jenny Wren Gives Peter Rabbit an Idea
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. Peter arranges to go to school to Old Mother Nature.
Peter and Jumper Go to School
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Cottontail Rabbit, Northern Hare and Marsh Rabbit.
More of Peter's Long-Legged Cousins
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Swamp Hare, Arctic Hare, Prairie Hare, Antelope Jack and common Jack Rabbit.
Chatterer and Happy Jack Join
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Squirrel family and order of Rodents.
The Squirrels of the Trees
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Red, Gray, Fox, Kaibab and Abert Squirrels.
Striped Chipmunk and His Cousins
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Chipmunk, Spermophiles and Flying Squirrel.
Johnny Chuck Joins the Class
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Woodchuck and his ways.
Whistler and Yap Yap
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Whistling or Hoary Marmot and Prairie Dogs.
Two Queer Little Haymakers
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Pika or Cony and the Mountain Beaver or Sewellel.
Prickly Porky and Grubby Gopher
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. Introducing the Porcupine and Pocket Gopher.
A Fellow with a Thousand Spears
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. More about the Porcupine.
A Lumberman and Engineer
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Beaver and his works.
A Worker and a Robber
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Muskrat and the Brown or Norway Rat.
A Trader and a Handsome Fellow
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Cotton Rat, Wood or Pack Rat and the Kangaroo Rat.
Two Unlike Little Cousins
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. Whitefoot the Wood or Deer Mouse and Danny Meadow Mouse.
Danny's Northern Cousins and Nimbleheels
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Banded and Brown Lemmings and the Jumping Mouse.
Three Little Redcoats and Some Others
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Pine Mouse, Red-backed Mouse, Rufous Tree Mouse, Rock Mouse and Beach Mouse.
Mice with Pockets, and Others
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Silky and Spiny Pocket Mice, Grasshopper Mouse, Harvest Mouse and House Mouse.
Teeny Weeny and His Cousin
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Common or Long-tailed Shrew, Short-tailed Shrew and Marsh or Water Shrew.
Four Busy Little Miners
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Common Mole, Brewer's or Hairy-tailed Mole, Oregon Mole and Star-nosed Mole.
Flitter the Bat and His Family
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Red Bat, Little Brown or Cave Bat, Big Brown or House Bat, Silvery Bat, Hoary Bat and Big-eared Bat.
An Independent Family
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Common Skunk, Hog-nosed or Badger Skunk and Little Spotted Skunk.
Digger and His Cousin Glutton
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Badger and Wolverine or Carcajou.
Shadow and His Family
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Common or Bonaparte Weasel or Ermine and its cousins.
Two Famous Swimmers
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. Billy Mink and Little Joe Otter.
Spite the Marten and Pekan the Fisher
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Pine Marten or American Sable and the Fisher or Pennant Marten.
Reddy Fox Joins the School
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Red, Black and Silver Foxes, Gray Fox, Kit Fox, Desert Fox, Arctic and Blue Foxes.
Old Man Coyote and Howler the Wolf
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Prairie Wolf or Coyote and the Timber or Gray Wolf.
Yowler and His Cousin Tufty
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Bay Lynx or Bob Cat and the Canada Lynx or Lucivee.
Some Big and Little Cat Cousins
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. Puma the Panther, the Jaguar, the Ocelot and the Jaguarundi Cat.
Bobby Coon Arrives
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Raccoon and the Civet or Ring-tailed Cat.
Buster Bear Nearly Breaks Up School
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Black Bear and his habits.
Buster Bear's Big Cousins
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. Silvertip the Grizzly Bear, the Alaska or Great Brown Bear and the Polar Bear.
Unc' Billy and Old Mrs. Possum
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Virginia Opossum, the only American Marsupial.
Lightfoot, Blacktail and Forkhorn
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The White-tailed or Virginia Deer, Black-tailed Deer and Mule Deer.
Bugler, Flathorns and Wanderhoof
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Elk or Wapiti, Moose and Caribou.
Thunderfoot, Fleetfoot and Longcoat
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Buffalo or Bison, Antelope and Musk Ox.
Two Wonderful Mountain Climbers
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Rocky Mountain Sheep or Bighorn and the Rocky Mountain Goat.
Piggy and Hardshell
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Peccary or Wild Pig and the Armadillo.
The Mammals of the Sea
From The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. The Sea Otter, Walrus, Sea Lions, Seals and Manatee or Sea Cow.
d'Aulaire's Book of Animals
by D'aulaire, Ingri. Folktale collection. D’Aulaires’ Book of Animals introduces young children to the creatures of every continent.
Herding the King's Hares
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norwegian Folktales by Ingri d'Aulaire. A clever lad uses a magical whistle to keep the king's hares together and wins the princess.
The Ship That Went As Well by Land As by Sea
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norwegian Folktales by Ingri d'Aulaire. A young man sets out in a wondrous ship that sails over both water and land; gathering helpful companions along the way to win a king's challenge.
The Quern That Stands and Grinds at the Bottom of the Sea
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norwegian Folktales by Ingri d'Aulaire. A magical hand-mill grinds out whatever its owner wishes; but when a greedy sea captain sets it grinding salt he cannot make it stop.
The Maid on the Glass Mountain
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norwegian Folktales by Ingri d'Aulaire. Three brothers try to ride up a slippery glass mountain to win the princess; and only the youngest; Cinderlad; succeeds with the help of three enchanted horses.
The Widow's Son
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norwegian Folktales by Ingri d'Aulaire. A poor widow's son sets off to seek his fortune and overcomes magical trials through kindness and quick thinking.
Lord Per
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norwegian Folktales by Ingri d'Aulaire. A penniless young man bluffs his way into a lordship with the help of a cunning cat who tricks a troll out of his castle.
Soria Moria Castle
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norwegian Folktales by Ingri d'Aulaire. A restless young man named Halvor journeys to the distant Soria Moria Castle; where he rescues three princesses from fearsome trolls.
Per, Paal, and Espen Cinderlad
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norwegian Folktales by Ingri d'Aulaire. Three brothers compete in impossible tasks set by the king; and the youngest; Espen Cinderlad; triumphs where his older brothers fail.
Cinderlad and the Troll
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norwegian Folktales by Ingri d'Aulaire. Cinderlad outwits a fearsome troll by boasting of feats he never performed; tricking the creature into defeat.
The Big Bird Dam
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norwegian Folktales by Ingri d'Aulaire. A boy is carried away by an enormous bird and must use his wits to find his way home and claim his reward.
Kari Woodenskirt
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norwegian Folktales by Ingri d'Aulaire. A princess in disguise wears a wooden skirt and works as a servant until her true identity and beauty are revealed at a grand feast.
Why the Bear Is Stumpy-Tailed
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norwegian Folktales by Ingri d'Aulaire. The fox tricks the bear into fishing with his tail through a hole in the ice; and when the ice freezes around it the bear loses most of his tail.
East of the Sun and West of the Moon
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norwegian Folktales by Ingri d'Aulaire. A young girl is carried off by a white bear who is really an enchanted prince; and she must journey to a castle east of the sun and west of the moon to free him.
The Three Princesses in the Mountain So Blue
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norwegian Folktales by Ingri d'Aulaire. A brave young man ventures into a blue mountain to rescue three princesses held captive by trolls; only to be betrayed by his companions on the way out.
The Three Bushy Billy-Goats
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norwegian Folktales by Ingri d'Aulaire. Three billy goats outsmart a hungry troll under a bridge by persuading him to wait for the next; bigger goat; until the largest one knocks him off.
Tatterhood
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norwegian Folktales by Ingri d'Aulaire. A wild and fearless girl rides a goat and wields a wooden spoon to defeat witches and restore her sister's stolen beauty.
Dapplegrim
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norwegian Folktales by Ingri d'Aulaire. A young man raises a magnificent dappled horse that helps him perform impossible feats to win the king's daughter.
Gudbrand on the Hillside
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norwegian Folktales by Ingri d'Aulaire. Gudbrand makes one bad trade after another at market; but his loving wife praises every decision; winning him a bet with his neighbor.
The Hen Trips in the Mountain
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norwegian Folktales by Ingri d'Aulaire. A hen wanders into the mountains and meets various animals who join her household; leading to a comic chain of events.
The Three Aunts
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norwegian Folktales by Ingri d'Aulaire. A girl who cannot spin is saved by three strange old women whose deformities from years of spinning convince the prince never to make his bride do such work.
Doll in the Grass
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norwegian Folktales by Ingri d'Aulaire. A young man finds a tiny doll in the grass who turns out to be an enchanted maiden; and his kindness breaks the spell.
The First Gods and Giants
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. In the beginning there was only a great emptiness until fire and ice met; and from the melting frost arose the first giant and the first gods.
The Creation of the World
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Odin and his brothers slay the giant Ymir and fashion the earth; sky; and sea from his enormous body.
The Creation of Man
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Odin and his brothers find two logs on the seashore and breathe life into them to create the first man and woman; Ask and Embla.
Yggdrasil, the World Tree
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The great ash tree Yggdrasil holds the nine worlds together; with its roots reaching into wells of wisdom; fate; and the realm of the dead.
Asgard and the Aesir Gods
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The gods build the shining fortress of Asgard high above the world and cross the rainbow bridge Bifrost to reach it.
Odin, the All-Father
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Odin sacrifices his eye at Mimir's well and hangs on the World Tree for nine days to gain the wisdom of the runes.
Thor, the Thunder-God
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Thor; the strongest of the gods; wields his mighty hammer Mjolnir and rides across the sky in a chariot drawn by two goats.
Loki, the God of the Jotun Race
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The trickster Loki; half god and half giant; charms and deceives the other gods with his cunning and shape-shifting.
Sif's Golden Hair
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Loki cuts off Sif's golden hair as a prank and must persuade the dwarves to forge new hair of real gold to replace it.
Loki's Monstrous Brood
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Loki fathers three terrible offspring -- the wolf Fenrir; the serpent Jormungand; and Hel -- whom the gods banish to the far corners of the world.
Balder, the God of Light
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Balder the Beautiful; the most beloved of all the gods; radiates light and goodness throughout Asgard.
Heimdall, the Watchman of Asgard
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Heimdall stands guard at the rainbow bridge with eyesight and hearing so keen he can see grass grow and hear wool sprout on sheep.
Njord, Frey and Freya
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The Vanir gods Njord; Frey; and Freya come to live among the Aesir; bringing gifts of wealth; sunshine; and love.
Bragi, God of Poetry
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Bragi; the god of poetry and eloquence; welcomes fallen heroes to Valhalla with songs and stories.
Odin's Eight-Legged Steed
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Loki's shapeshifting leads to the birth of Sleipnir; the fastest horse in all the worlds; which he gives to Odin.
The Valkyries and Valhalla
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Odin's warrior maidens ride over battlefields choosing the bravest fallen heroes to feast and fight forever in Valhalla.
Frigg and the Goddesses
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Odin's wife Frigg and the other goddesses of Asgard each hold sway over different parts of life; from marriage to medicine.
Freya's Wonderful Necklace
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Freya obtains the dazzling Brisingamen necklace from four dwarves; but Odin demands she stir up eternal war among men as the price for keeping it.
Idunn's Apples of Youth
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. When Loki helps a giant kidnap Idunn and her golden apples; the gods begin to age and wither until they force Loki to rescue her.
Skade, the Ski-Goddess
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The giantess Skade storms into Asgard seeking revenge for her father's death but is appeased when the gods make her laugh and offer her a husband.
Frey and Gerd, the Jotun Maiden
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The god Frey falls hopelessly in love with the beautiful giantess Gerd and gives away his magical sword to win her hand.
The Theft of Thor's Hammer
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. When a giant steals Mjolnir and demands Freya as his bride; Thor disguises himself as the bride to retrieve his hammer.
Thor and the Jotun Geirrod
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Loki tricks Thor into visiting the giant Geirrod without his hammer; but Thor survives deadly traps with the help of a friendly giantess.
Thor and the Jotun Utgardsloki
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Thor and his companions are humbled by seemingly impossible contests in a giant's hall; only to discover they were tricked by powerful magic.
Thor and the Jotun Rungnir
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Thor fights a duel with the mightiest of all the stone giants and shatters him with Mjolnir; though a piece of whetstone lodges in Thor's own head.
Thor and the Jotun Aegir
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Thor forces the sea giant Aegir to brew ale for the gods by fetching an enormous kettle from the land of the giants.
The Death of Balder
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Loki's jealousy leads him to trick the blind god Hod into killing Balder with a sprig of mistletoe; the one thing that could harm him.
Loki's Punishment
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The gods finally capture Loki and bind him beneath a serpent that drips venom on his face until the end of the world.
Ragnarokk, the Destiny of the Gods
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The forces of chaos break free and the gods march out to fight their final battle; knowing they will fall but that the world will be reborn.
A New World
From d'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. After the destruction of Ragnarok; a green and beautiful new world rises from the sea; and the surviving gods and humans begin again.
d'Aulaire's Book of Trolls
by D'aulaire, Ingri. Mythology collection. In this spectacular follow-up to their beloved Book of Norse Myths, the husband-and-wife team of Ingri and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire explore the uncanny...
In Olden Times
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. An introduction to the ancient world where gods and mortals shared the earth and extraordinary things happened every day.
Gaea, Mother Earth
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Mother Earth emerges from chaos and gives birth to the sky, the mountains, and the sea, setting the stage for all creation.
The Titans
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The mighty Titans rule the world under Cronus, who swallows his own children to keep his throne until his youngest son rises against him.
Zeus and His Family
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Zeus overthrows his father Cronus, frees his swallowed siblings, and divides the world among the Olympian gods.
Hera
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The proud queen of the gods rules Mount Olympus alongside Zeus and fiercely punishes anyone who crosses her.
Hephaestus
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The lame god of the forge is cast off Olympus but wins respect through his unmatched skill at crafting wondrous things from metal.
Aphrodite
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The goddess of love and beauty rises from the sea foam and enchants gods and mortals alike with her irresistible power.
Ares
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The brutal god of war loves bloodshed and battle but is despised by the other Olympians for his cruelty.
Athena
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The wise goddess of war and wisdom springs fully armored from the head of Zeus and becomes his favorite child.
Apollo
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The radiant god of light, music, and prophecy drives his golden chariot across the sky and establishes his oracle at Delphi.
Artemis
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Apollo's twin sister roams the wild forests as the fierce goddess of the hunt, fiercely guarding her independence.
Hermes
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The clever messenger god invents the lyre on the day he is born and talks his way out of trouble after stealing Apollo's cattle.
Hades
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The somber lord of the dead rules the underworld, where all mortal souls must eventually come to dwell.
Persephone and Demeter
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. When Hades kidnaps her daughter, the grief-stricken harvest goddess lets the earth wither until a bargain is struck that creates the seasons.
Dionysus
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The twice-born god of wine and revelry wanders the earth teaching mortals to grow grapes and rewarding those who welcome him.
Minor Gods, Nymphs, Satyrs, and Centaurs
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The woods, rivers, and mountains teem with lesser divine beings who live alongside the great Olympians.
Prometheus
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The Titan who loves mankind steals fire from the gods and is chained to a rock where an eagle eats his liver each day as punishment.
Pandora
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The first woman on earth opens a forbidden jar and accidentally releases all the world's sorrows, leaving only hope trapped inside.
Deucalion
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. When Zeus sends a great flood to destroy wicked humanity, one righteous couple survives and repopulates the earth by throwing stones over their shoulders.
Eos
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The rosy-fingered goddess of the dawn falls in love with a mortal and begs Zeus to make him immortal, but forgets to ask for eternal youth.
Helios and Phaethon
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The sun god's reckless son insists on driving the chariot of the sun across the sky and nearly burns the earth to cinders.
Selene
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The moon goddess falls in love with a sleeping shepherd and visits him each night, bathing him in her gentle silver light.
Pan
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The goat-footed god of shepherds and wild places plays his pipes in the lonely mountains and startles travelers with sudden panic.
Echo
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. A talkative nymph is cursed to repeat only the last words spoken to her and wastes away from unrequited love for Narcissus until only her voice remains.
Syrinx
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. A woodland nymph flees from Pan and is transformed into a bed of reeds, from which the heartbroken god fashions his famous pipes.
The Wild and Vulgar Centaurs
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The half-horse, half-human centaurs run wild and cause havoc, though the wise Chiron stands apart as a teacher of heroes.
Asclepius
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Trained by Chiron, the great healer becomes so skilled at medicine that he can raise the dead, which angers Zeus.
The Nine Muses
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Zeus's nine daughters inspire mortals in every art from epic poetry to dance, and woe to anyone who dares challenge them.
Orpheus
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The greatest musician who ever lived travels to the underworld to bring back his dead wife but loses her forever by looking back too soon.
Europa and Cadmus
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Zeus disguises himself as a white bull to carry off the princess Europa, and her brother Cadmus searches the world for her before founding the city of Thebes.
Tantalus and Pelops
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. A king who abuses the gods' hospitality is condemned to stand forever in a pool of water he can never drink, beneath fruit he can never reach.
Danaus, Perseus, and the Gorgon
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The hero Perseus sets out to slay the snake-haired Medusa and uses her severed head to rescue the princess Andromeda from a sea monster.
Clever and Vainglorious Kings
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Several proud mortal kings try to outwit or rival the gods and learn harsh lessons about the price of hubris.
King Midas
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. A greedy king wishes that everything he touches will turn to gold, only to discover the terrible cost when even his food and daughter are transformed.
Sisyphus
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The craftiest of kings cheats death twice but is finally condemned to roll a boulder uphill for eternity, only to have it roll back down each time.
Bellerophon
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. A young hero tames the winged horse Pegasus and slays the fire-breathing Chimera, but his pride leads him to attempt flying to Olympus itself.
Melampus
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. A kind-hearted seer who can understand the language of animals uses his gift to heal a cursed kingdom and win a bride for his brother.
