For centuries, children and adults have treasured the stories handed down by Aesop, a slave who lived in ancient Greece approximately six centuries B.C. Known for their charm and simplicity, these simple tales feature brief adventures of animals, birds, and beasts - with a message hidden in each narrative. Every child should meet up with "The Hare and the Tortoise", "The Ants and the Grasshopper", "The Goose and the Golden Egg", "The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing", and other characters.

Aesop, an ancient Greek poet who was sold into slavery in the early sixth century B.C, relied on animal stories to convey his key points to his masters in court. Aesop's Fables are now classic, memorable morality plays in which amusing animal characters drive home thought-provoking morals to generations of listeners and modern day readers. They illustrate what was fundamental to Greek culture yet their appeal lies in logic we still understand.

Book 1: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, better known and loved today as simply The Wizard of Oz, is a tale that has been cherished by readers and listeners throughout the years. This timeless story has inspired Broadway shows, cartoon series, and many films over the past few generations. I hope that this book has inspired your sense of creativity and wonder as much as it has mine.

Heralded as an instant classic of fantasy literature, Maguire has written a wonderfully imaginative retelling of The Wizard of Oz told from the Wicked Witch's point of view. More than just a fairy tale for adults, Wicked is a meditation on the nature of good and evil.

When Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published their Children's and Household Tales in 1812, followed by a second volume in 1815, they had no idea that such stories as "Rapunzel", "Hansel and Gretel", and "Cinderella" would become the most celebrated in the world. Yet few people today are familiar with the majority of tales from the two early volumes, since in the next four decades the Grimms would publish six other editions, each extensively revised in content and style.

A collection of classic Brothers Grimm fairy tales, pulled from Margaret Hunt's 1884 translation. Including: The Little Brother and Little Sister", "Hansel and Gretel", "Oh, If I Could but Shiver!", "Dummling and the Three Feathers", "Little Snow-White", "Frederick and Catherine", "The Valiant Little Tailor", "Little Red-Cap", "The Golden Goose", "Bearskin", "Cinderella", "Faithful John", "The Water of Life", "Thumbling", "Briar Rose", and "The Six Swans," among others.

More than 100 fables from the most famous storyteller of all time!

Following on from the events in A Zoo in My Luggage, The Whispering Land sees Gerald Durrell and his wife Jacquie travel to Argentina to collect animals for their newly established zoo. With rare insight and unique charm, Durrell pulls the listener into the tropical landscape of Patagonia, where he witnesses magical moments with penguins, seals and ocelots, and encounters a hilarious cast of characters, including a swearing parrot and a belching guanaco.

Gerald Durrell's last book, The Aye-Aye and I, records his final animal-collecting expedition, a trip to Madagascar in 1990, and his efforts to save the elusive and mythical lemuroid known as the Aye-Aye. Prompted by the country's radical deforestation and slash-and-burn agriculture, Durrell, his wife, and their team of zoologists embark on a mission to capture and conserve the species - distinguished by its "giant, chisel-like teeth", "round, hypnotic eyes", and large "spoon-like ears".

The great myths of Ancient Greece have inspired mankind for centuries. Each of the heroes has to undergo trials of strength and courage to prove his valor against a host of monsters - the Minotaur, half man, half bull; Hydra, the many-headed serpent; Medusa the Gorgon. Meanwhile, the gods, lead by Zeus the Thunderer from his seat on Mount Olympus, watch, encourage, help - and sometimes hinder.

It's time for a change, so Dominic packs his collection of hats and his piccolo and heads out, letting the world take him where it may. When Dominic encounters members of the Doomsday Gang, he easily foils their attempt to rob him. Legend of his victory quickly spreads, and each new friend Dominic meets tells him a story of their own less-fortunate meeting with the villains, and asks for help from the heroic dog. But can one lone dog bring down an entire band of hooligans?

Adopting the structure and themes of the Arthurian legend, Steinbeck created a Camelot on a shabby hillside above the town of Monterey, California, and peopled it with a colorful band of knights. At the center of the tale is Danny, whose house, like Arthur’s castle, becomes a gathering place for men looking for adventure, camaraderie, and a sense of belonging—men who fiercely resist the corrupting tide of honest toil and civil rectitude.

From the fantastic exploits of the Hero Twins to the stories of how the world came to be to folktales about people, animals, and supernatural beings, Maya myth presents us with a fascinating variety of characters, plots, and imagery. All of these tales, whether from an ancient or more modern source, reveal the great richness and beauty of Maya literature. Enjoy this captivating collection of Maya myths.

Author and painter Mark McGinnis has collected over 40 of these hallowed popular tales and retold them in vividly poetic yet accessible language, their original Buddhist messages firmly intact.

Honesty is the best policy. Beware a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Look before you leap. A bird in the hand. These and countless other everyday expressions originated centuries ago with Aesop, the slave and storyteller of ancient Greece. With humor, irony, and commonsense philosophy, Aesop’s Fables illuminates the follies, frailties, and resilience of humankind to this day.

