Folk Myths

Herc Beal knows who he's named after—a mythical hero—but he's no superhero. He's the smallest kid in his class. So when his homeroom teacher at his new middle school gives him the assignment of duplicating the mythical Hercules's amazing feats in real life, he's skeptical. After all, there are no Nemean Lions on Cape Cod—and not a single Hydra in sight.

A magical beanstalk leads to a giant surprise in book four of Ursula Vernon's critically acclaimed Hamster Princess series. Harriet Hamsterbone doesn't go looking for trouble. Somehow it always finds her. So she isn't completely shocked when a salesman attempts to sell her some magic beans, or when one of those beans grows into a towering beanstalk leading up into the clouds. But even Harriet is surprised to find a giant castle - complete with one very poetically challenged giant - at the top of it.

Jason and Rachel were not born in Lyrian. They did not grow up in Lyrian. But after all of the battles and losses, the triumphs and adventures, and most of all, the friendships forged in this fantastical world, Lyrian has become home to them in a way they never could have imagined. And so, armed now with the prophecy of a dying oracle, they have gone on their separate quests - each surrounded by brave and powerful allies - knowing that the chance for success is slim. But Jason and Rachel are ready at last to become the heroes Lyrian needs, no matter the cost.

I’m sure you’ve heard the name Thor, especially with all the superhero movies. In this book, we’ll tell you all about how he was born and all of the interesting things he did. But before all that, we’ll also take a quick look at what myths are, where they come from, and why they’re important.

Corinne LaMer defeated the wicked jumbie Severine months ago, but things haven't exactly gone back to normal in her Caribbean island home. Everyone knows Corinne is half-jumbie, and many of her neighbors treat her with mistrust. When local children begin to go missing, snatched from the beach and vanishing into wells, suspicious eyes turn to Corinne. To rescue the missing children and clear her own name, Corinne goes deep into the ocean to find Mama D'Leau, the dangerous jumbie who rules the sea.

Abby and her kid brother, Jonah, are just regular kids...until they find a magic mirror in their basement. The mirror is a portal that leads them into different fairy tales, from Snow White to Cinderella to The Little Mermaid. But in each story, nothing goes as planned, and it’s up to Abby to try to fix the happy endings - or maybe, sometimes, create better ones!

Goldilocks is sent to "Fear Camp" to help her deal with the aftermath of the Bear Incident. While there, she meets some other fairy tale characters, including Hansel and Gretel.

In this magical fifth installment of the hit series, siblings Abby and Jonah fall into the fairy tale of Rapunzel... and hilarity ensues! Fractured fairy tales are all the rage, and this series has been a huge hit! This time, the magic mirror sucks Abby and Jonah into the story of Rapunzel. When the siblings get the famous tale all tangled up, they have to find a way to set things right... with hilarious results! With quick thinking and a bit of magic, can Abby and Jonah turn this bad hair day around?

Leaving no headstone unturned, Sacha Coward will take you on a wild ride through the night from ancient Greece to the main stage of RuPaul's Drag Race, visiting cross-dressing pirates, radical fairies, and the graves of the 'queerly departed' along the way. Queer communities have often sought refuge in the shadows, found kinship in the in-between, and created safe spaces in underworlds; but these forgotten narratives tell stories of remarkable resilience that deserve to be heard.

Peace reigns in Caer Dallben, where Taran works as Assistant Pig-Keeper, but evil threatens the rest of Prydain. The diabolical Arawn's army grows every day, and his terrible warriors, born in the Black Cauldron, never die. If evil is to be defeated, the cauldron must be destroyed. Taran volunteers to travel to Arawn's stronghold and assist in the destruction of the dreaded cauldron. With his faithful friends reassembled, Taran faces great danger with a courageous heart.

Cole Randolph never meant to come to The Outskirts, but when his friends were kidnapped on Halloween he had to try and save them. Now he’s trapped in a world that lies between wakefulness and dreaming, reality and imagination, life and death. Cole’s search for his friends has led him to Elloweer, another of the five kingdoms that make up The Outskirts.

After a bump on the head in gym class on April Fool's Day, Nikki has a wild dream in which she, her BFFs Chloe and Zoey, her crush Brandon, and mean girl Mackenzie all end up playing the roles of some familiar classic fairy tale characters. Of course, the stories don’t go quite as expected - because they each have a very special Dork Diaries spin!

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.

After being held prisoner for years, Artemis Fowl's father has finally come home. He is a new man, an honest man, much to Artemis's horror. He makes his son promise to give up his life of crime, and Artemis has to go along with it. But not until he has completed one last scheme.

Trapped in a world where magic is powerful and dreams are real, Cole's epic adventure comes to a close in book five of the New York Times best-selling "fanciful, action-packed adventure" series (Publishers Weekly), from the author of the Fablehaven and Beyonders series. Cole and his friends are pushed to the limit in this finale to the best-selling Five Kingdoms series. Will they finally be able to restore magic to the world of the Outskirts and find their way back home?

Today's young listeners will truly be enchanted by this version of the Brothers Grimm classic, set in an American frontier. As she sets out to visit her grandmother's house deep in the woods, Little Red Riding Hood has no idea what is in store for her. She soon suspects that her basket of sweets isn't the only thing her new friend the wolf is after! With the help of a brave hunter and her grandmother, Little Red learns a valuable lesson about following her mother's instructions.

All light in Chattana is created by one man - the Governor, who appeared after the Great Fire to bring peace and order to the city. For Pong, who was born in Namwon Prison, the magical lights represent freedom, and he dreams of the day he will be able to walk among them. But when Pong escapes from prison, he realizes that the world outside is no fairer than the one behind bars. The wealthy dine and dance under bright orb light, while the poor toil away in darkness. Worst of all, Pong’s prison tattoo marks him as a fugitive who can never be truly free.

A slow snail tries to outwit a nimble fox in a race to see the king.

Take a rollicking ride through the Wild, Wild West with the original cowboy, Pecos Bill. Raised by coyotes to brave the great frontier, Pecos rides his wild mustang Widow-Maker and invents the first rough-and-tumble cattle drive. Then he mounts a runaway cyclone like a buckin' bronco to create the Great Salt Lake.

Zane Obispo spends every day exploring the sleeping volcano in his backyard. "The Beast", as he calls it, is the one place where he can escape other kids, who make fun of him because he has a limp and walks with a cane. After a plane crashes into The Beast, a mysterious girl named Brooks shows up at Zane's doorstep, insisting that they meet at the volcano, where she will reveal a terrible secret. Zane agrees. Brooks tells him that the volcano is actually a centuries-old prison for the Mayan god of death, whose destiny is directly tied to Zane's.