Heracles
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The strongest hero in the world must complete twelve seemingly impossible labors to atone for a terrible deed and earn his place among the gods.
Theseus
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The young Athenian prince journeys to Crete and enters the labyrinth to slay the monstrous Minotaur and free his people from a grim tribute.
Oedipus
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. A prince raised in exile unknowingly fulfills a prophecy by killing his own father and marrying his mother, bringing ruin upon himself and Thebes.
The Golden Fleece
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. Jason and the Argonauts sail to the ends of the earth to retrieve a magical golden ram's fleece and reclaim Jason's stolen throne.
The Calydonian Boar Hunt
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The greatest heroes of Greece band together to hunt a monstrous boar sent by Artemis to ravage the kingdom of Calydon.
The Apples of Love and the Apple of Discord
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. A golden apple inscribed 'to the fairest' sparks a quarrel among three goddesses that ultimately leads to the Trojan War.
Everything Must Come to an End
From d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire. The age of gods and heroes gradually fades as mortals grow more powerful and the old myths become distant memories.
The Frog Prince
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A spoiled princess reluctantly befriends a frog who helped her retrieve her golden ball, and he transforms into a prince when she finally keeps her promise.
The Gallant Tailor
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A little tailor who kills seven flies at one blow embroiders a belt boasting the feat, and through wit and bravado tricks giants and wins a princess and a kingdom.
The Giant and the Tailor
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A boastful tailor visits a giant in the forest and outwits him with clever tricks until the giant drives him away in frustration.
The Little Farmer
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A poor but cunning peasant tricks his wealthier neighbors through a series of increasingly outrageous schemes involving a cowhide, a dead wife, and a barrel.
The Golden Key
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A poor boy finds a golden key in the snow and digs up an iron casket, but the story ends just as he begins to unlock it, leaving the contents to the reader's imagination.
Sharing Joy and Sorrow
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A tailor discovers that his wife's promise to share joy and sorrow really means she keeps the joy and leaves him all the sorrow.
The Nail
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A merchant ignores repeated warnings that his horse has a loose nail in its shoe, and the horse eventually falls lame, costing him dearly.
Tom Thumb
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A couple wishes for a child even if he were no bigger than a thumb, and their tiny son has a series of wild adventures after being swallowed by a cow and captured by thieves.
Tom Thumb's Travels
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. The thumb-sized hero sets out to see the world and endures further misadventures, including being swallowed by a wolf, before finally returning home to his parents.
The Young Giant
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A thumb-sized boy is carried off by a giant who raises him to enormous size and strength, and the young giant returns home to astonish his father and outwit everyone he meets.
Sweet Porridge
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A poor girl receives a magic pot that cooks porridge on command, but when her mother forgets the words to stop it, porridge floods the entire town.
The Elves
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Tiny elves secretly help a poor shoemaker by finishing his shoes overnight, and when the grateful couple leaves them little clothes as thanks, the elves dance away and never return.
Fair Katrinelje and Pif-Paf-Poltrie
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A nonsensical courtship tale in which Pif-Paf-Poltrie asks permission from every member of Katrinelje's family before he can marry her.
The Old Beggar-Woman
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A very short tale about an old beggar-woman who gathers the scraps given to her by charitable people, only to have them catch fire and consume her house.
The Jew Among Thorns
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A servant receives a magic fiddle that forces everyone who hears it to dance, and uses it to torment a man caught in a thorn bush.
King Thrushbeard
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A haughty princess mocks every suitor who comes to court her, until her father marries her off to a beggar who turns out to be the very king she ridiculed.
Clever Gretel
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A cook who loves to sample her master's food eats both roast chickens meant for a dinner guest and then tricks everyone into thinking the guest ran off with them.
Fitcher's Bird
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A sorcerer abducts three sisters one by one, but the youngest outwits him by reassembling her sisters' bodies and escaping disguised as a strange bird.
The Robber Bridegroom
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A young woman discovers that her betrothed is a murderer when she secretly witnesses him and his gang killing another maiden, and she exposes him at the wedding feast.
Old Hildebrand
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A peasant's wife and the village parson conspire to trick her husband, but Old Hildebrand hides himself and catches them in the act.
The Singing Bone
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A younger brother slays a wild boar but is murdered by his jealous older brother, and years later a bone fashioned into a flute sings out the truth of the crime.
Maid Maleen
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A princess imprisoned in a tower for seven years escapes to find her kingdom destroyed, then serves as a maid until she is reunited with the prince she loves.
The Goose Girl
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A princess is forced to trade places with her treacherous maid on the way to meet her bridegroom, and must tend geese until the truth is finally revealed.
The Skilful Huntsman
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A young huntsman uses his sharp-shooting skill to rescue a princess from a castle of robbers and outwit the rivals who try to steal credit for the deed.
The Princess in Disguise
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A princess disguises herself to escape danger and endures hardship in humble circumstances before her true identity is discovered and she reclaims her rightful place.
Cinderella
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A mistreated girl whose dead mother's spirit helps her through a magical hazel tree attends the king's ball in beautiful gowns, and the prince finds her by means of a golden slipper.
Simeli Mountain
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A poor man discovers a band of robbers using a magic phrase to open a mountain full of treasure, and helps himself to their gold until his greedy brother tries the same trick and gets caught.
The Glass Coffin
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A tailor shelters in a mysterious house in the forest and discovers a beautiful maiden imprisoned in a glass coffin by an evil sorcerer, then frees her and breaks the enchantment.
Rapunzel
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A girl with impossibly long hair is locked in a doorless tower by an enchantress, but a prince climbs her braided hair to visit her, and after suffering separation and hardship they are reunited.
The Sleeping Beauty
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A princess cursed at birth to prick her finger on a spindle falls into a hundred-year sleep along with the entire castle, until a prince arrives and wakes her with a kiss.
Old Rinkrank
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A princess falls through a glass mountain into the clutches of Old Rinkrank, who forces her to be his servant until she devises a clever escape.
Hansel and Gretel
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Two children abandoned in the forest discover a house made of bread and cake, but the old woman who lives there is a witch who plans to eat them until clever Gretel pushes her into her own oven.
The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Three kitchen scraps — a straw, a coal, and a bean — escape the fire and set off on a journey together, but only the bean survives after the others meet comical ends at a stream crossing.
The Death of the Hen
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A hen chokes on a nut and dies despite the rooster's frantic efforts to save her, and one disaster after another befalls all the animals who join the funeral procession.
The Rabbit's Bride
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A rabbit tries to lure a girl into his burrow to be his bride, but she outwits him by making a straw doll to take her place and escaping.
The Hare and the Hedgehog
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A hedgehog tired of being mocked for his short legs challenges a hare to a race and wins by having his wife wait at the finish line, fooling the hare every time.
The Dog and the Sparrow
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A sparrow befriends a hungry dog, and when a cartman deliberately runs over the dog, the sparrow takes terrible revenge by destroying everything the cartman owns.
Old Sultan
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. An aging dog about to be put down by his master strikes a deal with a wolf to stage a fake rescue, saving both his life and his place by the hearth.
Mr. Korbes
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A rooster and hen travel with a group of odd companions who hide themselves throughout Mr. Korbes's house and attack him from every direction when he comes home.
The Vagabonds
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A rooster and a hen go on a journey together and encounter a series of misadventures involving a duck, a pin, and a needle at an inn.
The Owl
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. An owl flies into a barn and terrifies the whole village so badly that they burn the barn down rather than face the unknown creature inside.
The Bremen Town Musicians
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A donkey, dog, cat, and rooster too old to work set out for Bremen to become musicians, but on the way they scare a band of robbers out of a cozy house and decide to stay.
The Wonderful Musician
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A musician wandering through the forest uses clever tricks to trap the animals drawn to his playing, wanting a human companion instead.
The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Three unlikely housemates divide up their chores perfectly until they decide to swap roles, and the new arrangement leads to disaster for all of them.
The Crumbs on the Table
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A rooster urges his hens to eat the crumbs their mistress left on the table, but the mistress catches them and beats them with a stick, teaching a lesson about minding what is not yours.
The Companionship of the Cat and the Mouse
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A cat and mouse set up house together and store a pot of fat for winter, but the cat secretly eats it all and then devours the mouse when she complains.
The Spider and the Flea
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A flea and a louse keep house together, and when the flea is scalded in a brewing accident, a chain of increasingly absurd reactions spreads through the neighborhood.
The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A mother goat warns her seven kids not to open the door, but a wolf disguises his voice and paw to trick his way in and swallows six of them before the mother cuts them free from his belly.
The Wolf and the Fox
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A greedy wolf forces a fox to steal food for him, but the fox eventually lures the wolf into a trap where his gluttony proves his undoing.
The Wolf and the Man
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A fox warns a boastful wolf that man is the strongest creature of all, and the wolf discovers the hard way just how right the fox was.
Gossip Wolf and the Fox
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A she-wolf and the fox get into a series of scrapes together, with the cunning fox always managing to come out on top at the wolf's expense.
Little Red Riding Hood
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A girl bringing food to her grandmother is tricked by a wolf who swallows them both, but a huntsman cuts them free and fills the wolf's belly with stones.
The Wedding of Mrs. Fox
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. When old Mr. Fox appears to die, a parade of animal suitors comes calling on Mrs. Fox, but none can measure up until Mr. Fox himself rises from his chair.
The Fox and the Geese
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A fox corners a flock of geese and agrees to let them each say one last prayer before being eaten, but the geese are still praying to this day.
The Fox and the Horse
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. An old horse turned out by his master is helped by a clever fox who tricks a lion into a harness, allowing the horse to drag the lion home and regain his master's favor.
The Fox and the Cat
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A fox boasts of knowing a hundred tricks while the cat knows only one, but when the hounds come, the cat's single trick of climbing a tree saves her while the fox is caught.
The Sole
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. The fishes hold a meeting and the sole refuses to join, so the herring curses the sole and that is why the sole's mouth is forever twisted to one side.
The Willow-Wren
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A tiny wren becomes king of the birds by hiding on the eagle's back and flying higher than any other bird when the contest is held.
The Willow-Wren and the Bear
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A bear insults the wren's children, sparking a war between the beasts and the birds that the tiny wren's army wins through clever strategy.
The Gifts of the Little Folk
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Dwarves give a hunchback the gift of removing his hump for his good manners, but a greedy second hunchback who demands the same treatment gets a second hump instead.
The Elf
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A young woman discovers a tiny elf and invites him to be godfather to her child, but when she visits his underground kingdom she finds that time passes differently there.
The Foundling Bird
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A forester finds a baby in a tree and raises him alongside his own daughter, and when the cook plots to boil the boy, the two children use magic transformations to escape.
The Water of Life
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Three princes seek the water of life to cure their dying father, but only the youngest succeeds by being kind to a dwarf, and his jealous brothers try to steal his reward.
The Water Sprite
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Two children fall into a well and are captured by a water sprite who forces them to do impossible chores, but they escape using magic objects that create obstacles behind them.
The Table, the Ass, and the Stick
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Three brothers each receive a magic gift — a table that sets itself, a donkey that produces gold, and a cudgel that beats thieves — and the youngest uses the stick to recover the others' stolen treasures.
One-Eye, Two-Eyes, and Three-Eyes
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Two-Eyes is mistreated by her sisters for looking normal, but a wise woman gives her a magic goat and a golden tree that eventually win her a knight's love.
The Knapsack, the Hat, and the Horn
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Three brothers find magic objects — a knapsack that conjures armies, a hat that fires cannons, and a horn that levels walls — and use them to conquer a kingdom.
Sweetheart Roland
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A girl flees her murderous stepmother with her beloved Roland, using a magic wand to transform them both and escape pursuit, though a flower's enchantment nearly separates them forever.
The Devil's Three Gold Hairs
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A lucky boy born with a caul is destined to marry the king's daughter, and to prevent it the king sends him to fetch three golden hairs from the devil's head, a task he accomplishes with help from the devil's grandmother.
The Griffin
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A simple but kind-hearted boy is sent on an impossible quest to visit a fearsome griffin and answer three riddles, and his good nature wins him help at every turn.
The Sea-Hare
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A princess with twelve all-seeing windows challenges suitors to hide from her, and a young man finally succeeds by concealing himself inside a sea-hare placed beneath her very gaze.
The Maiden Without Hands
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A miller unknowingly promises his daughter to the devil, and when she proves too pure to claim, the devil forces her father to chop off her hands, but she wanders the world under God's protection until her hands miraculously regrow.
The Pink Flower
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A queen's son is stolen by an evil cook and given the power to wish for anything, and the boy uses a magical pink flower to break the enchantment and reunite with his mother.
Mother Hulda
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A hardworking girl falls down a well into another world where she serves Mother Hulda faithfully and is showered with gold, while her lazy stepsister tries the same and is covered in pitch.
The True Bride
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A girl tormented by her stepmother receives help from a mysterious old woman, wins a prince's love, and must reclaim him after an enchantment makes him forget her.
The Three Little Birds
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A king marries one of three sisters, but the jealous older two throw her babies into the water and replace them with animals, until the truth is revealed and the children return.
The Three Snake-Leaves
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A young man discovers magic leaves that can revive the dead and uses them to bring his wife back to life, but she repays his devotion with treachery.
The White Snake
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A servant who tastes the king's secret white snake dish gains the ability to understand animals, and their grateful help allows him to complete impossible tasks and win a princess.
The Three Spinners
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A lazy girl is locked up to spin flax, but three deformed women do the work for her on the condition that she invite them to her wedding, where their ugliness convinces the prince never to make her spin again.
Rumpelstiltskin
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A mysterious little man spins straw into gold for a miller's daughter in exchange for her firstborn child, but she saves the baby by discovering his secret name.
The Queen Bee
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. The youngest of three princes is mocked as a simpleton, but because he showed kindness to ants, ducks, and bees, they help him complete three impossible tasks and win a princess.
The Golden Goose
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A kind but underestimated youngest son finds a goose with golden feathers that causes everyone who touches it to stick fast, and the ridiculous procession makes a solemn princess laugh and wins him her hand.
The Three Feathers
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A king sends his three sons to follow feathers blown by the wind to determine who will inherit the kingdom, and the youngest descends underground where a toad provides him the finest gifts.
The Hut in the Forest
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Three daughters are sent one by one to bring food to their father in the forest, and only the youngest remembers to care for the old man's animals, breaking an enchantment that turns his hut into a palace.
Donkey Cabbages
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A huntsman cheated by a witch and her daughter uses magic cabbages that turn people into donkeys to take his revenge and recover his stolen wishing-cloak.
Snow-White and Rose-Red
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Two devoted sisters befriend a bear who visits their cottage each winter, and after they defeat a wicked dwarf, the bear is revealed to be an enchanted prince.
The Poor Miller's Boy and the Cat
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A simple miller's apprentice serves a magical cat for seven years, and in return the cat — really an enchanted princess — gives him a fine horse and makes him lord of a castle.
The Old Woman in the Wood
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A servant girl lost in the forest is helped by a dove who asks her to retrieve a plain ring from a witch's cottage, and the ring breaks the spell on an enchanted prince.
The Lambkin and the Little Fish
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A wicked stepmother transforms a brother and sister into a lamb and a fish, but a wise woman breaks the spell and restores them to their human forms.
The Juniper Tree
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A wicked stepmother murders her stepson and serves him in a stew, but his little sister gathers his bones beneath a juniper tree and a bird rises from them to take revenge and restore the boy to life.
Jorinda and Joringel
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A witch turns Jorinda into a nightingale, and her beloved Joringel searches until he dreams of a blood-red flower that breaks the enchantress's power and frees Jorinda.
The Goose-Girl at the Well
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A young count helps an old woman carry a heavy load and discovers she is caring for a mysterious goose-girl who turns out to be a banished princess weeping tears of pearls.
The Three Little Men in the Wood
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A kind stepdaughter shares her bread with three dwarves who bless her with beauty and gold, while her rude stepsister is cursed with ugliness and misfortune.
The White Bride and the Black Bride
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A kind girl blessed by God is sent to marry the king, but her jealous stepmother and stepsister push her into a river and the stepsister takes her place until a white duck reveals the deception.
Brother and Sister
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A brother and sister flee their cruel stepmother, but the brother is turned into a deer by her curse, and the sister must protect him through hardship until the spell is finally broken.
The Golden Children
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A poor fisherman catches a golden fish whose magic produces twin golden boys, twin golden horses, and twin golden lilies, and the boys grow up to face adventures that test their bond.
The Two Brothers
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Twin brothers raised by a huntsman part ways and each has grand adventures, with one slaying a dragon and the other using a magic sign to know when his brother is in danger and come to his rescue.
Ferdinand the Faithful and Ferdinand the Unfaithful
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Two men named Ferdinand travel together, but the unfaithful one repeatedly schemes to destroy the faithful one, who is saved each time by a magic horse that tells him what to do.
The Three Black Princesses
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A young man must free three enchanted princesses by enduring their hideous appearance without speaking or flinching, but he fails at the last moment and the princesses sink deeper into their curse.
Snow White
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A beautiful princess flees her vain queen stepmother who keeps trying to kill her, finds shelter with seven dwarves, and is finally awakened from a poisoned-apple death by a prince.
The Worn-Out Dancing Shoes
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Twelve princesses wear out their shoes every night by secretly descending to an underground kingdom to dance, until a clever soldier made invisible by a magic cloak follows them and reveals the mystery.
The Boots of Buffalo Leather
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A discharged soldier in buffalo-leather boots wanders through the forest, captures a band of robbers with cunning, and wins a reward from the king.
The Six Servants
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A prince gathers six men with extraordinary abilities — one who can see everything, one who can drink a sea, and more — to help him pass a wicked queen's impossible tests and win her daughter.
