Classic For Adults

Jessie Bollier often played his fife to earn a few pennies down by the New Orleans docks. One afternoon a sailor asked him to pipe a tune, and that evening Jessie was kidnapped and dumped aboard The Moonlight, a slave ship, where a hateful duty awaited him. He was to play music so the slaves could "dance" to keep their muscles strong, their bodies profitable. Jessie was sickened by the thought of taking part in the business of trading rum and tobacco for blacks and then selling the ones who survived the frightful sea voyage from Africa.

Lad: A Dog is a novelized version of twelve short stories about a fantastic collie named Lad. Lad is a noble creature, risking life and limb in defense of the vulnerable. Many people believe Lad: A Dog was the basis for the highly popular "Lassie" series which gripped the imagination of children and adults alike, as has this book for generations past.

Trapped in a forgotten city, bound by secrets, Ellie and Bealomondore must enlist the dragons of the watch to find freedom. Ellie knows exactly where she is going. She just wants to experience the pomp and circumstance of a royal wedding, then settle into a simple life with a country husband. With too many choices, Bealomondore’s future is a tangle of possibilities. He is respected, well-known, and admired among the elite of Chiril, but Wulder demands he narrow his focus and follow his Creator, one step at a time.

Het leven van de jonge boerenzoon Eragon verandert van de ene dag op de andere als hij op een jacht in de wouden van de onherbergzame Rug een raadselachtige blauwe steen vindt. Aanvankelijk is Eragon blij met de vondst, maar tot zijn grote teleurstelling wil geen van de handelaren die jaarlijks door de Vallei van Palencar trekken de steen van hem kopen. Dan geeft de steen zijn geheim prijs en is Eragon getuige van de geboorte van een drakenjong. Tussen Eragon en de draak, Saphira, ontstaat een hechte band. Maar de vondst van de steen is niet onopgemerkt gebleven.

The March sisters are among the most beloved characters in children's literature, and Little Men picks up the story of fiery, headstrong Jo where Good Wives left off. Intelligent, funny, perceptive, and genuinely touching, the novel is set at a rather unusual boarding school run by Jo and her husband, where the pupils are encouraged to pillow fight and keep pets. When the penniless but talented orphan Nat Blake shows up on her doorstep, Jo takes him in, and his arrival sets in motion a chain of events that will affect all their lives.

The King of the Trees is an imaginative and inspirational tale that blends the allegorical richness of C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia with the creative depth and realism of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. What do an old wooden box, a jeweled pendant and some mysterious, green-garbed strangers have in common? Solving this riddle takes Rolin, son of Gannon, worlds beyond the walls of his little log cabin.

W. H. Hudson was born in 1841 in Buenos Aires and seems to have been a sort of permanently displaced person. He moved to London in 1869 and wrote a series of remarkable books, most with a wilderness setting. In 1904, when he was 63, he focused on an Indian legend for Green Mansions, a memorable romance of the jungle for which he is now chiefly remembered. His epitaph reads, "He Loved Birds and Green Places and the Wind on the Heath, and Saw Brightness of the Skirts of God."

Julie would remember her happy days at Aunt Cordelia’s forever. Running through the spacious rooms, singing on rainy nights in front of the blazing fireplace. There were rides in the woods on Peter the Great, the races with Danny Trevort. Maybe best of all were the precious moments alone in her room at night, gazing at the sea of stars. But there was sadness too - the painful jealousy Julie felt after her sister got married, the tragic death of a schoolmate, and the bitter disappointment of her first love. Sometimes it all seemed like too much to handle.

After the death of her parents, Mary Lennox is sent to live in the remote Yorkshire countryside with her rarely seen uncle. With no one to play with, she resents the landscape and the gloomy house. But then she discovers a key which unlocks the hidden door to a secret garden. Academy Award winner Glenda Jackson captures the magic of the story that has been adored by adults and children alike for generations.

Parents love to read children a bedtime story that describes a faraway land or a fantastic character. What is that parent doing? They’re shifting their child’s focus from the activity of the day into a more relaxed state. They are refocusing their child’s brain. And it works! Because every night all over the world parents use this technique to help their children fall asleep. Even though you are an adult, you can benefit from bedtime stories too.

Set and written in 1726, This is a marvelously imaginative tale of the four voyages of Lemuel Gulliver. He finds himself shipwrecked and the prisoner of captors ranging in size from 6 inches tall to 60 feet tall and of various other persuasions. But this is just the beginning of a story written, strangely enough to satirize the foolishness and vices of modern men as they were perceived at the time. No one, young or old, can ever forget the Lilliputians and the Yahoos that starred in these wonderful and riveting stories of long ago.

Lewis Carroll's enduring tale begins with Alice chasing the White Rabbit down a rabbit hole, where she encounters a world of delightfully eccentric characters like the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, the Cheshire Cat, the Mock Turtle, and the Queen of Hearts. Throughout her fantastic journeys, Alice retains her reason, humor, and sense of justice.

Uncle Wiggily Longears is the main character and beloved icon of a series of children's stories by American author Howard R. Garis. He began writing the stories for the Newark News in 1910. Garis penned an Uncle Wiggily tale every day for more than 52 years. Uncle Wiggily has been around now for over 100 years delighting children, gently educating, and enchanting generations of faithful fans. That he is still as popular today as he was over a century ago is testament to the wit and character instilled in these tall tales by the author and the kind old rabbit gentleman he created so long ago!

Prince Alexander has been turned into a werewolf and has one year to find someone to love the beast and break the spell, or he will be a wolf forever. He has nearly given up achieving the impossible, knowing no girl would ever fall in love with such a monster. Just when he is about to abdicate the throne to his cousin, he meets Cecelia Hammerstein-Smythe, while a wolf, and begins to hope for the first time in months.

Written by an outstanding scholar in simple, eloquent language, this wonderfully contemporary retelling will draw youngsters in with superb dialogue, and vivid description. The skillful blending of Shakespeare's own lines with modern language enhances children's involvement and comprehension. There's background on Shakespeare and the play; answers to FAQs such as "Isn't Juliet too young to be married?" and a "Who's Who" of the characters. Young Reader's Shakespeare is a powerful visual and reading experience.

This exciting full-cast presentation is like nothing you've ever heard before! Adventure begins on the sea as a spoiled rich boy falls from an ocean liner. Rescued by fisherman, an exciting journey of discovery begins as the boy sails the open seas, learning about friendship and the rewards of hard work.

Was there really a Headless Horseman? This dramatic story will draw you into the life of Ichabod Crane as you ponder the question.

Lann knows nothing of his mysterious past, but by his 15th birthday he will come face to face with destiny. For Lann must wield the Dreadblade, an ancient sword forged to defeat terrible monsters. Across the mountains a King has been murdered. His daughter, Astrid, is a warrior with no desire to bear the crown. Only she can uncover her father’s killer before her brother is framed for the crime. Evil is stirring. Lann and Astrid are the kingdom’s last defence. Together, they must face the greatest darkness their world has ever known.

Since the gripping conclusion of Once a Witch, Tamsin Greene has been haunted by her grandmother's prophecy that she will soon be forced to make a crucial decision...one so terrible that it could harm her family forever.

In Wild Things, Vanity Fair contributing editor Bruce Handy revisits the classics of every American childhood, from fairy tales to The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and explores the back stories of their creators, using context and biography to understand how some of the most insightful, creative, and witty authors and illustrators of their times created their often deeply personal masterpieces.