Myths For Children

It’s 1955, and Laurie Valentine’s best friend Dickie has contracted polio. Confined to a breathing machine in the hospital, he begs Laurie to stay by his side and tell him a story. As Laurie creates the tale of the giant Collosso and the young boy destined to stop him, Dickie starts to believe he’s part of the story. But when Laurie is forced to stop telling the story, Dickie has to reach within himself to create his own ending.

Outlaw Princess of Sherwood is award-winning author Nancy Springer's third delightful tale of Rowan Hood. Her popular adventure novels provide a fresh new vision of the medieval period. When Princess Ettarde refuses to marry the man her father, King Solon, has chosen for her, she flees to Sherwood Forest and joins Rowan Hood's band of outlaws.

Happenstance, a boy with unusual green eyes, awakens with no memories. Falling in with the adventurer Lord Umber and his band of misfits, this boy with many uncanny gifts soon discovers that he may be the strangest one of all.

Nancy Springer is a two-time recipient of the Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Mystery. Her beloved Rowan Hood books are favorites of young readers. Wild Boy, the fourth book of the series, tells the story of Rook - a feral, homeless orphan who stalks Sherwood Forest like a wild animal. Ever since the Sheriff of Nottingham killed his father, Rook has screamed for vengeance. Now with the evil Sheriff 's son caught in one of his man-traps, Rook may finally get the chance to exact his revenge.

Will Treaty and his apprentice, Maddie, have been urgently summoned to Castle Araluen. When they arrive they learn a shocking truth: the prince of Gallica is missing - and the king of Gallica has asked for help. All reports suggest that the young prince has been taken prisoner by the dangerous and powerful Baron Joubert de Lassigny. King Duncan knows that sending troops to Gallica to rescue the prince could start a war, as could openly helping Gallica resolve internal convict. But there's another way to save the prince: the Ranger Corps.

The Oaths: Many have made them. The Betrayals: Almost as many will undo them. The twins of prophecy have been divided - the end has begun. Josh Newman has chosen a side, and he will not stand with his sister, Sophie, or the Alchemyst, Nicholas Flamel. He will fight alongside Dee and the mysterious Virginia Dare. With San Francisco on the bring of ruin at the hands of Machiavelli, and Billy the Kid, Scatty, and Joan of Arc in another dimension called the Shadowrealm, the world stands at the edge of destruction.

At last, Alanna of Trebond has become the first female knight errant in Tortall. She sets out on an impossible quest to find the Dominion Jewel, a legendary gem that, in the right hands, has limitless power for good. But while she searches for the one thing that can save her war-torn country, her nemesis returns from the dead and begins to wreak havoc. Only Alanna has the power to prevent Tortall's utter destruction.

When the Brotherband crew are caught in a massive storm at sea, they're blown far off course and wash up on the shores of a land so far west that Hal can't recognize it from any of his maps. Eerily, the locals are nowhere in sight, yet the Herons have a creeping feeling they are being watched.

Slow but steady Turtle exhibits wisdom, perseverance, and cunning in these world folktales. Full of adventure that's sure to captivate young listeners, these tales hold meaning for all ages. Turtle is alive with possibilities. Living on land and in the water and breathing air, Turtle joins these three elements of creation, becoming symbolic of the earth itself. Always clever, always wise, and ever patient, Turtle never fails to find humor in any situation.

"What is your favorite story?" is the question children across the country often ask professional storyteller Pleasant DeSpain. As he attempts to answer, his list grows longer and longer, until he confesses he likes them all. An untiring researcher of oral traditions, DeSpain is known for his concise versions of world folktales specifically crafted for retelling. This new, digital recording of 10 stories is excerpted from DeSpain's 22 Splendid Tales to Tell from Around the World, Volume One.

A classic fable from Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories, read by Johnny Morris. Have you ever wondered how and why the animals came to be as they are? In these magical tales, drawn from stories he heard as a child in India as well as on folk traditions he later collected all over the world, Rudyard Kipling gives some wonderfully imaginative explanations.

Did you ever look carefully at a spider's webs? Did you ever wonder what causes thunder and lighting? Why do dogs chase cats? Why does it look like there's a man in the moon? In this delightful recording of tales from around the world, each story explains why an animal, plant, or natural object looks or acts the way it does.

Mama believed the woman who dies with the most fabric scraps wins. She saved scraps from odd sewing jobs for neighbors. She saved buttons from old winter coats and birthday dresses. Mama had a button from Daddy's first uniform and another from Grandma's cloth coat, and every button in the box came with a story. In her trademark Texas twang, award-winning storyteller Barbara McBride-Smith recounts stories from her family that speak to all of us.

Alan Bennett reads The Owl and the Pussy-Cat and Other Nonsense Rhymes by Edward Lear. The poems and limericks include "The Daddy Long-Legs and the Fly", "The Owl and the Pussy-Cat", "The Duck and the Kangaroo", "The Table and the Chair", "The Broom, the Shovel, the Poker and the Tongs", "Mr and Mrs Discobbolos", "The Nutcrackers and the Sugar Tongs", "The Two Old Bachelors", "The Pobble Who Has No Toes", "The Jumblies", "The Dog with a Luminous Nose", and many more.

Newly re-mastered for digital formats, this is the definitive recording of Hans Christian Andersen's six best-loved stories. Narrator Diane Wolkstein, the artistic director of the Hans Christian Andersen Center in New York City, tells Andersen stories throughout the world. She is the author of 23 award-winning books of folklore and has been honored by the National Storytelling Network as a recipient of its coveted Circle of Excellence Award, a designation reserved for America's best living storytellers.

Princess Ilani is an outcast, shunned since her seventh birthday for possessing forbidden magic. But when her 12 sisters are trapped by a deception that threatens to tear their father's empire apart, Ilani must come out of hiding and join forces with a devilishly charming foreigner whose motives remain shrouded by secrecy and mistrust.

"La sorcière de la rue Mouffetard", "Le géant aux chaussettes rouges", "La sorcière du placard aux balais"... Avec une malice et un humour contagieux, Pierre Gripari et François Morel nous font partager ces 13 contes modernes, insolites et savoureux! Celui qui a su ouvrir de nouvelles portes à l'imaginaire en inversant les codes du conte classique continue de faire rire et rêver avec un univers poétique et facétieux adoré des enfants.

Get ready for lots of fun and adventure when the swashbuckling thief Flynn Rider meets Rapunzel - the girl with 70 feet of magical hair. Together they go on wild, hilarious, and heartfelt adventures when Rapunzel leaves her isolated tower for the first time.

Prince Neferkaptah has always loved learning. When he hears of a great book of knowledge called The Book of Thoth, he sets out to find it. But the gods have made his task difficult. Will Neferkaptah find the great book of the gods, or will he continue his search forever?

Frankie Flip Phone knows he’s about to be recycled by his owner, so he runs away to the town of Bremen to start a band instead! Soon, he’s joined by other tossed-out devices eager to become famous musicians. But their dreams are put on pause when they visit a repair shop and discover hackers trying to shut down the internet!