Six Soldiers of Fortune
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A discharged soldier teams up with five men who each have a superhuman talent, and together they outwit a king who tries to cheat them of a promised reward.
The Two Travelers
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A kind tailor and a cruel cobbler travel together, and after the cobbler blinds the tailor, the tailor overhears animals' secrets that bring him fortune while the cobbler's wickedness catches up to him.
The Ear of Corn
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A short tale explaining why ears of corn now grow only at the top of the stalk — because people were so wasteful with grain that God punished them by reducing the harvest.
The Aged Mother
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A brief parable about an old woman who is left behind when everyone in a village flees a plague, and she prays for death but is comforted by an angel.
The Hazel Branch
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A very short tale about a child sleeping under a hazel bush, and the mother learns that hazel branches have always been the best protection against snakes and evil creatures.
The Old Grandfather's Corner
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A family makes their frail grandfather eat alone from a wooden bowl, but when their small son begins carving a trough for them to eat from when they are old, they are shamed into treating the grandfather with kindness again.
The Ungrateful Son
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A man hides a roast chicken from his elderly father, but when the father leaves, the chicken has turned into a toad that leaps onto the son's face and never comes off.
The Bittern and the Hoopoe
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A brief origin tale explaining why the bittern lives in lonely marshes booming its mournful cry and the hoopoe perches on high ground calling out its name.
The Three Languages
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A count's son learns only three seemingly useless languages — of dogs, birds, and frogs — but these gifts lead him to find treasure, save a city, and ultimately become Pope.
The Star Money
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A poor orphan girl gives away her last bread and every piece of clothing to those in need, and stars fall from the sky as gold coins to reward her selflessness.
The Poor Man and the Rich Man
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. God disguised as a traveler is turned away by a rich man but welcomed by a poor one, and the poor man's three wishes bring him contentment while the rich man's greed costs him dearly.
The Stolen Pennies
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A dead child's ghost keeps appearing at the dinner table until his parents discover the stolen pennies hidden in his floorboard, and once the money is given to the poor, the child rests in peace.
The Shroud
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A mother weeps so bitterly for her dead child that the child's ghost appears and begs her to stop, because her tears are soaking the shroud and will not let him rest.
The Wilful Child
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A disobedient child who never does what his mother says falls ill and dies, and even from the grave his arm keeps reaching up until his mother strikes it down.
The Rose
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A brief legend about a poor woman's children who play beneath a rosebush, and an angel takes them to heaven where the roses bloom forever.
The Tailor in Heaven
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A tailor sneaks into heaven and sits in God's chair while He is away, then throws the footstool at a thief on earth and is nearly tossed out for his presumption.
Poverty and Humility Lead to Heaven
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A prince renounces his wealth after a hermit teaches him that only poverty and humility can open the gates of heaven.
The Flail from Heaven
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A short tall tale about a farmer who climbs a beanstalk to heaven and sees angels threshing oats, then brings back a flail as proof of his journey.
The Moon
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Four young men steal pieces of the moon's light for their own country, and when they die and are buried with the stolen glow, the dead wake up and cause such a ruckus that St. Peter has to come restore order.
The Peasant in Heaven
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A poor peasant arrives at heaven's gate quietly while a rich man enters with great fanfare, and St. Peter explains that poor folk come along every day but rich ones are rare.
Eve's Various Children
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. When God visits Eve she hides her unwashed children, and He decrees that the hidden ones shall be servants while the presentable ones become kings and nobles, explaining the origins of social ranks.
The Poor Boy in the Grave
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A cruelly treated orphan boy drinks poison by mistake thinking it is the wine and honey his masters kept from him, and dies in the grave where he had hidden from a beating.
Our Lady's Child
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. The Virgin Mary takes a woodcutter's daughter to heaven but forbids her to open one door; the girl disobeys, denies it, and is cast back to earth to suffer until she finally confesses.
Gambling Hansel
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Hansel gambles away everything he owns, tricks the Lord and St. Peter out of their wishes, and even cheats his way into heaven after death.
The Old Man Made Young Again
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. The Lord and St. Peter stop at a smithy where God restores an old man to youth by placing him in the forge fire, but when the smith tries the same trick on his mother-in-law, it goes horribly wrong.
The Lord's Animals and the Devil's
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. God creates all the gentle animals but forgets the goat, so the devil makes his own goats with long tails that get caught in everything, which is why the devil is always biting off their tails.
Master Pfriem
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A cobbler who criticizes absolutely everyone and everything is granted a glimpse of heaven in a dream, and even there he cannot stop finding fault.
The Heavenly Wedding
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A poor boy hears heavenly music and witnesses a glorious wedding feast in a vision, and is so filled with joy that he dies peacefully with a smile on his face.
God's Food
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Two sisters respond differently to hardship — one trusts in God and is fed by angels, while the other hoards food and is punished for her selfishness.
St. Joseph in the Forest
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Three sisters are sent into the forest, and the kind youngest one shares her food with St. Joseph and is rewarded with blessings, while the selfish older sisters receive punishment.
The Three Green Twigs
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A pious hermit judges a hanged criminal too harshly, and God punishes him by making him carry a dry stick until three green twigs sprout from it as a sign of forgiveness.
Our Lady's Little Glass
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A tiny legend about the flower called Our Lady's Little Glass, a small white convolvulus shaped like a drinking cup that the Virgin Mary once used to hold wine.
Brother Frolick
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A discharged soldier receives a magic sack from St. Peter that traps anything inside it, and he uses it to capture devils and eventually trick his way into heaven.
The Bright Sun Will Bring It to Light
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A tailor's apprentice murders a Jew for his money and lives well for years, but an idle remark about the sun bringing all things to light eventually leads to his exposure and punishment.
The Sparrow and His Four Children
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A father sparrow gives each of his four sons practical advice suited to where they have settled, teaching them wisdom about surviving in the world.
The Life Span
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. God originally gives man only thirty years of life, but the donkey, dog, and monkey each beg to have their long lifespans shortened, and their extra years are added to man's — explaining why old age brings burdens.
The Twelve Apostles
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Three hundred years before Christ's birth, a mother with twelve sons so poor they are starving sends them into the world, and an angel puts them to sleep until the time comes for them to become the twelve apostles.
Faithful John
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A devoted servant overhears ravens foretelling three dangers to his young king and prevents each one, but is turned to stone for revealing the secret, until the king makes the ultimate sacrifice to restore him.
The Six Swans
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A sister must sew six shirts of starwort in complete silence for six years to free her brothers from a spell that turned them into swans, even as she is condemned to burn at the stake.
The Seven Ravens
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Seven brothers are cursed into ravens by their father's angry wish, and their devoted little sister journeys to the ends of the earth and the glass mountain to break the spell.
The Twelve Brothers
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Twelve princes flee when their father plans to kill them to give everything to their sister, and years later the sister finds them but accidentally turns them into ravens by picking twelve enchanted lilies.
Iron John
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A wild man called Iron John is freed from a cage by a young prince and becomes his secret protector, guiding the boy through trials until he proves himself worthy and Iron John's own enchantment is broken.
The King's Son Who Feared Nothing
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A fearless prince takes on giants, enchanted castles, and dangerous beasts, winning a princess and breaking curses through sheer courage and refusal to be afraid.
The Drummer
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A young drummer finds a maiden's linen garment on a lake and uses it to bargain for her freedom from a witch on a glass mountain, completing three impossible tasks to rescue her.
The Two Kings' Children
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A prince and princess from enemy kingdoms fall in love and must complete deadly tasks set by the princess's father, escaping through a series of magical transformations.
The Iron Stove
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A prince enchanted inside an iron stove in the forest is freed by a princess who promises to marry him, but when she breaks a condition of the spell, they must endure further trials before they can be together.
The Singing, Soaring Lark
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A girl's father promises her to a lion in exchange for a singing lark, and she must journey across the world to free her beloved from an enchantment after she accidentally breaks the terms of his curse.
The Nixie in the Pond
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A water nixie claims a miller's newborn son, and when the boy grows up and is finally dragged into her pond, his wife must follow a wise woman's instructions to rescue him through three moonlit rituals.
The Raven
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A princess is cursed into the form of a raven and can only be freed if a man waits for her at a certain spot without eating or drinking, but he fails twice before finally succeeding on the third attempt.
The Crystal Ball
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. The youngest of three brothers must find a crystal ball hidden inside a series of nested enchantments to free a princess held captive in the Castle of the Golden Sun.
The Donkey
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A king and queen's son is born as a donkey but learns to play the lute beautifully, and when he marries a princess who loves him despite his form, his donkey skin is stripped away to reveal a handsome prince.
Hans the Hedgehog
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A man wishes so desperately for a child that his son is born half hedgehog, and Hans rides a rooster into the forest where he helps lost kings and eventually sheds his prickly skin to become fully human.
The King of the Golden Mountain
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A merchant's son is traded to a spirit as an infant, grows up to free an enchanted princess, and becomes king of the Golden Mountain, but must reclaim his throne after his wife betrays him.
The Golden Bird
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A youngest prince sets out to catch a golden bird that steals his father's apples, and though he repeatedly ignores a helpful fox's advice, the fox saves him every time and is eventually freed from its own enchantment.
Strong Hans
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A boy raised in a robber's cave grows so strong he escapes with his mother, and later descends into a deep pit to rescue a princess from a dwarf, only to be betrayed by his companions.
The Blue Light
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A discharged soldier finds a magical blue light in a well that summons a powerful dwarf who serves his every command, and he uses it to take revenge on the king who wronged him.
The Fisherman and His Wife
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A fisherman catches an enchanted flounder that grants wishes, and his wife's demands escalate from a cottage to a castle to ruling the world until she finally asks for too much and loses everything.
The Good Bargain
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A simple farmer makes one ridiculous bargain after another — selling his cow for a pittance and throwing money to frogs — but his foolishness accidentally leads to a reward from the king.
Prudent Hans
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Hans always follows his mother's advice one step behind — applying yesterday's instructions to today's situation — and the results are hilariously wrong every single time.
Hans in Luck
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Hans trades his wages — a lump of gold — for a horse, then the horse for a cow, and keeps trading down until he has nothing at all, yet considers himself the luckiest man alive.
Clever Else
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A girl considered terribly clever goes to the cellar to fetch beer and instead sits weeping over an imaginary future calamity, and one by one her entire family joins her in crying over what has not happened.
Hans Gets Married
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A brief comic tale in which Hans chooses a bride through a series of absurd exchanges and riddle-like conversations that parody courtship customs.
The Youth Who Could Not Shiver and Shake
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A fearless boy spends three nights in a haunted castle full of ghosts, demons, and rolling skulls without once feeling afraid, and only learns to shudder when his bride dumps a bucket of cold fish on him in bed.
Fred and Kate
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A foolish wife makes one disastrous blunder after another — letting the sausage burn, spilling the beer, and throwing away money — while her husband grows increasingly exasperated.
Wise Folks
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A peasant encounters a string of supposedly wise people who each behave more foolishly than the last, proving that so-called wisdom is often just cleverly disguised stupidity.
The Lazy Spinner
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A woman who hates spinning invents one trick after another to avoid the work, including smashing her reel and convincing her husband that spinning is cursed.
The Three Lazy Sons
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A king promises his kingdom to whichever of his three sons can prove himself the laziest, and each one describes his idleness in increasingly absurd terms.
The Twelve Lazy Servants
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Twelve servants compete to outdo each other in laziness, each one boasting about how little he does, in a humorous catalog of idleness taken to its extreme.
Lazy Harry
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Harry finds even tending his one goat too much work, so he marries a woman equally lazy, and together they devise ever more elaborate schemes to avoid doing anything at all.
Odds and Ends
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A girl who wastes her spinning materials by leaving flax and thread scattered about is visited by the scraps themselves, who scold her for her carelessness.
Choosing a Bride
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A young shepherd decides which of three sisters to marry by watching how each one eats cheese — and the one who trims the rind most neatly wins his heart.
The Spindle, the Shuttle, and the Needle
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. An orphan girl inherits three enchanted tools from her godmother, and when a prince searches for the poorest yet richest bride, the spindle, shuttle, and needle magically lead him to her door.
The Peasant's Wise Daughter
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A clever peasant girl impresses the king with her riddle-solving so much that he marries her, and when he later banishes her, she outwits him one final time to win back his love.
The Shepherd Boy
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A king tests a famously clever shepherd boy with three impossible questions, and the boy's witty answers delight the king so much that he takes the boy into his court.
The Master-Thief
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A count challenges a thief to perform three seemingly impossible feats of stealing — the horse from under its guard, the sheet from under his wife, and the parson from the church — and the thief accomplishes them all.
The Three Brothers
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A father sends his three sons to each learn a trade, promising his house to whoever masters his craft best, and when all three prove equally skilled the brothers share the house together.
The Four Skilful Brothers
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Four brothers each learn an extraordinary skill — star-gazing, thievery, hunting, and tailoring — and combine their talents to rescue a princess from a dragon.
Tales of Snakes
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A collection of brief anecdotes about children who share their food with snakes, and the snakes repay their kindness with gifts of gold and jewels.
The Turnip
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A poor soldier grows an enormous turnip and presents it to the king, who rewards him richly, but the soldier's wealthy brother tries the same trick with expensive gifts and is given only the turnip in return.
The Twelve Huntsmen
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A princess disguises herself and eleven maidens as huntsmen to serve the king who jilted her, and despite a wise lion's suspicions, she eventually wins back her beloved.
The Maid of Brakel
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A very short comic tale about a maid who prays to a statue of the Virgin Mary for a husband and mistakes an echo for a divine answer.
Going Traveling
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A poor man sets out to see the world and encounters a series of people whose strange customs and foreign phrases he hilariously misunderstands at every turn.
Knoist and His Three Sons
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A very brief nonsense tale in which Knoist's three sons have absurd disabilities and go on an equally absurd hunting trip where nothing makes sense.
The Story of Schlauraffen Land
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A tall tale describing a topsy-turvy land of plenty where roasted pigeons fly into your mouth, houses are made of cake, and the laziest person is crowned king.
The Ditmarsch Tale of Wonders
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A rapid-fire nonsense story piling one impossible image on top of another — a fir tree with a pancake on top, a snail outrunning a horse — told as if it were perfectly normal.
Domestic Servants
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A short comic piece about servants who concoct elaborate excuses for not working and find increasingly creative ways to shirk their duties.
The Rogue and His Master
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A father sends his son to learn a trade, and the boy apprentices himself to a master of trickery, eventually becoming so skilled that he out-tricks his own teacher.
The Wise Servant
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A brief humorous tale about a supposedly wise servant whose cleverness leads him to do exactly the wrong thing through overthinking his master's simple instructions.
The Seven Swabians
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Seven cowardly Swabians share a single enormous spear and set off to do brave deeds, but they are terrified by a bumblebee, a rabbit, and every other harmless creature they encounter.
Lean Lisa
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Lazy Lisa and her equally lazy husband devise endless plans for the future that require no effort, and their big dreams always come to nothing because neither will lift a finger.
Godfather Death
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A man chooses Death as godfather to his son because Death treats everyone equally, and Death makes the boy a famous doctor — but when the son cheats Death to save a princess, he pays with his own life.
Death's Messengers
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Death promises a young man fair warning before coming for him, and when the man later complains he received no notice, Death points out that illness, weakness, and old age were all his messengers.
The Wonderful Glass
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A brief tale about a man who discovers a magical looking glass that reveals secrets and hidden truths, bringing both wonder and trouble to its owner.
The Old Witch
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A girl sent on an errand stumbles upon a witch's house and must obey strange commands, but she escapes by following advice about which objects to flee from and which to trust.
The Devil's Sooty Brother
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A discharged soldier agrees to serve the devil for seven years by tending his fires and never washing, and at the end receives a knapsack full of gold and the devil's own soot-blackened appearance.
Bearskin
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A soldier strikes a deal with the devil to wear a bearskin and never wash for seven years in exchange for endless wealth, and though he becomes hideous, a faithful girl agrees to marry him and waits until the curse is lifted.
The Devil and His Grandmother
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Three soldiers sell their souls to the devil but are given a chance to go free if they can answer his riddle, and the devil's own grandmother secretly tells them the answer.
The Grave Mound
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A poor farmer keeps watch over a rich man's grave and encounters the devil trying to steal the dead man's soul, but outwits the devil and claims a fortune buried beneath the mound.
The Peasant and the Devil
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A peasant agrees to split his harvest with the devil, letting the devil choose the top or bottom half each season, and cleverly plants turnips or wheat to keep the best part for himself every time.
The Three Apprentices
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Three journeymen agree to the devil's bargain to answer every question with the same three phrases, and the phrases accidentally make them confess to a murder they did not commit.
Doctor Knowall
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A peasant buys an ABC book and sets himself up as the all-knowing Doctor Crab, and through sheer luck his vague pronouncements happen to solve a real theft and make him famous.
The Three Army Surgeons
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Three surgeons boast of their skill by cutting out their own eye, hand, and heart to prove they can replace them, but a cat steals the parts and the replacements go comically wrong.
The Spirit in the Glass Bottle
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A woodcutter's son finds a powerful spirit trapped in a bottle under a tree and tricks it back inside after it threatens him, then bargains for a rag that turns any wound to silver.
The Three Sons of Fortune
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A father gives his three sons each a seemingly worthless gift — a rooster, a scythe, and a cat — but each son finds a remote land where his gift has never been seen and makes a fortune.
The Clever Little Tailor
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A princess challenges suitors to guess a riddle about her hair, and a cocky little tailor wins her hand through quick wits and bluffing when he is locked in a room with a bear.
The Riddle
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A prince poses a riddle based on his real experiences — poison, ravens, and death — that no one can solve, and a princess who stakes her hand in marriage on answering it must resort to trickery.
A Tale with a Riddle
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A very short puzzle-tale that presents a riddle about three women transformed by witchcraft, challenging the listener to figure out which one was the wife.
