The inspiring adventures and stirring deeds of three of the greatest heroes of mythology spring to vivid life in these pages. Charles Kingsley, author of The Water-Babies and one of the Victorian age's most brilliant storytellers, recounts for young readers the legendary feats of Perseus, Jason, and Theseus.Rash and angry in his vow to slay Medusa the Gorgon, Perseus is cunning and patient in his quest. With the help of Athené's shield and Hermes' winged sandals, he faces the creature with writhing snakes for hair and rescues a princess chained to a rock. Fifty brave men known as the Argonauts join Jason in a treacherous journey across stormy, monster-infested seas in the search for the golden fleece of a magical ram. And Theseus sails off to Crete aboard a black-sailed ship with seven maidens and seven youths, all of them intended as sacrifices to the Minotaur—a fiend with the body of a man, the head of a bull, and the deadly teeth of a lion."There are no fairy tales like these old Greek ones," Kingsley notes, «for beauty, and wisdom, and truth, and for making children love noble deeds . . . for each of us has a Golden Fleece to seek, and a wild sea to sail over ere we reach it, and dragons to fight ere it be ours.» This edition of his retellings of the immortal tales features sixty imaginative illustrations.
Eight Punjabi tales, five from Armenia, 16 others. An enchanting world of flying dragons, ogres, fairies, and princes transformed into white foxes. 50 illustrations.
Fifty-three classic stories include «Rumpelstiltskin,» «Rapunzel,» «Hansel and Gretel,» «The Fisherman and his Wife,» «Snow White,» «Tom Thumb,» «Sleeping Beauty,» «Cinderella,» and so many more. Lavishly illustrated with original 19th-century drawings by Walter Crane. 114 illustrations.
A treasure for readers and book lovers of all ages, this dazzling children's alphabet is graced by the work of Edmund Dulac, a preeminent twentieth-century illustrator. Dulac provides a limerick for each letter of the alphabet, in addition to twenty-four related illustrations of people and animals in whimsical situations.Dulac possessed an endearing gift for caricature, and his use of jewel-toned, glowing colors adds vivid life to these fantasy images. A facsimile of an extremely valuable 1906 edition, this volume faithfully re-creates the original publication's luminous splendor.
"Lots of information, spiced with bits of legend and story, makes this a wonderful book!"—Chicago Sunday Tribune"A welcome addition to any library."—BooklistA celebration of all things chivalrous, this fascinating book features page after page of colorful pictures of heroic knights, fair maidens, and deadly weapons. It recounts captivating tales of life as it really was a thousand years ago, among the crusaders who followed Richard the Lionheart to the Holy Lands, as well as the much-loved legends of Camelot and King Arthur's Round Table.Author and artist Jack Coggins wrote and illustrated several books on subjects ranging from space travel to underwater exploration. His expertise in arms and armor is reflected in the authenticity of these illustrations of medieval weapons. Coggins also provides an informed and lively perspective on the training, duties, and benefits of knighthood.
33 tales from Portugal, Ireland, Wales, and points East and West, among them «The Brown Bear of Norway,» «The Enchanted Deer,» «The Story of a Very Bad Boy,» and «The Brownie of the Lake.» 51 illustrations.
Second Oz book; Scarecrow and Tin Woodman are back with hero named Tip. 120 black-and-white, 16 full-color illustrations.
It is almost impossible to envision what childhood would be like without the enchanting world of fairyland. Princess Rosanella, The Three Bears, giants and dwarfs, monsters and magicians, fairies and ogres — these are the companions who thrill young boys and girls of all lands and all times, as Andrew Lang's phenomenally successful collections of stories have proved. From the day that they were first printed, the Lang fairy tale books of many colors have entertained thousands of boys and girls, as they have also brought pleasure to the many parents who have read these unforgettable classics to their children. In the Green Fairy Book, the third in the series, Lang has assembled stories from Spanish and Chinese traditions, a few of the most entertaining creations penned by the Comte de Caylus, others by Sebillot, Fenelon, Kletke, and Mme. d'Aulnoy, and, of course, some of the best-loved tales from the Brothers Grimm. Here in one attractive paperbound volume with enlarged print are «The Blue Bird,» «Sylvain and Jocosa,» «Narcissus and the Princess Potentilla,» «The Three Little Pigs,» «The Half-Chick,» and many other favorites that have become an indispensable part of our cultural heritage.All in all, this collection contains forty-two stories, all narrated in the clear, lively prose for which Lang was famous. Not only are Lang's translations generally conceded to be the best English versions of standard stories, his collections are the richest and widest in range. His position as one of England's foremost folklorists as well as his first-rate literary abilities make his collections unmatchable in the English language.
Many generations of children have enjoyed the enduringly popular fairy tale collections of Joseph Jacobs, one of England's foremost folklorists. Through every change of fashion, their ability to delight and entertain has continued undiminished. The king and queens, the wicked giants, the clever youngest sons, the talking animals and trees, the magic cloaks that make their wearers invisible—these elements stirred the imagination of our parents and ourselves, and will give as much pleasure to our children.In this first of Jacobs' collections, many of the 43 tales will be familiar. Included are «Jack and the Beanstalk,» «The Story of the Three Bears,» «Henny Penny,» and others. The tale of Mr. and Mrs. Vinegar who lived in a vinegar bottle, the story of «Nix Nought Nothing,» of «Mollie Whuppie,» and of many others are less well known and will offer a refreshing change from the well-worn favorites.
How did the Indians do things? How did they make their canoes, tipis, traps, bark lodges, and war bonnets? How did they treat women, marry, talk, and dress? How did they hunt, use the peace pipe, perform the sun dance, make magic, gather medicine, and send signals? All these Hows and many more are described in this book by Arthur C. Parker (Gawaso Wanneh) from his personal experience and knowledge of Indian life. Each of the 74 sections on how the Indians did something is a fascinating and revealing exposition of Indian lore including many little-known facts.Before the advent of the iron ax, for example, Indians used to cut down trees with a combination of fire and stone hatchets and before iron wire came into being, they made fishhooks from the leg or wine bone of a large bird. The author explains these and many other processes in detail. If you wish, you can make your own canoe, tan buckskin, or Indian design. You will also learn the true behavior of Indians, such as: how they were not taciturn (as pictured in numerous erroneous movies) but laughed and joked much of the time; how many Indians were not nomadic hunters but settlers who got most of their food from farming; and how, in general, Indians were not savages but native Americans who had a culture of their own with an educational system and the land, a religious belief in the spirits of the other world, and a veneration of the values of courage, integrity, honor, and generosity.For anyone with little or no knowledge of the American Indian, this book will be a revelation and a challenge to our modern way of life. For readers who have some acquaintance with Indian history or anthropology, this book offers a practical guide to over 70 of the crafts, methods, and activities of these first and best American naturalists. When it comes to getting closer to the land in body or in spirit, there is no better teacher than the American Indian.