For centuries, children and adults have treasured the stories handed down by Aesop, a slave who lived in ancient Greece approximately six centuries B.C. Known for their charm and simplicity, these simple tales feature brief adventures of animals, birds, and beasts - with a message hidden in each narrative. Every child should meet up with "The Hare and the Tortoise", "The Ants and the Grasshopper", "The Goose and the Golden Egg", "The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing", and other characters.

Honesty is the best policy. Beware a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Look before you leap. A bird in the hand. These and countless other everyday expressions originated centuries ago with Aesop, the slave and storyteller of ancient Greece. With humor, irony, and commonsense philosophy, Aesop’s Fables illuminates the follies, frailties, and resilience of humankind to this day.

Book 1: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, better known and loved today as simply The Wizard of Oz, is a tale that has been cherished by readers and listeners throughout the years. This timeless story has inspired Broadway shows, cartoon series, and many films over the past few generations. I hope that this book has inspired your sense of creativity and wonder as much as it has mine.

This collection of 10 time-honored tales brims with enchantment, whimsy, and sly humor. Assembled by a renowned poet and student of Gaelic language and culture, this edition includes "The Birth of Bran", "The Little Brawl at Allen", "The Enchanted Cave of Cesh Corran", "Becuma of the White Skin", "Mongan's Frenzy", and other stories.

In this fantastically macabre tale, the separate halves of a nobleman split in two by a cannonball go on to pursue their own independent adventures. In a battle against the Turks, Viscount Medardo of Terralba is bissected lengthwise by a cannonball. One half of him returns to his feudal estate and takes up a lavishly evil life. Soon the other, virtuous half appears. The two halves become rivals for the love of the same woman, fight a bloody duel, and achieve a miraculous resolution.

Heralded as an instant classic of fantasy literature, Maguire has written a wonderfully imaginative retelling of The Wizard of Oz told from the Wicked Witch's point of view. More than just a fairy tale for adults, Wicked is a meditation on the nature of good and evil.

In 1290, her 14th year, Catherine begins a diary that quickly fills with the irrepressible joys and frustrations of her days. Always looking for ways to avoid drudging hours of embroidery, Birdy fills her time with pranks, celebrations of feast days, and local gossip. Wriggling out of her father's plans to find a prosperous husband for her proves to be Birdy's greatest challenge.

A young mongoose protects his human family from two murderous cobras. English Nobel laureate Kipling's best story from The Jungle Book collection, "Rikki Tikki Tavi" has been adapted many times to film and television.

Since their first publication in 1812, Grimm's Fairy Tales have proven to be an enduring feature of Western literature. The stories have been translated into over 100 languages worldwide, and their influence has cast its spell on many film makers, as well. The stories were collected from traditional storytellers from around Germany, usually women, and the motivation to collect them grew out of the wave of romantic nationalism of the early 19th century.

In the year 793, siblings Jack and Lucy are captured by fearsome Vikings with a thirst for battle and pillaging. Taken to the court of Ivar the Boneless, Jack and Lucy are sent on a perilous journey - full of dragons and giant spiders - deep into the magical kingdom of the trolls!

Here are 22 charming Japanese Fairy Tales, translated by Yei Theodora Ozaki, including "My Lord Bag of Rice", "The Tongue-Cut Sparrow", "The Story of Urashima Taro, the Fisher Lad", "The Farmer and the Badger", "The Shinansha, or the South Pointing Carriage", "The Adventures of Kintaro, the Golden Boy", "The Story of Princess Hase", "The Story of the Man Who Did Not Wish to Die", "The Bamboo-Cutter and the Moonchild", "The Mirror of Matsuyama", and more.

Abandoned in the jungle of the Nepalese Borderlands, two-year-old Nandu is found living under the protective watch of a pack of wild dogs. From his mysterious beginnings, fate delivers him to the king's elephant stable, where he is raised by unlikely parents - the wise head of the stable, Subba-sahib, and Devi Kali, a fierce and affectionate female elephant. When the king's government threatens to close the stable, Nandu, now 12, searches for a way to save his family and community. A risky plan could be the answer.

Adopting the structure and themes of the Arthurian legend, Steinbeck created a Camelot on a shabby hillside above the town of Monterey, California, and peopled it with a colorful band of knights. At the center of the tale is Danny, whose house, like Arthur’s castle, becomes a gathering place for men looking for adventure, camaraderie, and a sense of belonging—men who fiercely resist the corrupting tide of honest toil and civil rectitude.

Dar Oakley - the first Crow in all of history with a name of his own - was born two thousand years ago. When a man learns his language, Dar finally gets the chance to tell his story. He begins his tale as a young man, and how he went down to the human underworld and got hold of the immortality meant for humans, long before Julius Caesar came into the Celtic lands; how he sailed West to America with the Irish monks searching for the Paradise of the Saints; and how he continuously went down into the land of the dead and returned.

A collection of German fairy tales first published in 1812 by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the famous Brothers Grimm. Their most famous tales are instantly recognizeable: "Rumpelstiltskin", "Snow White", "Rapunzel", "Cinderella", "Hansel and Gretel", and "The Frog Prince." The collection is often known today as "Grimms' Fairy Tales".