The Beam
From Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. A brief fable about a sorcerer who enchants a beam of wood, and the moral warns against judging things by their outward appearance.
He Lion; Bruh Bear; and Bruh Rabbit
From The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton. He Lion rules the forest until clever Bruh Rabbit outwits him with the help of Bruh Bear.
Doc Rabbit; Bruh Fox; and Tar Baby
From The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton. Bruh Fox sets a sticky tar trap for the trickster Doc Rabbit in this classic tale of wits and pride.
Tappin; the Land Turtle
From The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton. Slow-moving Tappin the turtle outsmarts faster animals through patience and cleverness.
Bruh Alligator and Bruh Deer
From The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton. Bruh Deer uses quick thinking to escape Bruh Alligator's hungry jaws.
Bruh Lizard and Bruh Rabbit
From The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton. Bruh Lizard and Bruh Rabbit try to outwit each other in a contest of cunning.
Bruh Alligator Meets Trouble
From The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton. Bruh Alligator goes looking for Trouble and finds out what it really means.
Wolf and Birds and the Fish-Horse
From The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton. A fantastical animal tale mixing wolf trickery with strange and magical creatures.
The Beautiful Girl of the Moon Tower
From The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton. A young man must pass impossible tests to win the hand of a beautiful girl locked in a tower that reaches the moon.
A Wolf and Little Daughter
From The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton. Little Daughter sings and dances her way past a hungry wolf lurking in the woods.
Manuel Had a Riddle
From The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton. Manuel stumps everyone with a riddle no one can solve and wins a great reward.
Papa John's Tall Tale
From The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton. Papa John spins an extravagant tall tale that stretches the truth to its breaking point.
The Two Johns
From The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton. Two men named John — one enslaved and one the enslaver — match wits in a battle of knowledge and power.
Wiley; His Mama; and the Hairy Man
From The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton. Young Wiley and his clever mama must trick the fearsome Hairy Man three times to be rid of him forever.
John and the Devil's Daughter
From The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton. John falls in love with the Devil's daughter and must complete impossible tasks to escape with her.
The Peculiar Such Thing
From The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton. A strange creature keeps appearing and growing bigger until it finally reveals what it wants.
Little Eight John
From The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton. A disobedient boy named Little Eight John does everything his mama tells him not to and faces the consequences.
Jack and the Devil
From The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton. Jack strikes a bargain with the Devil and must use all his wits to wriggle out of it.
Better Wait Till Martin Comes
From The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton. A man shelters in a haunted house where cats keep arriving and growing larger — each one saying to wait till Martin comes.
Carrying the Running-Aways
From The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton. A brave soul carries enslaved people to freedom on the Underground Railroad.
How Nehemiah Got Free
From The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton. Nehemiah uses his sharp mind and a clever trick to win his freedom from slavery.
The Talking Cooter
From The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton. A turtle starts talking and no one believes the man who heard it — until the turtle speaks again.
The Riddle Tale of Freedom
From The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton. An enslaved man wins his freedom by posing a riddle his enslaver cannot solve.
The Most Useful Slave
From The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton. An enslaved man proves his worth is beyond measure through a sharp demonstration of his abilities.
The People Could Fly
From The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton. Enslaved Africans who remembered the ancient magic words shed their burdens and flew away to freedom.
Uncle Remus Initiates the Little Boy
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Uncle Remus draws a young boy into his world of animal tales for the first time with the story of Brer Rabbit and the calamus root.
The Wonderful Tar-Baby Story
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Brer Fox fashions a tar baby to trap Brer Rabbit, who gets stuck fast when he can't resist picking a fight with it.
Why Mr. Possum Loves Peace
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Mr. Possum explains why he plays dead rather than fight — a lesson in knowing when not to scrap.
How Mr. Rabbit Was Too Sharp for Mr. Fox
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Stuck to the tar baby, Brer Rabbit begs not to be thrown in the briar patch — which is exactly where he wants to go.
The Story of the Deluge; and How It Came About
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. The animals cause a great flood through their quarreling, and only the clever ones survive.
Mr. Rabbit Grossly Deceives Mr. Fox
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Brer Rabbit tricks Brer Fox into believing he's deathly ill, then rides him like a horse to Miss Meadows' house.
Mr. Fox Is Again Victimized
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Brer Fox tries to get even but Brer Rabbit outsmarts him yet again with another clever ruse.
Mr. Fox Is Outdone by Mr. Buzzard
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Mr. Buzzard turns the tables on Brer Fox with a trick of his own.
Miss Cow Falls a Victim to Mr. Rabbit
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Brer Rabbit tricks Miss Cow into getting her horns stuck in a tree so he can milk her.
Mr. Terrapin Appears upon the Scene
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. The slow but shrewd Mr. Terrapin enters the stories and proves he's nobody's fool.
Mr. Wolf Makes a Failure
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Mr. Wolf tries to catch Brer Rabbit but his plan backfires spectacularly.
Mr. Wolf Tackles Old Man Tarrypin
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Mr. Wolf picks on Old Man Tarrypin, who proves tougher and smarter than he looks.
The Awful Fate of Mr. Wolf
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Brer Rabbit lures Mr. Wolf into a fatal trap, ending the wolf's scheming for good.
Mr. Fox and the Deceitful Frogs
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Brer Fox is fooled by frogs who seem to be saying something they're not.
Mr. Fox Goes A-Hunting; but Mr. Rabbit Bags the Game
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Brer Fox does all the hunting while Brer Rabbit manages to walk away with the prize.
Old Mr. Rabbit; He's a Good Fisherman
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Brer Rabbit tricks the other animals into thinking he's a master fisherman.
Mr. Rabbit Nibbles up the Butter
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Brer Rabbit secretly eats the communal butter and frames another animal for it.
Mr. Rabbit Finds His Match at Last
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Brer Rabbit finally meets an animal clever enough to get the better of him.
The Fate of Mr. Jack Sparrow
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Talkative Mr. Jack Sparrow learns the hard way that loose lips can be dangerous.
How Mr. Rabbit Saved His Meat
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Brer Rabbit uses a clever scheme to keep his food supply from being stolen.
Mr. Rabbit Meets His Match Again
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Another animal gets the upper hand on Brer Rabbit in a contest of wits.
A Story about the Little Rabbits
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Brer Rabbit's children show they've inherited their father's cleverness when put to the test.
Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Bear
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Brer Rabbit outwits the much larger Mr. Bear with a scheme that leaves Bear looking foolish.
Mr. Bear Catches Old Mr. Bull-Frog
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Mr. Bear finally catches Mr. Bull-Frog, but the frog may yet have the last laugh.
How Mr. Rabbit Lost His Fine Bushy Tail
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Brer Rabbit's vanity about his beautiful tail leads to its unfortunate loss.
Mr. Terrapin Shows His Strength
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Slow Mr. Terrapin proves he's stronger than anyone thinks with a clever demonstration.
Why Mr. Possum Has No Hair on His Tail
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. A pourquoi tale explaining how Mr. Possum's tail ended up bare.
The End of Mr. Bear
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Mr. Bear's greed and gullibility finally catch up with him in a sticky situation.
Mr. Fox Gets into Serious Business
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Brer Fox's scheming leads him into deeper trouble than he bargained for.
How Mr. Rabbit Succeeded in Raising a Dust
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Brer Rabbit stirs up a commotion to cover his latest trick.
A Plantation Witch
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. A tale of eerie happenings and folk beliefs about witches on the old plantation.
Jacky-my-Lantern
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. The origin of the jack-o'-lantern told through plantation folklore and a tricky spirit.
Why the Negro Is Black
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Uncle Remus shares a pourquoi tale about how different people came to have different skin colors.
The Sad Fate of Mr. Fox
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Brer Fox's long rivalry with Brer Rabbit comes to its final conclusion.
Uncle Remus Songs and Sayings
From Uncle Remus Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. A collection of plantation proverbs, songs, and folk sayings gathered by Uncle Remus.
Moses the Kitten
From James Herriot's Treasury for Children by James Herriot. A tiny kitten found nearly frozen in a farmyard is nursed back to health and adopted by a most unlikely mother — a pig.
Only One Woof
From James Herriot's Treasury for Children by James Herriot. A shy sheepdog who never makes a sound surprises everyone with a single bark at the moment it matters most.
The Christmas Day Kitten
From James Herriot's Treasury for Children by James Herriot. A stray cat arrives on Christmas Day with a gift — a kitten — for a lonely old woman who needs a companion.
Bonny's Big Day
From James Herriot's Treasury for Children by James Herriot. An old, overlooked workhorse gets her moment to shine at the village show.
Blossom Comes Home
From James Herriot's Treasury for Children by James Herriot. An aging cow sold at market escapes and walks herself all the way back to the only farm she's ever known.
The Market Square Dog
From James Herriot's Treasury for Children by James Herriot. A stray dog who hangs around the market square wins the hearts of the townspeople until someone finally gives him a home.
Oscar; Cat-About-Town
From James Herriot's Treasury for Children by James Herriot. A wandering cat makes the rounds of every public gathering in town — concerts, meetings, and football matches.
Smudge; the Little Lost Lamb
From James Herriot's Treasury for Children by James Herriot. A tiny rejected lamb is hand-raised by a farmer's family and becomes a beloved pet.
How Things Started
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. How the world began and what it was like before there were any people.
Umfa-Umfa and Itchy-Scratchy
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Prehistoric cave people and what life was like before civilization.
Fire! Fire!! Fire!!!
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. How early humans discovered fire and how it changed everything.
From an Airplane
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. A bird's-eye view of the ancient lands where civilization first took root.
Real History Begins
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The start of recorded history in the ancient river valleys.
The Puzzle-Writers
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. How the ancient Egyptians and others invented writing with picture-puzzles.
The Tomb-Builders
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The Egyptians and the great pyramids they built for their pharaohs.
A Rich Land Where There Was No Money
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Ancient Egypt's great wealth and how people traded without coins.
The Wandering Jews
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The story of Abraham and the Israelites and their long journey.
Fairy-Tale Gods
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The gods and goddesses of Greek mythology.
A Fairy-Tale War
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The Trojan War and the heroes who fought in it.
The Kings of the Jews
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. David, Solomon, and the kingdom of Israel.
The People Who Made Our A B C's
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The Phoenicians and how they invented the alphabet we still use.
Hard as Nails
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The fierce Assyrians and their mighty empire.
The Crown of Leaves
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The Olympic Games and what they meant to the ancient Greeks.
A Bad Beginning
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The founding of Rome — Romulus and Remus and the city built on seven hills.
Kings with Corkscrew Curls
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The Babylonian and Persian kings with their curled beards and grand empires.
A City of Wonder and Wickedness
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The splendors and sins of ancient Babylon.
A Surprise Party
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. How Cyrus the Persian conquered Babylon by surprise.
The Other Side of the World
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Ancient India and China and what was happening far from Europe.
Rich Man; Poor Man
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Solon's reforms in Athens and the struggle between rich and poor.
Rome Kicks Out Her Kings
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. How Rome threw out its kings and became a republic.
Greece vs. Persia
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The Persian Wars and the battles of Marathon and Salamis.
Fighting Mad
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The Spartans and their fierce warrior way of life.
One Against a Thousand
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The heroic stand at Thermopylae where a few hundred held off a vast army.
The Golden Age
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The Golden Age of Athens under Pericles — art, drama, and the Parthenon.
When Greek Meets Greek
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta.
Wise Men and Otherwise
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The Greek philosophers — Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
A Boy King
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Alexander the Great and his conquest of the known world.
Picking a Fight
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Rome's growing ambitions and the start of the Punic Wars.
The Boot Kicks and Stamps
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Rome conquers the Italian peninsula and stamps its authority across the land.
The New Champion of the World
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Rome defeats Carthage and rises to dominate the Mediterranean.
The Noblest Roman of Them All
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Julius Caesar and the end of the Roman Republic.
An Emperor Who Was Made a God!
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Augustus Caesar and the beginning of the Roman Empire.
Thine Is the Kingdom; the Power; and the Glory
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The life of Jesus Christ and the birth of Christianity.
Blood and Thunder
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Nero and the persecution of early Christians in Rome.
A Good Emperor and a Bad Son
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The wise emperor Marcus Aurelius and his unworthy son Commodus.
I-H-S-V
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The signs and symbols of early Christianity and the spread of the faith.
Our Tough Ancestors
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The Germanic barbarian tribes beyond the borders of Rome.
White Toughs and Yellow Toughs Meet the Champions of the World
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The Huns and Germanic tribes clash with Rome in the last days of the empire.
Nightfall
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The fall of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Dark Ages.
Being Good
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Monks and monasteries preserving learning through the Dark Ages.
A Camel-Driver
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Muhammad and the rise of Islam.
Arabian Days
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The Islamic Golden Age and its achievements in science, art, and learning.
A Light in the Dark Ages
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Charlemagne unites much of Europe and brings a brief revival of learning.
Getting a Start
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The Vikings and the Norse adventurers who explored and raided across Europe.
The End of the World
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The widespread fear that the world would end in the year 1000.
Real Castles
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Medieval castles, feudalism, and what life was like inside the walls.
Knights and Days of Chivalry
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Medieval knights, their code of chivalry, and tournaments.
A Pirate's Great Grandson
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. William the Conqueror, descended from Norse raiders, conquers England.
A Great Adventure
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The Crusades and the quest to recapture the Holy Land.
Tit-Tat-To; Three Kings in a Row
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Three famous Crusading kings — Richard the Lion-Hearted, Philip of France, and Frederick Barbarossa.
Bibles Made of Stone and Glass
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The great Gothic cathedrals with their soaring arches and stained-glass windows.
John; Whom Nobody Loved
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. King John of England and the Magna Carta.
A Great Story-Teller
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Marco Polo and his famous journey to China.
Thing-a-ma-jigger and What-cher-ma-call-it; or A Magic Needle and a Magic Powder
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The inventions of the compass, gunpowder, and the printing press.
Thelon Gest Wart Hate Verwas
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The Longest War That Ever Was — the Hundred Years' War between England and France.
Off with the Old; On with the New
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The end of the Middle Ages and the dawn of a new era.
A Sailor Who Found a New World
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Christopher Columbus and his voyage across the Atlantic.
Fortune-Hunters
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The conquistadors and their search for gold in the Americas.
The Land of Enchantment; or The Search for Gold and Adventure
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Exploration of the New World and the legends of cities of gold.
Born Again
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The Renaissance — the rebirth of art, learning, and culture in Europe.
Christians Quarrel
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation.
King Elizabeth
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Queen Elizabeth I, who ruled England as powerfully as any king.
The Age of Elizabeth
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Shakespeare, the Spanish Armada, and the Elizabethan golden age.
James the Servant; or What's in a Name?
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. King James I and the conflicts between king and Parliament.
A King Who Lost His Head
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Charles I and the English Civil War that ended with his execution.
Red Cap and Red Heels
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Louis XIV, the Sun King, and the splendor of Versailles.
A Self-Made Man
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Peter the Great and how he modernized Russia.
A Prince Who Ran Away
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Frederick the Great of Prussia and the rise of a new power in Europe.
America Gets Rid of Her King
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The American Revolution and the birth of the United States.
Upside Down
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The French Revolution turns the old order upside down.
A Little Giant
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Napoleon Bonaparte's rise from obscurity to emperor of France.
From Pan and His Pipes to the Phonograph
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The great inventions from the steam engine to the phonograph.
The Daily Papers of 1854-1865
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The American Civil War as it might have appeared in the newspapers.
Three New Postage Stamps
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The unification of Italy, Germany, and other new nations.
The Age of Miracles
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The amazing technological progress of the late 1800s.
A World at War
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. World War I and the conflict that engulfed nations around the globe.
A Short Twenty Years
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The uneasy peace between the two World Wars.
Toughs Again
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The rise of dictators — Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin.
Fighting the Toughs
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. World War II and the fight against the Axis powers.
C.C.C.P. or U.S.S.R.
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. Soviet Russia and the challenge of communism.
Trying to Keep the Peace
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. The United Nations and the effort to prevent another world war.
Yesterday; To-day; and To-morrow
From A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer. A look back at what we've learned and forward to what lies ahead.
What Your Preschooler Needs to Know
by Hirsch, E.D.. Integrated curriculum collection. This beautifully illustrated anthology is designed for parents to enjoy with children, filled with opportunities for reading aloud and fostering...
What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know
by Hirsch, E.D.. Integrated curriculum collection. This groundbreaking first volume in the Core Knowledge Series provides kindergartners with the fundamentals they need to prepare them for a...
What Your 1st Grader Needs to Know
by Hirsch, E.D.. Integrated curriculum collection. This book answers important questions about what a child will be expected to learn in the first grade and how parents can help at home.
What Your 2nd Grader Needs to Know
by Hirsch, E.D.. Integrated curriculum collection. This book answers important questions about what a child will be expected to learn in the second grade and how parents can help at home.
How the Whale Got His Throat
From Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling. A mariner tricks a whale into swallowing a grate so it can never again eat anything larger than tiny fish.
How the Camel Got His Hump
From Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling. A lazy camel who refuses to work and answers every request with "Humph" is punished with a permanent hump on his back.
How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin
From Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling. A Parsee man gets revenge on a rude rhinoceros by filling his shed skin with cake crumbs, leaving it wrinkled and ill-fitting forever.
How the Leopard Got His Spots
From Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling. A leopard and an Ethiopian hunter adapt to a new forest landscape by changing their appearances, with the leopard gaining his distinctive spots.
The Elephant's Child
From Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling. A young elephant's insatiable curiosity leads him to the banks of the Limpopo River, where a crocodile stretches his nose into the long trunk elephants have today.
The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo
From Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling. A vain kangaroo who wants to be different from all other animals gets his wish when a dingo chases him all day long, stretching his legs and tail into their modern shape.
