Fairy Myths

Bobby Norfolk plays a prominent role in African-American storytelling. But when he recently visited Africa, he went as a humble student, hoping to glean new insights, to immerse himself in a living oral tradition. He went as a pilgrim to the cities, villages, and jungles of Africa. Yet he was caught completely by surprise when, during a visit to an obscure African village, he was invited to a community-wide afternoon break at which elders told traditional Anansi stories and everyone else listened intently.

In a universe of capricious gods, dark moons, and kingdoms built on the backs of spaceships, a cursed queen sends her infant daughter away, a jealous uncle steals the throne of Kali from his nephew, and an exiled prince vows to take his crown back.

It's not easy being Princess Rose. Especially when a fairy curses you and you find yourself avoiding all sharp objects...and then end up pricking your finger anyway, causing you to slumber for a hundred years or so. And it's not easy being The Prince. Especially when your mother has some ogre blood and tends to chow down at the most unfortunate moments. A walk in the woods would help, you think. Until you find a certain hidden castle...and a certain sleeping beauty. Happily ever after? Not until the prince helps the princess awaken...and brings her home to Mother.

OF COURSE you think Cinderella was the sweetest belle of the ball. You don't know the other side of the story. Well, let me tell you....

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.

Corinne La Mer isn't afraid of anything. Not scorpions, not the boys who tease her, and certainly not jumbies. They're just tricksters parents make up to frighten their children. Then one night Corinne chases an agouti all the way into the forbidden forest. Those shining, yellow eyes that followed her to the edge of the trees, they couldn't belong to a jumbie. Or could they?

Beneath a shadowed moon in a cloud-streaked sky, the sacred orb splits and a hatchling is born. It is Nyroc, son of Kludd, fallen leader of the Pure Ones, and his evil mate, Nyra. Born from evil, trained to evil, Nyroc is destined to fulfill his father's terrible plan: the oppression of all owldom under the vicious talons of the Pure Ones.

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.

Nationally acclaimed storyteller J.J. Reneaux grew up Cajun for true, surrounded by the stories, music, food, and culture of rural communities in southeastern Texas and southern Louisiana. A traditional storyteller who collects by word-of-mouth, Reneaux has developed her repertoire over years of collecting: on front porches, school playgrounds, and her beloved fishing trips, as well as at nursing homes, airports, and at neighborhood fais-dodos.

The Otherworld is at war. The Academy for the Unbreakable Arts trains warriors. And Kelcie Murphy—a foster child raised in the human world—is dying to attend. A place at AUA means meeting Scáthach, the legendary trainer of Celtic heroes. It means learning to fight with a sword. It means harnessing her hidden powers and—most importantly—finding out who her parents are, and why they abandoned her in Boston Harbor eight years ago. Kelcie is a survivor, and she’ll do whatever it takes to find her parents and her place in their world. Even if that means making a few enemies.

A beautiful girl with extraordinarily long golden hair is imprisoned in a lonely tower by a witch.

Did you ever wonder why spiders have no hair? After reading this African trickster tale, you will know. When Anansi goes to help his grandmother, he can't resist her steaming-hot pot of beans. Bobby and Sherry Norfolk take a wonderful new look at a classic story. Illustrated by Baird Hoffmire.

Growing up in North Carolina, Donald Davis heard stories that came to America through Scots-Irish immigrants about a fellow named Jack who was so real that young Davis thought he was a distant relative or otherside-of-the-mountain neighbor. Now Davis knows that Jack is a universal legendary figure who, by various names, is found in nearly every culture.

These shivery tales were collected from the oral tradition, from people all over the Southwest, and represent the rich cultural diversity of the region, from the Ozarks to the Rio Grande, California to the Big Thicket.

Soren's beloved mentor, Ezylryb, is finally back at the Great Ga'Hoole Tree. But all is not well. There's a war between good and evil in the owl kingdom. On one side is a group led by Soren's fearsome brother, Kludd, who wears a terrifying metal mask to cover his battle-scarred face. On the other side are the owls of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, who must fight to protect their legendary tree from Kludd's attacks.

Sabrina and Daphne Grimm, along with their friends and allies from Ferryport Landing, engage in a climactic battle with the fearsome Mirror. With the future of the Grimms and all the Everafters hanging in the balance, the sisters make a fateful choice to join forces with the members of the Scarlet Hand to defeat Mirror and end this conflict once and for all.

The Emperor loves to wear the most fashionable and finest clothes in the land. However, when two strangers suggest that they can weave him a special suit - which is invisible to anyone who's not worthy and wise - it has to be seen to be believed. A magical retelling of the classic fairy tale, read by Tamsin Greig.

Grandma's house was a magical place, and in this vivid memoir, Donald Davis makes it possible for each of us to go back to our own grandma's kitchen, clutter room, living room, and to that immeasurable bed that seemed to swallow us whole. This selection also contains a traditional story Davis learned from his grandmother, one handed down through his family from generations who once lived in Scotland before coming to the Appalachian mountains, about the time that fortune-seeker named Jack made the king mad.

With music, sound effects, and all the expertise of the BBC, these traditional nursery rhymes are brought magically to life. Includes "Aladdin", "Puss in Boots", "Cinderella", and "Dick Whittington".

Irish fairy tales and legends - full of enchantment, brave deeds and lost loves. The best tales from the Irish tradition, including: 'How Cúchulainn Got His Name', 'The Magic Shoes', 'Deirdre and the Sons of Uisneach', 'The King’s Secret', 'The Children of Lir', 'The Giant’s Causeway', 'The Bodach of the Grey Coat', 'The Pot of Gold', 'Tír na n-Óg' and 'The White Gander'. Irish fairy tales and legends are full of enchantment, brave deeds and lost loves. Told from generation to generation, they are as fascinating now as they were to their original listeners.