The Beginning of the Armadillos
From Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling. A hedgehog and a tortoise confuse a young jaguar so thoroughly by imitating each other that they eventually merge into an entirely new creature, the armadillo.
How the First Letter Was Written
From Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling. A prehistoric girl named Taffy tries to send a message by drawing pictures on birch bark, but the Stranger who carries it misreads every symbol and chaos ensues.
How the Alphabet Was Made
From Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling. Taffy and her father Tegumai work together to invent an alphabet by turning mouth-shapes and sounds into written letters.
The Crab That Played with the Sea
From Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling. The Eldest Magician discovers that a giant crab has been causing the tides by playing in and out of the sea, and he shrinks the crab down to its present small size.
The Cat That Walked by Himself
From Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling. When Woman domesticates the other wild animals one by one, the Cat strikes his own cunning bargain to keep his independence while still enjoying the warmth of the cave.
The Butterfly That Stamped
From Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling. King Solomon helps a boastful butterfly and his quarrelsome wife settle their argument, and in doing so tricks his own 999 quarrelsome queens into behaving.
Mowgli's Brothers
From The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. A human infant is adopted by a wolf pack and accepted into the jungle under the protection of Baloo the bear and Bagheera the panther, despite the tiger Shere Khan's fury.
Kaa's Hunting
From The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. Mowgli is kidnapped by the Bandar-log monkeys and carried to a ruined city, where the great python Kaa helps Baloo and Bagheera rescue him.
Tiger! Tiger!
From The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. Mowgli returns to the man-village but is cast out as a sorcerer, so he lures Shere Khan into a stampede of buffalo and finally defeats his old enemy.
The White Seal
From The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. A rare white seal named Kotick searches the ocean for years to find a safe beach where his people can live beyond the reach of hunters.
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
From The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. A brave young mongoose is taken in by a human family and wages a life-or-death battle against the cobras Nag and Nagaina to protect the household.
Toomai of the Elephants
From The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. Young Little Toomai rides his elephant Kala Nag deep into the jungle at night and witnesses the secret dance of the elephants, a sight no other human has seen.
Her Majesty's Servants
From The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. On the night before a grand military review, a camp follower overhears the army animals arguing about bravery, obedience, and why each creature fears what it does.
The Twelve Dancing Princesses
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Twelve princesses wear out their shoes every night, and a clever soldier discovers their secret underground ballroom.
The Princess Mayblossom
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A princess cursed at birth by an angry fairy must overcome enchantments before she can find happiness.
Soria Moria Castle
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A lazy Norwegian boy named Halvor journeys to a castle beyond the sky and rescues three princesses from trolls.
The Death of Koschei the Deathless
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A Russian tale in which a hero must find and destroy Koschei's hidden soul to defeat the immortal sorcerer.
The Black Thief and Knight of the Glen
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. An Irish tale where a master thief saves three princes by telling stories of his own daring escapes.
The Master Thief
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A thief so skilled he can steal anything proves his talent through three impossible challenges.
Brother and Sister
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A brother turned into a deer and his faithful sister survive a wicked stepmother's enchantments.
Princess Rosette
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A French princess sets out to marry the King of the Peacocks, but treachery nearly ruins everything.
The Enchanted Pig
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A princess must marry an enchanted pig and endure hardship to break the spell on her husband.
The Norka
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A Russian prince descends into an underground kingdom to battle a fearsome beast called the Norka.
The Wonderful Birch
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A Finnish tale where a girl's dead mother returns as a birch tree to protect her from a cruel stepmother.
Jack and the Beanstalk
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Jack trades a cow for magic beans, climbs a beanstalk to a giant's castle, and makes off with treasure.
The Little Good Mouse
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A kind fairy mouse helps a captive queen and her baby princess escape an evil king.
Graciosa and Percinet
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A princess endures her cruel stepmother's impossible tasks with the help of the enchanted prince Percinet.
The Three Princesses of Whiteland
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A Norwegian fisherman's son rescues three princesses from a troll kingdom at the edge of the world.
The Voice of Death
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A man hears Death's voice calling and must face his fate with courage.
The Six Sillies
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A young man refuses to marry until he can find six people more foolish than his fiancée's family.
Kari Woodengown
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A Norwegian Cinderella story where a girl in a wooden dress wins a prince at three Sunday church services.
Drakestail
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A tiny duck named Drakestail marches to the king to demand repayment of a loan, swallowing helpful friends along the way.
The Ratcatcher
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. The Pied Piper of Hamelin rids a town of rats with his magical pipe — and takes a terrible payment when the town breaks its promise.
The True History of Little Goldenhood
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A French retelling of Little Red Riding Hood where the golden hood itself has magical protective powers.
The Golden Branch
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A prince is enchanted and can only be freed when someone finds and breaks the golden branch.
The Three Dwarfs
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A kind girl shares her bread with three dwarfs who reward her with beauty and gold, while her rude stepsister gets the opposite.
Dapplegrim
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A Norwegian youth and his magnificent horse Dapplegrim complete impossible tasks to win a princess.
The Enchanted Canary
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A prince turned into a canary is kept in a cage until a princess discovers the truth and frees him.
The Twelve Brothers
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A princess discovers she has twelve brothers turned into ravens and must stay silent for years to save them.
Rapunzel
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A girl with impossibly long hair is locked in a tower by a witch, until a prince hears her singing.
The Nettle Spinner
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A girl must spin nettles into thread to break a curse, enduring pain and silence.
Farmer Weatherbeard
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A powerful wizard called Farmer Weatherbeard takes on an apprentice, leading to a shape-shifting battle of wills.
Mother Holle
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A girl falls into a well and serves Mother Holle faithfully, earning a shower of gold — while her lazy sister gets a shower of pitch.
Minnikin
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A tiny but mighty hero defeats trolls and giants to rescue princesses and win a kingdom.
Bushy Bride
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A Norwegian tale where a kind girl is replaced by an ugly impostor on her wedding day, but the truth comes out.
Snowdrop
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A beautiful princess is poisoned by her jealous stepmother and sleeps in a glass coffin until a prince awakens her.
The Golden Goose
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A kind youngest son shares his food with an old man and receives a golden goose that makes everyone stick together.
The Seven Foals
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A Norwegian boy must watch seven magical foals and discover where they run each day to win a princess.
The Marvellous Musician
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A wandering musician tricks forest animals one by one with his enchanting playing.
The Story of Sigurd
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. The Norse hero Sigurd slays the dragon Fafnir, wins the treasure of the Nibelungs, and meets a tragic fate.
The Bronze Ring
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A gardener's son wins a magic bronze ring from a grateful serpent and uses it to win a princess — until a rival steals it.
Prince Hyacinth and the Dear Little Princess
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A prince with an absurdly long nose cannot see his own flaw until he learns to look past vanity.
East of the Sun and West of the Moon
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A girl rides the winds to a castle east of the sun and west of the moon to rescue her enchanted prince.
The Yellow Dwarf
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A proud princess and her suitor face the wrath of a jealous yellow dwarf who demands her hand in marriage.
Little Red Riding Hood
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A girl in a red hood visits her grandmother and meets a wolf along the way.
The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A princess pricks her finger on a spindle and falls asleep for a hundred years until a prince awakens her.
Cinderella; or the Little Glass Slipper
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A mistreated girl attends a ball with her fairy godmother's help and loses a glass slipper.
Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A poor boy finds a magic lamp with a powerful genie inside and rises from rags to riches.
The Tale of a Youth Who Set Out to Learn What Fear Was
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A fearless boy sets out to discover what it means to shudder, facing ghosts and horrors without flinching.
Rumpelstiltzkin
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A girl must guess the name of the imp who spins straw into gold or lose her firstborn child.
Beauty and the Beast
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A kind girl agrees to live with a fearsome beast and discovers that true beauty lies within.
The Master Maid
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A clever maid helps a prince escape a giant's service through magical tricks and resourcefulness.
Why the Sea Is Salt
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A magic mill grinds out anything its owner wishes — until someone asks it to grind salt and can't make it stop.
The Master Cat; or Puss in Boots
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A clever cat in boots schemes his poor master into a castle, a fortune, and a princess.
Felicia and the Pot of Pinks
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A kind girl tends a magical pot of flowers that brings her good fortune and true love.
The White Cat
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A prince discovers a castle ruled by a beautiful white cat who helps him complete his father's impossible tasks.
The Water-Lily. The Gold-Spinners
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A prince is enchanted into a water lily and can only be freed by a maiden who spins gold.
The Terrible Head
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. The Greek myth of Perseus, who slays the Gorgon Medusa and rescues Andromeda from a sea monster.
The Story of Pretty Goldilocks
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A charming ambassador falls in love with the beautiful Princess Goldilocks while wooing her on behalf of his king.
The History of Whittington
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Poor Dick Whittington sends his cat on a trading ship and it earns him a fortune from a rat-plagued kingdom.
The Wonderful Sheep
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A princess befriends a magical sheep who is really an enchanted prince under a fairy's curse.
Little Thumb
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. The smallest of seven brothers uses his wits to save them all from an ogre.
The Forty Thieves
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Ali Baba discovers the thieves' cave with its treasure and the magic words 'Open Sesame.'
Hansel and Grettel
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Two children abandoned in the forest discover a gingerbread house belonging to a witch who wants to eat them.
Snow-white and Rose-red
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Two kind sisters befriend a bear who turns out to be an enchanted prince, and outwit an ungrateful dwarf.
The Goose-girl
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A princess is forced to trade places with her treacherous maid on the way to her wedding, and must prove her true identity.
Toads and Diamonds
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A kind girl is blessed so that flowers and gems fall from her lips, while her rude sister produces toads and snakes.
Prince Darling
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A spoiled prince is turned into various beasts until he learns to be kind and humble.
Blue Beard
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A young wife discovers the terrible secret behind the one door her husband forbade her to open.
Trusty John
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A faithful servant sacrifices everything to save his young king from three deadly curses.
The Brave Little Tailor
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A tailor who kills seven flies at one blow parlays his boast into giant-slaying fame and a kingdom.
A Voyage to Lilliput
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Gulliver is shipwrecked among the tiny people of Lilliput in this retelling from Swift's classic.
The Princess on the Glass Hill
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A Norwegian youth rides a magical horse up a glass hill to win the golden apple and the princess.
The Story of Prince Ahmed and the Fairy Paribanou
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Three princes compete for a princess with magical gifts, but the youngest discovers a fairy kingdom underground.
The History of Jack the Giant-killer
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Young Jack earns his fame by outwitting and slaying a series of fearsome giants across the land.
The Black Bull of Norroway
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A Scottish girl rides a great black bull through enchanted lands and must wash a bloody shirt to break his spell.
The Red Etin
From The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A Scottish boy must answer a three-headed giant's riddles to save his brother and three imprisoned princesses.
The Blue Bird
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A faithful prince is turned into a blue bird by a jealous fairy and must sing at his beloved's window for seven years.
The Half-Chick
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A Spanish chick born with only one leg, one wing, and one eye sets off to see the king and learns hard lessons along the way.
The Story of Caliph Stork
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A caliph and his vizier sniff a magic powder that turns them into storks — but they forget the word to change back.
The Enchanted Watch
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A poor boy inherits a magical watch that summons servants to do his bidding.
Rosanella
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A princess raised in hiding must overcome enchantments and a rival before she can claim her true love.
Sylvain and Jocosa
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Two lovers separated by a jealous fairy endure trials before being reunited.
Fairy Gifts
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A fairy offers gifts to two children — one chooses well and the other poorly, with very different results.
Prince Narcissus and the Princess Potentilla
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A prince and princess fall in love despite the schemes of rival fairies who control their fates.
Prince Featherhead and the Princess Celandine
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A vain prince and a proud princess must both learn humility before they deserve each other.
The Three Little Pigs
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Three pigs build houses of straw, sticks, and bricks, and only the brick house withstands the wolf.
Heart of Ice
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A prince cursed with a frozen heart journeys through enchanted lands seeking the fire of true feeling.
The Enchanted Ring
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A young man gains a magic ring from a grateful snake and must recover it when it is stolen.
The Snuff-box
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A magic snuff-box summons helpers who can build castles overnight, but trouble follows when it's lost.
The Golden Blackbird
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A king sends his sons to find a golden blackbird, and only the youngest succeeds through kindness.
The Little Soldier
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A discharged soldier finds a magic purse and invisible cloak but must outwit a cunning princess to keep them.
The Magic Swan
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A youngest son wins a magic swan and makes a princess laugh for the first time, winning her hand.
The Dirty Shepherdess
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A princess disguises herself as a poor shepherdess to escape her father and prove her worth.
The Enchanted Snake
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A queen gives birth to a snake-prince who must find a bride willing to love him despite his form.
The Biter Bit
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A trickster gets a taste of his own medicine when someone out-tricks him.
King Kojata
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A king promises his unborn son to an underwater demon, and the prince must outwit the creature to survive.
Prince Fickle and Fair Helena
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A fickle prince who cannot settle on a bride is taught a lesson by the steadfast Fair Helena.
Puddocky
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A prince falls in love with a frog who is really an enchanted princess.
The Story of Hok Lee and the Dwarfs
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A Chinese man with a lump on his face visits dancing dwarfs who remove it — but his greedy neighbor gets a different result.
The Story of the Three Bears
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A girl wanders into the house of three bears and tries their porridge, chairs, and beds.
Prince Vivien and the Princess Placida
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. An adventurous prince and a lazy princess are matched by fairies who hope they'll balance each other out.
Little One-eye; Little Two-eyes; and Little Three-eyes
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. The middle sister with two normal eyes is mistreated by her odd-eyed siblings until a magic tree changes her fortune.
Jorinde and Joringel
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A witch turns Jorinde into a nightingale, and her beloved Joringel must find a magic flower to free her.
Allerleirauh; or the Many-furred Creature
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A princess flees her father's wrongful marriage demand disguised in a coat of a thousand furs.
The Twelve Huntsmen
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A princess and eleven maids disguise themselves as huntsmen to win back a prince who has forgotten his betrothed.
Spindle; Shuttle; and Needle
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A poor orphan girl's enchanted spindle, shuttle, and needle lead a prince straight to her door.
The Crystal Coffin
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A tailor discovers a glass coffin in a cave containing a beautiful enchanted maiden and frees her.
The Three Snake-leaves
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A soldier uses three magical snake-leaves to bring his dead wife back to life — but she repays him with treachery.
The Riddle
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A prince poses a riddle so clever that no one can solve it, winning a princess who had outwitted every other suitor.
Jack My Hedgehog
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A boy born as a hedgehog rides a rooster into the forest and strikes bargains with lost kings.
The Golden Lads
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Twin boys born with gold stars on their foreheads are separated and must find each other again.
The White Snake
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A servant who eats a piece of white snake gains the ability to understand animals and wins a princess.
The Story of a Clever Tailor
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A tailor outwits a princess at her own riddle game with a surprising answer.
The Golden Mermaid
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A prince captures a golden mermaid with the help of a grateful fox and outwits his treacherous brothers.
The War of the Wolf and the Fox
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A cunning fox repeatedly tricks a gullible wolf into painful and humiliating situations.
The Story of the Fisherman and His Wife
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A fisherman catches a magic fish and his wife's wishes grow grander and grander until she asks for too much.
The Three Musicians
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Three wandering musicians use their wits and talents to overcome dangers on the road.
The Three Dogs
From The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A boy inherits three powerful dogs who help him slay a dragon and rescue a princess.
The Cat and the Mouse in Partnership
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A cat and a mouse set up house together and store a pot of fat — but the cat keeps sneaking off to eat it.
The Six Swans
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A sister must sew six shirts of starwort in total silence to free her brothers from a swan enchantment.
The Dragon of the North
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A terrible dragon terrorizes the land until a clever youth finds the only weapon that can defeat it.
Story of the Emperor's New Clothes
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Two swindlers convince a vain emperor they've made him invisible clothes — until a child speaks the truth.
The Golden Crab
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A prince enchanted into a golden crab wins a princess who must learn to trust him despite his form.
The Iron Stove
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A princess frees a prince trapped inside an iron stove by promising to marry him, then must find him again after breaking her word.
The Dragon and His Grandmother
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Three soldiers who sold themselves to the devil are saved when his grandmother tricks him into revealing the answers to his riddles.
The Donkey Cabbage
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A hunter uses magic cabbages that turn people into donkeys to take revenge on a treacherous witch and her daughter.
The Little Green Frog
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A queen's promise to a green frog leads to surprising enchantments and a royal marriage.
The Seven-headed Serpent
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A brave youth battles a monstrous seven-headed serpent with help from grateful animals he once saved.
The Grateful Beasts
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A kind young man spares the lives of animals who later help him complete impossible tasks to win a princess.
The Giants and the Herd-boy
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A clever herd-boy outwits a family of giants through quick thinking and bravery.
The Invisible Prince
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A prince made invisible by a fairy's gift uses his power to rescue an enchanted princess.
The Crow
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. An enchanted princess in the form of a crow can only be freed by a man brave enough to endure terrible visions.
How Six Men Travelled Through the Wide World
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A discharged soldier gathers five men with extraordinary powers and together they outwit a greedy king.
The Wizard King
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A powerful wizard king steals a princess, and a brave prince must break his enchantments to rescue her.
The Nixy
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A water sprite demands a terrible price from a miller who stumbles upon sudden wealth.
The Glass Mountain
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A knight must ride up a glass mountain to rescue a princess guarded by an eagle at the summit.
Alphege; or the Green Monkey
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A prince cursed into the form of a green monkey must find true love to regain his shape.
Fairer-than-a-Fairy
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A princess more beautiful than fairies is imprisoned by a jealous enchantress and must be rescued by a devoted prince.
The Three Brothers
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Three brothers each learn a trade and compete to show whose skill is finest to inherit their father's house.
The Boy and the Wolves; or the Broken Promise
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A boy breaks a promise to the wolves and must face the consequences of his dishonesty.
The Glass Axe
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A young man must complete impossible tasks with fragile glass tools to win the hand of a witch's daughter.
The Dead Wife
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A grieving husband follows his wife's spirit to the land of the dead and tries to bring her back.
In the Land of Souls
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A Native American tale of a man who journeys to the spirit world to retrieve his beloved's soul.
The White Duck
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A Russian tale where a princess is turned into a white duck by a witch who takes her place.
The Witch and Her Servants
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A prince and his magical servants must outwit a powerful witch to win freedom and a bride.
The Magic Ring
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A young man acquires a magic ring and must recover it with help from grateful animals when it is stolen.
The Flower Queen's Daughter
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A prince imprisoned in a tower is freed by the Flower Queen's daughter and they flee her mother's wrath together.
The Flying Ship
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A simple boy builds a flying ship and gathers companions with extraordinary powers to win a princess.
The Snow-daughter and the Fire-son
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A couple wish for children and receive a snow-daughter and a fire-son whose natures put them in danger.
The Story of King Frost
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A Russian tale where a cruel stepmother sends her stepdaughter to King Frost, who rewards her kindness with riches.
The Death of the Sun-hero
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A sun-hero's tragic fate unfolds despite all efforts to prevent the prophecy of his death.
The Witch
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A girl sent to borrow fire from a witch escapes with help from a kind cat, dog, and gate she had treated well.
The Hazel-nut Child
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A tiny child born from a hazel nut proves that great things come in small packages.
The Story of Big Klaus and Little Klaus
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Little Klaus outwits greedy Big Klaus again and again with clever tricks in this Andersen tale.
Prince Ring
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. An Icelandic prince and his faithful dog overcome a scheming rival and rescue an enchanted princess.
The Swineherd
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A prince disguised as a swineherd tests a shallow princess with magical toys she can only buy with kisses.
How to Tell a True Princess
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A real princess proves her royal sensitivity by feeling a pea through twenty mattresses.
The Blue Mountains
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A young man rescues a princess from an enchanter in the Blue Mountains with help from a grateful eagle.
The Tinder-box
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A soldier finds a magic tinder-box that summons three enormous dogs who grant his every wish.
The Witch in the Stone Boat
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A witch in a stone boat steals a queen's place, and the king must discover the deception to save his true wife.
Thumbelina
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A tiny girl no bigger than a thumb journeys through dangers — toads, moles, and beetles — before finding her flower-prince.
The Nightingale
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. An emperor prefers a jeweled mechanical bird over a real nightingale, until only the real one can save his life.
Hermod and Hadvor
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. An Icelandic tale of a prince and princess who overcome giants and enchantments to be together.
The Steadfast Tin-soldier
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A one-legged tin soldier loves a paper ballerina and endures a perilous journey before meeting a fiery end.
Blockhead Hans
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. The simpleton brother rides a goat to court a princess and wins her with his absurd, fearless honesty.
A Story About a Darning-needle
From The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. A vain darning needle believes herself to be a fine sewing needle and narrates her own grand misadventures.
Arabian Nights
by Lang, Andrew. Folktale collection. The Arabian Nights is a collection of Perso-Arabic folk tales and other stories compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age.
The Complete Book of Nonsense
by Lear, Edward. Poetry collection. English artist, illustrator, and poet Edward Lear is most famous for the volumes of limericks and nonsense poems that he published beginning with his...
Winnie-the-Pooh
From The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne. The original adventures of the bear of very little brain and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood — Piglet, Eeyore, Owl, Rabbit, Kanga, and Roo.
The House at Pooh Corner
From The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne. More adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood, introducing the bouncy Tigger, and ending with Christopher Robin's bittersweet farewell.
The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood
From Perrault's Complete Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault. A princess pricks her finger on a spindle and sleeps for a hundred years until a prince's arrival breaks the spell.
Puss in Boots
From Perrault's Complete Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault. A clever cat in boots transforms his poor master into a marquis through cunning schemes and bold bluffs.
Little Tom Thumb
From Perrault's Complete Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault. The smallest of seven brothers uses his wits to save them all from an ogre and steal his seven-league boots.
The Fairies
From Perrault's Complete Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault. A kind girl is blessed so jewels and flowers fall from her lips, while her rude sister produces toads and vipers.
Ricky of the Tuft
From Perrault's Complete Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault. An ugly but brilliant prince and a beautiful but foolish princess each give the other what they lack.
Cinderella
From Perrault's Complete Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault. A mistreated girl attends the prince's ball with her fairy godmother's help and leaves behind a glass slipper.
Little Red Riding Hood
From Perrault's Complete Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault. A girl in a red hood meets a wolf on the way to grandmother's house — Perrault's original, cautionary version.
Blue Beard
From Perrault's Complete Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault. A young wife opens the one forbidden door in her husband's castle and discovers his terrible secret.
The Ridiculous Wishes
From Perrault's Complete Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault. A woodcutter is granted three wishes and wastes them all in a comic chain of blunders.
Donkey-Skin
From Perrault's Complete Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault. A princess flees her father's wrongful marriage demand disguised in a donkey's hide and works as a scullery maid.
Patient Griselda
From Perrault's Complete Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault. A humble shepherdess endures her royal husband's cruel tests of her loyalty and obedience.
Beauty and the Beast
From Perrault's Complete Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault. A kind girl agrees to live with a fearsome beast and discovers that true love can transform even the most monstrous exterior.
The Friendly Frog
From Perrault's Complete Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault. A queen befriends a helpful frog who aids her daughter through enchantments and dangers.
Princess Rosette
From Perrault's Complete Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault. A princess sets out to marry the King of the Peacocks, but her jealous brothers' servants nearly ruin everything.
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
From Beatrix Potter: The Complete Tales by Beatrix Potter. A disobedient young rabbit sneaks into Mr. McGregor's garden and has a harrowing time escaping.
The Tale of Benjamin Bunny
From Beatrix Potter: The Complete Tales by Beatrix Potter. Peter Rabbit's bold cousin Benjamin leads him back into Mr. McGregor's garden to retrieve the clothes Peter lost on his previous adventure.
The Tale of Mr. Tod
From Beatrix Potter: The Complete Tales by Beatrix Potter. Benjamin Bunny and Peter Rabbit must rescue Benjamin's kidnapped babies from the badger Tommy Brock before the fox Mr. Tod comes home.
The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies
From Beatrix Potter: The Complete Tales by Beatrix Potter. Benjamin Bunny's children fall asleep in Mr. McGregor's rubbish heap after eating too much lettuce, and a resourceful mouse helps save them from being put in a sack.
The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck
From Beatrix Potter: The Complete Tales by Beatrix Potter. A naive duck determined to hatch her own eggs is tricked by a charming fox into nesting in his woodshed, not realizing she is being fattened for his dinner.
The Tale of Tom Kitten
From Beatrix Potter: The Complete Tales by Beatrix Potter. Three kittens dressed in their finest clothes for a tea party promptly lose every stitch to a family of ducks while playing in the garden.
The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle
From Beatrix Potter: The Complete Tales by Beatrix Potter. A little girl named Lucie follows a path up a hill and discovers a kindly hedgehog washerwoman who has been laundering all the lost handkerchiefs and pinafores.
The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin
From Beatrix Potter: The Complete Tales by Beatrix Potter. An impertinent squirrel pesters Old Brown the owl with silly riddles day after day until the owl finally loses his temper and nearly catches him, leaving Nutkin with a short tail.
The Tale of Two Bad Mice
From Beatrix Potter: The Complete Tales by Beatrix Potter. Two mice break into a dollhouse expecting a grand feast but fly into a rage when they discover the food is all plaster, and they smash up the place before making amends.
The Tale of Jeremy Fisher
From Beatrix Potter: The Complete Tales by Beatrix Potter. A frog gentleman sets out on a fishing expedition that goes comically wrong when he is swallowed by a trout and barely escapes to host his friends for dinner.
The Story of Tuan mac Cairill
From Irish Fairy Tales by James Stephens. Tuan tells the monks of Ireland's history through his own shape-shifting lives as stag, boar, hawk, and salmon across the ages.
The Boyhood of Fionn
From Irish Fairy Tales by James Stephens. Young Fionn mac Cumhaill is raised in secret in the wild, gains the gift of prophecy from the Salmon of Knowledge, and claims his rightful place.
The Birth of Bran
From Irish Fairy Tales by James Stephens. Fionn's aunt is transformed into a hound and gives birth to Bran and Sceolan, the great dogs of the Fianna.
Oisin's Mother
From Irish Fairy Tales by James Stephens. Fionn encounters a enchanted deer who is really the fairy woman Saeve, and their brief love produces the poet Oisin.
The Wooing of Becfola
From Irish Fairy Tales by James Stephens. A restless queen slips away to a fairy island for an adventure and returns to find that no time has passed at all.
The Little Brawl at Allen
From Irish Fairy Tales by James Stephens. A feast at Allen turns into a wild brawl among the Fianna over a game of chess and a point of honor.
The Carl of the Drab Coat
From Irish Fairy Tales by James Stephens. A mysterious giant in a shabby coat challenges the Fianna to a strange bargain that tests their courage and honor.
The Enchanted Cave of Cesh Corran
From Irish Fairy Tales by James Stephens. Fionn and his men are lured into a fairy cave and trapped by enchantment until cunning and bravery set them free.
Becuma of the White Skin
From Irish Fairy Tales by James Stephens. A fairy woman banished from the Otherworld marries the High King of Ireland and brings misfortune to the land.
Mongan's Frenzy
From Irish Fairy Tales by James Stephens. The shapeshifting king Mongan wagers his wife in a dispute over an old tale and must use all his magic to win her back.
A Child's Garden of Verses
by Stevenson, Robert Louis. Poetry collection. This is a delightful look at childhood, written by master poet and storyteller Robert Louis Stevenson.
A Trickle of Water
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. An Irish creation tale of how the world began from a single trickle of water.
The Dagda
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The mighty father-god of the Tuatha De Danann and his magical cauldron, harp, and club.
Angus Og and the Swan
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The god of love searches for the maiden he sees only in dreams and finds her among a flock of swans.
The Cattle Raid
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. Queen Maeve launches a war over a great brown bull to match her husband's white-horned one.
The Children of Lir
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A jealous stepmother transforms four children into swans for nine hundred years.
Colga; King of Lochlann
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A Norse king invades Ireland and the Fianna must rise to defend their land.
Conary; King of Tara
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The rise of the legendary High King Conary and the prophecies that shape his reign.
Conary's Geise
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. King Conary breaks his sacred taboos one by one, sealing his tragic fate.
Diarmuid and the Wild Boar
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The handsome warrior Diarmuid meets his foretold doom in a hunt for a magical wild boar.
The Disappearance of the Danaans
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The Tuatha De Danann retreat into the fairy mounds when the Milesians conquer Ireland.
The Eric of the Sons of Turenn
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. Three brothers must complete impossible quests as blood-price for killing Lugh's father.
Etain and Midir
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The fairy lord Midir seeks his beloved Etain, who has been reborn as a mortal woman.
Etain and King Eochaidh
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The High King marries Etain, not knowing a fairy lord will come to claim her back.
The Fair Princess with the Pig's Head
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A princess cursed with a pig's head must find someone brave enough to love her.
Fergus Mac Leda's Visitors
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. King Fergus captures tiny water sprites who grant him wishes in exchange for freedom.
Finn Mac Cool's Thumb
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. Young Finn burns his thumb on the Salmon of Knowledge and gains the gift of prophecy.
The Fianna
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The legendary band of Irish warriors and the strict code they lived by.
Finn Mac Cool and the Brothers Black; Brown and Gray
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. Finn encounters three mysterious brothers and must prove himself against their challenges.
Finn Mac Cool and the Old Hag
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. Finn faces a cunning old hag whose enchantments test even his wisdom.
Finn Mac Cool and the Seven Brothers
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. Finn and the Fianna take on seven dangerous brothers in a test of strength and wits.
Finn's Wife; Saba; and Their Son; Oisin
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. Finn's enchanted deer-wife Saba is stolen away, and their son Oisin is found raised in the wild.
Finn's Gray Hair
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. How Finn's hair turned gray overnight through an encounter with an enchanted lake.
The First of May
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The ancient Celtic festival of Beltane and the magic of May Day.
The Flood That Made Loch Necca
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A great flood creates a lake and transforms the landscape of Ireland.
The Garden of the Tuatha De Danann
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The magical homeland of Ireland's fairy gods and the wonders within it.
King Bov and the Red and Lir
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The rivalry between two fairy lords and the marriages that bind their families together.
Labra; the Mariner
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A king with a shameful secret — horse's ears — and the barber who cannot keep it hidden.
Lugh and Balor
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The sun god Lugh fulfills a prophecy by slaying his own grandfather, the one-eyed giant Balor.
Mac Da Tho's Pig
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A great feast turns into a boasting contest over who has the right to carve the champion's portion.
Macha's Curse
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The goddess Macha, forced to race horses while pregnant, curses the men of Ulster with weakness in their hour of need.
The Palace of the Quicken Trees
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. Finn and his men are trapped in an enchanted palace and must fight their way free.
Queen Maeve's Hunt
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The fierce queen of Connacht leads a hunt that reveals her bold and ruthless nature.
Tir fo Thuinn; the Land Beneath the Waves
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A journey to a magical kingdom hidden beneath the sea.
The Water Maiden Sinann
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A maiden seeks forbidden wisdom at a sacred well and is swept away to become the River Shannon.
Briciu; the Troublemaker
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The mischief-maker Briciu stirs up rivalry among Ulster's greatest warriors at a feast.
The Champion's Portion
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. Three warriors compete in terrifying tests to determine who deserves the hero's share at the feast.
Cuchulain; Hound of Cullan
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The boy Setanta kills a fierce guard dog and earns his famous name by taking its place.
Cuchulain and the Gray of Macha
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. Cuchulain tames a wild supernatural horse that becomes his legendary battle steed.
The Voyage of Maeldun
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A warrior sails through fantastical islands seeking his father's killer and finding wonders beyond imagining.
The Isle of Red-Hot Animals and the Palace of the Little Cat
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. Maeldun encounters an island of fiery beasts and a mysterious palace guarded by a small cat.
The Cup of Red Gold
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A magical golden cup plays a central role in a tale of honor and enchantment.
Gae Bolg
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. Cuchulain's fearsome barbed spear and the deadly skill with which he wields it.
The Blue Glass Boot
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. An Irish Cinderella tale featuring a magical blue glass boot and a search for its owner.
The Card Game
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A fateful card game with a stranger leads to a dangerous enchantment.
Connla of the Golden Hair
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A fairy woman lures the prince Connla away from his father's kingdom to the land of eternal youth.
The Fisherman's Son and the Gruagach of Tricks
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A boy apprenticed to a shape-shifting sorcerer must outwit his master to win his freedom.
The Goddess Aine
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The sun goddess Aine and her connection to midsummer and the fairy world.
The Island of the Black Pig
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A mysterious island harboring a fearsome black pig and the adventurers who dare to land there.
The Shee and the Gruagach's Laugh
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A fairy enchantment and a sorcerer's laugh set off a chain of magical events.
The Swan Maiden's Handkerchief
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A young man steals a swan maiden's feathered cloak and must win her love honestly to keep her.
The Thirteenth Son
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The youngest of thirteen brothers proves himself the bravest and cleverest of them all.
Kil Arthur
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. An Irish folk hero faces giants and enchantments in his own Arthurian-style adventures.
King O'Hara's Three Daughters
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. Three princesses are enchanted and a brave youth must break the spells to free them.
The King's Daughter
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A princess encounters fairy enchantments that test her courage and her heart.
The Old Hermit's Story
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. An ancient hermit shares a tale from the old days of Ireland's heroes and magic.
The Quarrel of the Two Pig Keepers
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. Two rival pig keepers wage war through shape-shifting magic across many lifetimes, eventually becoming the great bulls of the Cattle Raid.
The Scissors; Comb and Whistle
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. Three magical objects help a clever youth overcome impossible obstacles.
The Weaver's Children
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A weaver's children are taken by the fairies and must be won back.
The Yellow Lily
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A prince enchanted by a fairy queen must complete impossible tasks to win his freedom and a bride.
Fionn of Banba and the Giant with Red Hair
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A hero confronts a fearsome red-haired giant in defense of Ireland.
The Giant of the White Hill
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A youth must defeat a giant who holds a princess captive on a white hilltop.
The Apples and the Pears
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A Breton tale about enchanted fruit and the choices that follow from taking it.
The Curse and the Oath
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A Breton tale of a binding oath and the curse that follows when it is broken.
Dahud-Ahes of Ker-Ys
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The wicked princess Dahud opens the sea-gates of the city of Ys and drowns it beneath the waves.
The Miller and the Duck
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A Breton folktale about a miller and a magical duck that brings unexpected consequences.
N'oun-Doare: Part I
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A Breton youth sets out on a quest that takes him through enchanted lands.
N'oun-Doare: Part II
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. N'oun-Doare's adventure continues as he faces final challenges and wins his reward.
Jowan of Horth
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A Cornish tale of a brave youth and the supernatural forces he encounters.
The Ben Varrey
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A Manx mermaid — a ben varrey — is encountered by a fisherman with fateful results.
Eshyn and Y Chadee
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A tale from the Isle of Man about fairy enchantment and mortal courage.
The Fisherman and the Princess
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A humble Cornish fisherman wins a princess through kindness and daring.
The Iney's Long Leather Bag
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A Manx tale about a mysterious long leather bag and the magic it contains.
Mac Cuill and Manannan Mac Lir
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The sea god Manannan Mac Lir and his encounters with mortals on the Isle of Man.
The Old King and the Goldfinch
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. An aging king receives wisdom from an unexpected source — a small golden bird.
The Curse of the Kelpie
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A Scottish water horse lures victims to a watery doom with its enchanting appearance.
Dianaimh and the Kelpie
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A brave Scot confronts the deadly kelpie and tries to break its hold on the loch.
Faoineis; the Vain
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A vain Scottish girl's pride leads her into the clutches of fairy enchantment.
The Fianna and the Dark Lord
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The Fianna battle a shadowy lord whose dark powers threaten the land.
The Island of Shadows
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A Scottish hero journeys to the Isle of Shadows to train with the warrior woman Scathach.
The Kelpie and Dall; the Blind One
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A blind man's encounter with a kelpie proves that courage does not require sight.
The Princess of the Fomorii
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A princess of the ancient sea-giants plays a role in the struggle between light and darkness.
The Sea-Maid: Part I
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A Scottish youth encounters a sea-maid whose enchantments draw him into a dangerous quest.
The Sea-Maid: Part II
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The sea-maid's story concludes as the hero faces his final trials.
Tam Lin
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. Bold Janet holds fast to her enchanted love Tam Lin as the fairies transform him into terrifying shapes to make her let go.
The Two Sisters and the Champion
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. Two Scottish sisters and a champion warrior in a tale of rivalry, courage, and love.
The Warrior of the Red Shield: Part I
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A Scottish warrior bearing a red shield embarks on a perilous quest.
The Warrior of the Red Shield: Part II
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The red-shielded warrior's quest reaches its climax and resolution.
The Boy Merlin
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The young Merlin reveals his prophetic gifts to a king who needs him to explain the mystery beneath his tower.
Bran and Branwen
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The giant king Bran crosses the sea to Ireland to rescue his sister Branwen from a cruel husband.
Kilwich and Olwen
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A Welsh prince must complete impossible tasks set by a giant to win the beautiful Olwen.
Lake of the Little Peak
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A Welsh tale of how a lake was formed through enchantment and tragedy.
Math of Mathonwy
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The wizard-king Math and the enchantments, betrayals, and shape-shifting punishments of his court.
Taliesin
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A servant boy accidentally gains supernatural wisdom from a witch's cauldron and is reborn as the greatest bard in Wales.
Arthur and Accolon
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. King Arthur fights a duel against the knight Accolon, unaware that Morgan le Fay has stolen Excalibur.
Arthur and Gwynevere
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. Arthur weds the beautiful Gwynevere and receives the Round Table as her dowry.
The Round Table
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. Arthur establishes the Round Table so that no knight sits above another.
Sir Balin and Sir Balan
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. Two brother-knights unknowingly fight each other in a tragic tale of fate and mistaken identity.
Sir Galahad and the Holy Grail
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The purest knight achieves the quest that all others failed — finding the Holy Grail.
Sir Gareth
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. A young knight disguised as a kitchen boy proves his worth through courage and combat.
Sir Launcelot of the Lake
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The greatest knight of the Round Table and his legendary feats of arms.
Sir Tristram; of Sorrowful Birth
From One Hundred-and-One Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends by Joan C. Verniero. The tragic knight Tristram, born in sorrow, whose forbidden love for Iseult becomes legend.
The Fox and the Grapes
From Aesop for Children by Milo Winter. A fox who cannot reach a high bunch of grapes walks away declaring they were probably sour anyway, showing how people belittle what they cannot have.
The Tortoise and the Hare
From Aesop for Children by Milo Winter. A slow tortoise beats a boastful hare in a race because the hare naps mid-course, proving that steady perseverance wins over careless speed.
The Boy Who Cried Wolf
From Aesop for Children by Milo Winter. A shepherd boy tricks the villagers with false alarms so many times that when a real wolf appears, nobody believes him.
The Ant and the Grasshopper
From Aesop for Children by Milo Winter. A grasshopper who sang all summer begs the industrious ant for food when winter comes, learning that those who waste their time in play must go without.
The Lion and the Mouse
From Aesop for Children by Milo Winter. A lion spares a tiny mouse and is later freed from a hunter's net when the grateful mouse gnaws through the ropes, proving that even the smallest friend can be the greatest help.
The Fox and the Crow
From Aesop for Children by Milo Winter. A fox flatters a crow into singing so the cheese in her beak drops, teaching that those who listen to flattery invite trouble.
The Dog and His Shadow
From Aesop for Children by Milo Winter. A dog carrying a bone sees his own reflection in the water and snaps at it, losing the real bone in his greed for the imaginary one.
The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs
From Aesop for Children by Milo Winter. A farmer kills his golden-egg-laying goose hoping to find a fortune inside, only to discover he has destroyed the source of his wealth through greed.
The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
From Aesop for Children by Milo Winter. A country mouse visits his city cousin's lavish table but flees in terror from the dangers there, preferring a simple life in peace to luxury in fear.
The North Wind and the Sun
From Aesop for Children by Milo Winter. The North Wind and the Sun argue over who is stronger, and the Sun wins by gently warming a traveler out of his cloak while the Wind's blowing only made him hold it tighter.
The Real Mother Goose
by Wright, Blanche Fisher. Poetry collection. For more than seventy-five years, The Real Mother Goose has been delighting millions of children, and today the magic is as strong as ever.
Ants
From Usborne Beginners Nature Collection. Where do ants live? What do they eat? How much weight can they carry? A simple introduction to the world of ants.
Bees & Wasps
From Usborne Beginners Nature Collection. A slim book packed with a wealth of information about bees and wasps, much of which will be new even to adults.
Bugs
From Usborne Beginners Nature Collection. A colorful information book about bugs for children beginning to read on their own.
Spiders
From Usborne Beginners Nature Collection. A colorful information book about spiders for children beginning to read on their own.
Caterpillars and Butterflies
From Usborne Beginners Nature Collection. A colorful information book about the life cycle of caterpillars and butterflies.
How Flowers Grow
From Usborne Beginners Nature Collection. How do flowers grow in dry deserts? How do animals help spread seeds? Which flower smells like rotting meat?
Trees
From Usborne Beginners Nature Collection. An informative introduction to trees and plant life for young readers.
Rainforest
From Usborne Beginners Nature Collection. A terrific reading-practice book about rainforests for children who prefer fact to fiction.
Tadpoles and Frogs
From Usborne Beginners Nature Collection. Vivid full-color illustrations and photographs with short informative text about frogs and their life cycle.
Reptiles
From Usborne Beginners Nature Collection. An informative introduction to reptiles for young readers.
Wolves
From Usborne Beginners Animals Collection. The uneasy relationship between man and wolf, from superstition and folklore to the real lives of these pack hunters.
Tigers
From Usborne Beginners Animals Collection. Where do tigers live? What do they eat? Can tigers swim?
Sharks
From Usborne Beginners Animals Collection. What do sharks like to eat? Which shark glows in the dark? And why do some sharks never stop swimming?
Penguins
From Usborne Beginners Animals Collection. Where do penguins live? What do they eat and how do they catch their food?
Pandas
From Usborne Beginners Animals Collection. Where pandas live, what they eat, why they came so close to extinction, and what humans are doing to save them.
Monkeys
From Usborne Beginners Animals Collection. How monkeys live, what they eat, and how they look after their young.
Farm Animals
From Usborne Beginners Animals Collection. How do pigs keep cool? Why do farmers shear their sheep? Which farm animals live underwater?
Elephants
From Usborne Beginners Animals Collection. A fascinating introduction to the world of elephants with amazing photographs and weird and wonderful facts.
Dangerous Animals
From Usborne Beginners Animals Collection. What makes some animals dangerous? How do they hunt? Why are people more dangerous to animals than animals are to people?
Bears
From Usborne Beginners Animals Collection. A colorful information book about bears for children beginning to read on their own.
Earthquakes & Tsunamis
From Usborne Beginners Science Collection. What causes earthquakes and tsunamis, how they're measured, and what happens when they strike.
Sun Moon and Stars
From Usborne Beginners Science Collection. An introduction to the sun, moon, and stars for young readers curious about the night sky.
Living in Space
From Usborne Beginners Science Collection. What is it like to live in space? How do astronauts eat, sleep, and work in zero gravity?
Storms and Hurricanes
From Usborne Beginners Science Collection. How storms and hurricanes form, what makes them dangerous, and how people prepare for them.
Volcanoes
From Usborne Beginners Science Collection. What makes volcanoes erupt, where they're found, and the dramatic effects of eruptions on the landscape.
Astronomy
From Usborne Beginners Science Collection. An introduction to astronomy — planets, stars, galaxies, and how we explore the universe.
The Solar System
From Usborne Beginners Science Collection. A tour of the planets, moons, and other objects orbiting our sun.
Your Body
From Usborne Beginners Science Collection. How your body works — bones, muscles, digestion, the brain, and the senses.
Planet Earth
From Usborne Beginners Science Collection. An introduction to our planet — its oceans, mountains, atmosphere, and the forces that shape it.
Weather
From Usborne Beginners Science Collection. What causes rain, snow, wind, and sunshine, and how weather affects our daily lives.
Stone Age
From Usborne Beginners History Collection. The history of Stone Age people and how they lived.
Iron Age
From Usborne Beginners History Collection. Iron Age people and how they lived, including farming methods, the gods they prayed to, and the hill forts they built.
Egyptians
From Usborne Beginners History Collection. Who were the ancient Egyptians? Why did they build pyramids and how were mummies made?
Ancient Greeks
From Usborne Beginners History Collection. What ancient Greeks wore, ate, and did for fun, plus the famous philosophers and mathematicians of the age.
Celts
From Usborne Beginners History Collection. Who were the Celts? They lived on hilltops and made themselves look terrifying in battle.
Romans
From Usborne Beginners History Collection. Who were the ancient Romans? Where did they eat, shop, wash, and what did they do for fun?
The Maya
From Usborne Beginners History Collection. Who were the Maya? Where did they live? Why did they build tall stone temples?
Vikings
From Usborne Beginners History Collection. What it was like to be a Viking — homes, feasts, boats, gods, and more.
Castles
From Usborne Beginners History Collection. Who lived in a castle and what was it like? A look inside the wonderful world of castles.
Digging Up the Past
From Usborne Beginners History Collection. How do ancient things get buried? Who digs them up? And what do they find?
Seasons
From Usborne Beginners Our World Collection. An introduction to the four seasons and how they affect nature and daily life.
Trees
From Usborne Beginners Our World Collection. How trees grow, the different kinds around the world, and why they matter.
Antarctica
From Usborne Beginners Our World Collection. The frozen continent — its ice, wildlife, extreme weather, and the explorers who ventured there.
Rubbish & Recycling
From Usborne Beginners Our World Collection. Where does rubbish go? What can be recycled? How can we reduce waste?
Weather
From Usborne Beginners Our World Collection. What causes rain, snow, wind, and sunshine, and how weather shapes our world.
Earthquakes & Tsunamis
From Usborne Beginners Our World Collection. What causes earthquakes and tsunamis, how they're measured, and what happens when they strike.
Volcanoes
From Usborne Beginners Our World Collection. What makes volcanoes erupt, where they're found, and the dramatic effects of eruptions.
Rainforests
From Usborne Beginners Our World Collection. The layers of the rainforest, the creatures that live there, and why these ecosystems matter.
Under the Sea
From Usborne Beginners Our World Collection. The hidden world beneath the ocean surface — coral reefs, deep trenches, and sea creatures.
Planet Earth
From Usborne Beginners Our World Collection. An introduction to our planet — its oceans, mountains, atmosphere, and the forces that shape it.
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
by Asbjornsen, P.C.. Marcia Brown’s classic retelling of the Norwegian tale features three clever goats who outwit a nasty troll. Her stylized illustrations bring the characters to life.
Extra Yarn
by Barnett, Mac. A girl with a box of magical yarn transforms her gray town into a colorful wonder. Spare text and gently humorous illustrations make this modern fairy tale a new classic.
The Mitten
From Christmas Treasury by Jan Brett. A boy's lost white mitten becomes a cozy shelter for one animal after another until a bear's sneeze sends them all flying.
The Wild Christmas Reindeer
From Christmas Treasury by Jan Brett. Teeka must get Santa's unruly reindeer ready to fly on Christmas Eve, learning that gentleness works better than bossing.
Trouble with Trolls
From Christmas Treasury by Jan Brett. Treva outwits a series of trolls who each want her dog, trading clever tricks all the way up the mountain.
The Twelve Days of Christmas
From Christmas Treasury by Jan Brett. The classic carol illustrated with Jan Brett's intricate borders and a hidden story unfolding in the side panels.
The Hat
From Christmas Treasury by Jan Brett. When a woolen stocking lands on Hedgie the hedgehog's head, the other farm animals laugh — until they all want hats of their own.
Christmas Trolls
From Christmas Treasury by Jan Brett. Trolls steal Treva's Christmas treats one by one, but she turns the tables and teaches them the spirit of the holiday.
The Night Before Christmas
From Christmas Treasury by Jan Brett. Clement Clarke Moore's beloved poem illustrated with Brett's detailed Nordic-inspired artwork and hidden details in every border.
Who’s That Knocking on Christmas Eve?
by Brett, Jan. A boy and his ice bear scare away greedy trolls who ruin Kyri’s Christmas feast every year. Gorgeous borders and Northern Lights make this a dazzling holiday tale.
Stone Soup
by Brown, Marcia. Three clever soldiers trick stingy villagers into contributing to a delicious “stone soup.” Marcia Brown’s lively art turns this folktale, a Caldecott Honor classic, into a...
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
by Burton, Virginia Lee. Mike and his beloved steam shovel, Mary Anne, prove they can still dig faster than modern machines. A heartwarming tribute to loyalty, hard work, and ingenuity.
A Boy Called Beckoning
by Capaldi, Gina. Kidnapped Yavapai boy Wassaja becomes Dr. Carlos Montezuma, a pioneering Native American physician and activist.
Columbus
by d’Aulaire, Ingri. The d’Aulaires’ lavishly illustrated biography tells the adventurous life of Christopher Columbus with historical accuracy and gorgeous lithographs.
Leif the Lucky
by d’Aulaire, Ingri. The thrilling story of Leif Erikson, son of Erik the Red, who sailed west and discovered a new land centuries before Columbus is rich in Viking spirit and stunning art.
The Little Prince
by de Saint-Exupéry, Antoine. In this timeless philosophical tale beloved worldwide, a pilot stranded in the desert meets a little prince from a tiny asteroid who shares gentle wisdom about...
The Story of Babar
From The Babar Collection by Jean de Brunhoff. Young elephant Babar flees the jungle after his mother is killed, discovers city life, and returns home to become king.
Babar the King
From The Babar Collection by Jean de Brunhoff. King Babar builds a grand city for the elephants, facing challenges and adventures as he learns what it means to lead.
Babar’s Travels
From The Babar Collection by Jean de Brunhoff. Babar and Celeste’s honeymoon balloon ride goes wrong, leading to encounters with whales, cannibals, and a circus.
Babar at Home
From The Babar Collection by Jean de Brunhoff. Babar settles into life as king of Celesteville, navigating everyday joys and small crises in his elephant community.
Du Iz Tak?
by Ellis, Carson. Curious insects build a tree fort and face danger in their backyard, speaking an inventive bug language. Exquisite art invites children to imagine tiny worlds.
The Story About Ping
by Flack, Marjorie. Ping, a little duck on the Yangtze River, gets separated from his family and has a big adventure before finding his way home. A gentle classic from nearly a century ago, 1933.
Gone Is Gone
by Gag, Wanda. Fritzl thinks his wife Liesi has an easy life, so they switch roles for a day—with hilarious results. A witty Bohemian tale about appreciating each other’s work.
The Cat in the Hat
by Dr. Seuss. A tall cat in a striped hat turns a rainy day into wild fun while two kids and a disapproving fish look on.
Hop on Pop
by Dr. Seuss. Simple rhyming word pairs build into silly scenes, making this one of the best first readers for very young children.
Fox in Socks
by Dr. Seuss. A fast-talking fox leads a tongue-twisting game of increasingly ridiculous rhymes that will tie your tongue in knots.
Green Eggs and Ham
by Dr. Seuss. Sam-I-Am pesters a grumpy companion to try green eggs and ham in every possible setting until he finally gives in.
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
by Dr. Seuss. A freewheeling romp through a world of fantastical creatures, silly rhymes, and unexpected fun on every page.
The Language of Flowers
by Greenaway, Kate. A charming 19th-century illustrated guide showing the secret meanings of over 200 flowers (tulip = fame, violet = faithfulness) with lovely verses to accompany beautiful...
The Baby
From Viking Tales by Jennie Hall. A Norse baby is born into a Viking household and given his name in the old tradition.
The Tooth-thrall
From Viking Tales by Jennie Hall. A young thrall earns his place among the Norsemen through courage and a memorable act of defiance.
Olaf's Farm
From Viking Tales by Jennie Hall. Life on a Viking farm comes alive with its daily rhythms of work, feasting, and storytelling.
Olaf's Fight with Havard
From Viking Tales by Jennie Hall. Olaf faces a dangerous rival in a clash that tests his strength and honor.
Foes'-fear
From Viking Tales by Jennie Hall. A fearsome Viking sword earns its name through the battles it has seen.
Harald is King
From Viking Tales by Jennie Hall. Young Harald vows to unite all of Norway under one crown and begins his rise to power.
Harald's Battle
From Viking Tales by Jennie Hall. King Harald fights a great sea battle to prove his claim over the Norse lands.
Gyda's Saucy Message
From Viking Tales by Jennie Hall. A proud girl refuses to marry Harald until he is king of all Norway — and it changes history.
The Sea Fight
From Viking Tales by Jennie Hall. A fierce battle at sea between rival Viking ships with everything at stake.
King Harald's Wedding
From Viking Tales by Jennie Hall. Harald finally wins Gyda's hand after fulfilling his vow to become king of all Norway.
King Harald Goes West-Over-Seas
From Viking Tales by Jennie Hall. Harald sails west to subdue Viking settlers in Iceland and the Scottish isles.
Homes in Iceland
From Viking Tales by Jennie Hall. Norse families settle the wild landscape of Iceland and build a new society far from Norway.
Eric the Red
From Viking Tales by Jennie Hall. The hot-tempered Eric is banished from Iceland and discovers the icy shores of Greenland.
Leif and His New Land
From Viking Tales by Jennie Hall. Eric's son Leif Erikson sails west and becomes the first European to set foot in North America.
Wineland the Good
From Viking Tales by Jennie Hall. The Vikings explore a lush new land with wild grapes and warm weather — centuries before Columbus.
Saint George and the Dragon
by Hodges, Margaret. The Red Cross Knight battles a terrible dragon to save a kingdom in this gorgeous retelling from Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene.
Harald the Ruthless
by Hopkins, Andrea. The dramatic saga of Norway’s fierce last great Viking king, told in vivid graphic-novel style with maps and historical notes.
Water Babies
by Kingsley, Charles. In this beloved Victorian fairy tale and allegory, chimney-sweep Tom is transformed into a water baby and learns important moral lessons under the sea.
Can’t Catch Me
by Knapman, Timothy. Boastful mouse Jake taunts bigger and bigger animals, claiming no one can catch him—until clever Old Tom Cat proves him wrong.
The Song of Hiawatha
by Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. The epic adventures of the Ojibwe hero Hiawatha and his tragic love for Minnehaha, told in beautiful rhythmic verse.
Virginia Wolf
by Maclear, Kyo. When Virginia is in a “wolfish” mood, her sister Vanessa paints an imaginary joyful place called Bloomsberry to cheer her up in this tender story inspired by Virginia Woolf...
Hunting of the Great Bear
by Malaspina, Ann. Four brothers chase a giant bear across the sky, creating constellations in this Native American “why” story.
The Night Before Christmas
by Moore, Clement Clarke. The timeless poem about St. Nicholas’s Christmas Eve visit, perfect for starting family holiday read-aloud traditions.
The Little Red Hen
by Muldrow, Diane. The industrious Little Red Hen plants and bakes bread all by herself when no one will help—until it’s time to eat.
The Little Engine That Could
by Piper, Watty. The determined little blue engine repeats “I think I can” and successfully pulls a train over the mountain.
The Life of George Washington
by Pollard, Josephine. A simple, one-syllable biography of America’s first president from childhood through the Revolution and presidency.
The Story of King Arthur and His Knights
by Howard Pyle. The unabridged classic retelling of Arthur pulling the sword from the stone, founding Camelot, and the adventures of his brave knights.
King of the Golden River
by Ruskin, John. Two cruel brothers are turned to stone, while kind Gluck wins treasure through generosity in this beautiful fairy tale and parable.
The Amazing Bone
by Steig, William. Pearl the pig has a thrilling adventure when she finds a talking bone that saves her from robbers and a hungry fox with clever tricks.
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
by Steig, William. Sylvester the donkey accidentally wishes himself into a rock and must wait for luck to reunite him with his family. Caldecott Medal winner.
Doctor De Soto
by Steig, William. In this Newbery Honor book full of wit, a clever mouse dentist and his wife outsmart a toothache-plagued fox who wants to eat them.
Brave Irene
by Steig, William. Plucky Irene battles a fierce snowstorm to deliver her mother’s gown to the duchess. Brave Irene is a triumphant story of a young girl's courage and determination.
Casey at the Bat
by Thayer, Ernest L.. The mighty Casey steps up to bat with the crowds cheering—only to strike out in this dramatic and humorous baseball poem.
The Velveteen Rabbit
by Williams, Margery. In this timeless classic tale of true love, a stuffed rabbit becomes Real through the love of a boy and the magic of a nursery fairy.
The Log of a Cowboy
by Adams, Andy. In this must-read classic for fans of the Old West, readers ride with cowboy Tommy Moore on a legendary cattle drive filled with dangers like Indian raids,... (chapter book)
Book of Three
by Alexander, Lloyd. Taran the Assistant Pig-Keeper embarks on a heroic quest in the land of Prydain, joined by Princess Eilonwy, bard Fflewddur Fflam, faithful Gurgi, and... (chapter book)
The Collected Complete Works of Horatio Alger, Jr.
by Alger, Horatio. Horatio Alger Jr. wrote young adult novels about poor boys rising to middle-class success through hard work, courage, and honesty. (chapter book)
Tom Swift and His Motor-Cycle
by Victor Appleton. Tom acquires a motor-cycle and rides straight into a mystery involving stolen patents and dangerous criminals. (chapter book)
Tom Swift and His Motor Boat
by Victor Appleton. Tom buys a motor boat at auction and discovers it holds a secret that puts him in the crosshairs of crooks. (chapter book)
Tom Swift and His Airship
by Victor Appleton. Tom builds an airship and takes to the skies, only to be framed for a bank robbery he didn't commit. (chapter book)
Tom Swift and His Submarine Boat
by Victor Appleton. Tom constructs a submarine and dives to the ocean floor in search of sunken treasure. (chapter book)
Tom Swift and His Electric Runabout
by Victor Appleton. Tom builds an electric car and races it to save his father's bank investment from scheming rivals. (chapter book)
Tom Swift and His Wireless Message
by Victor Appleton. Tom uses his wireless telegraph to rescue castaways stranded on a volcanic island. (chapter book)
Tom Swift Among the Diamond Makers
by Victor Appleton. Tom travels to a remote mountain where mysterious men claim they can manufacture diamonds. (chapter book)
Tom Swift in the Caves of Ice
by Victor Appleton. Tom leads an expedition to the frozen north in search of a lost fortune hidden deep in ice caves. (chapter book)
Mr. Popper's Penguins
by Atwater, Richard. A house painter receives a penguin and soon has a whole brood, leading to hilarious adventures. (chapter book)
Perloo the Bold
by Avi. Mild-mannered rabbit-like Montmer Perloo must bring peace between his tribe and their coyote-like enemies, the Felbarts. (chapter book)
The Tale of Jolly Robin
by Bailey, Arthur Scott. Young Jolly Robin grows from a nestling into a strong bird with many forest friends. (chapter book)
The Tale of Solomon Owl
by Bailey, Arthur Scott. Noisy Solomon Owl frightens farm animals, but clever Mr. Frog tricks him twice in this delightful tale. (chapter book)
The Tale of Pony Twinkleheels
by Bailey, Arthur Scott. Pony Twinkleheels and his adventures in the countryside. (chapter book)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
by Baum, L. Frank. Young Dorothy and her dog Toto are swept to the magical Land of Oz by a tornado, embarking on adventures to return because there's no place like home. (chapter book)
Pecos Bill: The Greatest Cowboy of All Time
by Bowman, James. Raised by coyotes after falling from a wagon, Pecos Bill discovers he's human and becomes the ultimate cowboy with superhuman skills. (chapter book)
Sword in the Tree
by Bulla, Clyde Robert. Young Shan hides a sword in an oak tree and faces adventures in King Arthur's England, including robbers, knights, and a trip to Camelot in this classic... (chapter book)
The Secret Garden
by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Orphaned Mary Lennox discovers a locked garden at her uncle's Yorkshire mansion and revives it, healing herself and those around her. (chapter book)
A Little Princess
by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Sara Crewe goes from pampered boarding school student to penniless servant, but never loses her dignity or imagination. (chapter book)
Little Lord Fauntleroy
by Frances Hodgson Burnett. A kind American boy discovers he is heir to an English earldom and wins over his gruff grandfather with his generous spirit. (chapter book)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll. Alice falls down a rabbit hole into a nonsensical world of peculiar creatures, mad tea parties, and a tyrannical Queen of Hearts. (chapter book)
Through the Looking-Glass
by Lewis Carroll. Alice steps through a mirror into a chess-game world of talking flowers, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, and the Jabberwock. (chapter book)
Pinnochio
by Collodi, Carlo. Wooden puppet Pinocchio comes to life but skips school, leading to misadventures and lessons in education's importance. (chapter book)
The BFG
by Dahl, Roald. Orphan Sophie teams with the Big Friendly Giant to stop nine child-eating giants. (chapter book)
Fantastic Mr. Fox
by Dahl, Roald. Clever Mr. Fox outwits three mean farmers who surround his family, refusing to surrender. (chapter book)
The Courage of Sarah Nobel
by Dalgliesh, Alice. Eight-year-old Sarah Noble bravely travels through wilderness with her father in 1707 to build a new home, facing animals and Indians. (chapter book)
The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread
by DiCamilo, Kate. Mouse Despereaux, rat Roscuro, and servant Miggery Sow embark on a journey from dungeon to castle, intertwining their fates in this whimsical tale of destiny... (chapter book)
Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates
by Dodge, Mary Mapes. Young Hans aspires to win ice-skating races in the Netherlands to help his struggling family and find a cure for his father. (chapter book)
The Lost World
by Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. An expedition discovers prehistoric creatures on a South American plateau, then faces dangers and a war between indigenous people and ape-like beings. (chapter book)
The Black Stallion
by Farley, Walter. Boy Alec Ramsay befriends a wild horse after a shipwreck, leading to island adventures in this triumphant tale of friendship and survival. (chapter book)
Odd and the Frost Giants
by Gaiman, Neil. Young Viking Odd frees trapped Norse gods (in animal form) and helps reclaim Thor's hammer from frost giants. (chapter book)
Fortunately, the Milk
by Gaiman, Neil. In Neil Gaiman's hilarious story of oddity and love, a father recounts a wild time-travel adventure involving pirates, aliens, and dinosaurs he encountered... (chapter book)
Cheaper by the Dozen
by Gilbreth, Frank B.. Efficiency expert Frank Gilbreth runs his family of 12 like a factory, leading to hilarious chaos and heartwarming moments. (chapter book)
Wind in the Willows
by Grahame, Kenneth. Mole, Rat, Badger, and impulsive Toad face adventures on the riverbank, battling weasels to save their home. (chapter book)
The Bobbsey Twins: On a Houseboat
by Hope, Laura Lee. Twins Bert and Nan solve mysteries in this classic adventure series. (chapter book)
The Bobbsey Twins: At Snow Lodge
by Hope, Laura Lee. Twins Bert and Nan solve mysteries in this classic adventure series. (chapter book)
Smoky the Cowhorse
by James, Will. Free-roaming horse Smoky faces danger on the range until encountering humans and is faced with a trade: how much freedom will you give up for love? (chapter book)
Westward, Ho!
by Kingsley, Charles. Daring young Elizabethan adventurers sail with Sir Francis Drake from Barbados reefs to Orinoco jungles, culminating in a battle with the Spanish Armada. (chapter book)
Hereward: the Last of the English
by Kingsley, Charles. Anglo-Saxon hero Hereward resists the Norman Conquest through battles and intrigue. Charles Kingsley's vivid story captures 11th-century heroism. (chapter book)
Strawberry Girl
by Lenski, Lois. In the backwoods of early 20th-century Florida, spirited ten-year-old Birdie Boyer works tirelessly to turn her family’s scrubland into a thriving strawberry... (chapter book)
The Chronicles of Narnia
by Lewis, C.S.. Siblings Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy enter Narnia through a wardrobe, joining Aslan in hopes of ending the White Witch's eternal winter. (chapter book)
Betsy-Tacy: Best Friends Forever
by Lovelace, Maud Hart. Five-year-old Betsy befriends shy Tacy, leading to playful adventures like playhouses and sand stores. (chapter book)
Beowulf
by Marpurgo, Michael. Scandinavian warrior Beowulf battles ogre Grendel, Grendel's mother, and a dragon to save kingdoms. (chapter book)
Princess and the Goblin
by McDonald, George. Sweet Princess Irene discovers hidden stairways and learns she must quickly become independent and tough-minded to protect herself from the goblins... (chapter book)
Sarah, Plain and Tall
by McLachlan, Patricia. Anna and Caleb hope mail-order bride Sarah from Maine will stay and become their new mother on the prairie. A tender classic exploring loss and love. (chapter book)
Snow Treasure
by McSwigan, Marie. McSwigan tells the story of Norwegian children smuggle gold past Nazis on sleds during WWII occupation. Based on a true story of courage and cleverness. (chapter book)
The Prince of Ireland and the Three Magic Stallions
by Milligan, Bryce. Cursed by his stepmother, the Prince of Ireland must retrieve a giant's horses from the world's edge. (chapter book)
Little Britches
by Moody, Ralph. Eight-year-old Ralph sees ranch life in early 1900s Colorado, from auctions to storms, adventures which equip him for his future path. (chapter book)
Man of the Family
by Moody, Ralph. After his father's death, 11-year-old Little Britches takes on family responsibilities on a Colorado ranch. This is a great tale of what it takes to be a man. (chapter book)
Pollyanna
by Porter, Eleanor. Orphan Pollyanna's "glad game" uplifts her stern aunt and a Vermont town. Pollyanna is one of my favorites and, as an adult, it's worth revisiting often. (chapter book)
Otto of the Silver Hand
by Pyle, Howard. Young Otto, son of a robber baron, returns from a monastery to face a family feud in medieval Germany. (chapter book)
Black Beauty
by Sewell, Anna. The horse Black Beauty narrates his life, sharing anecdotes of how kind and cruel humans shape the lives of animals. (chapter book)
Five Little Peppers
by Sidney, Margaret. Widowed Mrs. Pepper and her five children face poverty with cheer and hard work in their little brown house. (chapter book)
Heidi
by Spyri, Johanna. In this warm story of simple wisdom, Orphan Heidi thrives in the Swiss Alps with her grandfather, finding joy in nature and animals. (chapter book)
Treasure Island
by Stevenson, Robert Louis. Young Jim Hawkins discovers a pirate map and sails for buried treasure, facing mutiny and the villainous Long John Silver. (chapter book)
Laddie
by Stratton-Porter, Gene. Loosely based on the author's childhood, Little Sister narrates her loving family's rural life in 1800s Indiana, idolizing brother Laddie amid nature... (chapter book)
The Thirteen Clocks
by Thurber, James. A wicked Duke freezes time to keep Princess Saralinda, but Prince Zorn and the Golux outwit him with impossible tasks. (chapter book)
Arthur and the Golden Rope
by Todd-Stanton, Joe. Young Arthur guards a vault of world treasures, from ancient relics to legendary swords. (chapter book)
Charlotte's Web
by White, E.B.. Charlotte weaves words in her web to save pig Wilbur, teaching us all about friendship and, very gently, our own mortality. (chapter book)
Stuart Little
by White, E.B.. Tiny mouse Stuart, born to humans, seeks adventure in New York City in this thoughtful tale of bravery and belonging. (chapter book)
Trumpet of the Swan
by White, E.B.. A mute swan, Louis learns to play trumpet to woo Serena, with help from a stolen instrument and school lessons. E.B. (chapter book)
Little House in the Big Woods
by Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Four-year-old Laura experiences pioneer life in 1870s Wisconsin woods, from harvests to Christmas joys. (chapter book)
Little House on the Prairie
by Wilder, Laura Ingalls. The Ingalls family travels by wagon to Kansas prairie, building a home and facing pioneer hardships with cheer in this heartwarming glimpse into... (chapter book)
Farmer Boy
by Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Young Almanzo Wilder grows up on a New York farm, helping with planting, harvesting, and winter chores. (chapter book)
On the Banks of Plum Creek
by Wilder, Laura Ingalls. The Ingalls settle in a sod house by Minnesota's Plum Creek, facing down their environment and climate in order to build strong family bonds. (chapter book)
By the Shores of Silver Lake
by Wilder, Laura Ingalls. After hardships, the Ingalls move to Dakota Territory, where Pa works on the railroad and they build a new town. (chapter book)
The Long Winter
by Wilder, Laura Ingalls. In this tribute to the love and strength humans find in family bonds, the Ingalls endure the legendary Dakota winter of 1880-81. (chapter book)
Little Town on the Prairie
by Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Teen Laura attends school, enjoys socials, and earns her teaching certificate in growing De Smet, and is courted by Almanzo. (chapter book)
These Happy Golden Years
by Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Fifteen-year-old Laura teaches school far from home, finding solace in weekend visits with Almanzo. (chapter book)
Rover Boys at School
by Stratemeyer, Edward. This 20-novel series follows the Rover brothers' adventures at boarding school and beyond. (chapter book)
Rover Boys in the Jungle
by Stratemeyer, Edward. This 20-novel series follows the Rover brothers' adventures at boarding school and beyond. (chapter book)
Rover Boys On the Ocean
by Stratemeyer, Edward. This 20-novel series follows the Rover brothers' adventures at boarding school and beyond. (chapter book)
Swiss Family Robinson
by Wyss, Johann David. A Swiss family shipwrecks on a tropical island, using ingenuity to build a new life. (chapter book)
The Little Duke
by Yonge, Charlotte Mary. Eight-year-old Richard the Fearless becomes Duke of Normandy in Charlotte Mary Yonge's 1854 tale of medieval heroism. (chapter book)
A Great Grief
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A grieving man learns that even the deepest sorrow can be transformed through the passage of time.
A Leaf from the Sky
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A leaf falls from heaven carrying blessings and takes root in unexpected soil.
A Picture-Book Without Pictures
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. The moon narrates a series of vivid scenes glimpsed through windows each night; telling stories of life below.
A Picture from the Fortress Wall
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A brief sketch captures a moment of life and memory seen from the old fortress wall.
A Great Grief
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A grieving man learns that even the deepest sorrow can be transformed through the passage of time.
A Leaf from the Sky
From The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. A leaf falls from heaven carrying blessings and takes root in unexpected soil.
Why 1,294 readings actually becomes doable
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You can start with this sequence as-is, skip what doesn’t fit your family, and still keep the structure intact. The path is yours to adapt.