While nearly everyone has a memory of their own favorite tattered teddy bear, the details of the day President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear have been lost to time. Now, nearly 100 years later, the legend that has grown around that fateful encounter will captivate you in this delightful tale.
According to African Mythology, a lonely Creator made the first human being as separate parts, such as eyes to share the beauty of the garden, a nose to smell the flowers, and legs to skip and run. Finally, a stomach was fashioned. All of the parts enjoyed their functions, except for the stomach, which didn't know what to do. Bored and jealous, the growling, grumbling stomach caused problems for all the others. The angry Creator decided to put all of the parts together so they would have to get along. He placed the stomach right in the middle, but sometimes it still growls. Colorful prose and whimsical illustrations ignite the imagination of young readers.
The Emperor has a problem. He wants his people to remember the year in which his son was born. But there is no way to keep track of the years. So the Emperor devises a race in which animals will cross a river. The first twelve animals to reach the opposite side will have a year named after them. Thus, the people will be able to remember the years and the events that occurred. And so the race is set. Rat, knowing he is no match for the rushing water, schemes with Cat on how to cross the river. Together the two convince Ox to carry them across. But halfway across the river, Rat shows his true colors. Will Cat make it to the other side? Which animals will have a year named after them? Accompanied by exquisite watercolor artwork, this charming story explains the origins of the Chinese calendar.
Long ago in a faraway place there lived two mothers. One, a humble peasant woman who struggled daily to provide for her children. And the other, a mother spider who also worked hard to care for her family. And although it would appear they were as different as night and day, these two mothers had more in common than would first seem. As the only holiday gift she can give her children, one cold Christmas Eve the peasant woman goes to the forest to get a tree, never noticing that someone has made a home among its branches. During the night, the mother spider spins webs decorating the tree, resulting in a Christmas that neither mother will ever forget. Based on an old Ukrainian story, Trinka Hakes Noble (The Orange Shoes) crafts an original heartwarming tale of the grace that can be found in the true spirit of Christmas.
The Sparrow family is ready for their trip south for the winter, but Papas wing is hurt and he cannot make the trip. He asks the trees for help. One by one, the mighty, leafy trees of the forest say no! Will any of the trees help Papa Sparrow? What will happen to the selfish trees that turned him away? Discover why some trees lose their leaves in winter in this retelling of a Cherokee pourquoi tale.
La familia gorrión está lista para su viaje hacía el sur para pasar el invierno, pero el ala de Papá está lastimada y él no puede hacer el viaje. Él pide ayuda a los árboles. Uno por uno, los poderosos árboles, llenos de hojas, ¡le van diciendo que no! ¿Acaso alguno de los árboles ayudará a Papá gorrión? ¿Qué les pasará a los árboles egoístas que le dieron la espalda? Descubre por qué algunos árboles pierden sus hojas durante el invierno en este recuento de un relato del porqué.
Mooncakes is the lyrical story of a young girl who shares the special celebration of the Chinese Moon Festival with her parents. As they eat mooncakes, drink tea and watch the night sky together, Mama and Baba tell ancient tales of a magical tree that can never be cut down, the Jade Rabbit who came to live on the moon and one brave woman's journey to eternal life.
Trosclair loves to row to Bee Island, although he knows that Gargantua, a giant alligator, is lurking there. Using his wits and a beehive, Trosclair rids the swamp of Gargantua for good.
When Tree Kangaroo and Koala dig a well to get some water, Tree Kangaroo ends up doing all of the work and Koala ends up with a stumpy tail in this origin story from Australia.
A Ukrainian folktale about a young man who obtains a flying ship and sets off to win the hand of the Tsarevna --helped by six men with very unusual talents.
A clever, singing rabbit eats his way through the pea patch until Little Girl snatches him up and he is soon singing a new tune as he plans his escape. With a nod to Brer Rabbit, Pickin Peas is adapted from two folktales collected in Alabama and Virginia. The lively storytelling voice of award-winning author Margaret Read MacDonald, combined with Pat Cummings' bright, bold contemporary illustrations, makes this timeless battle-of-wits an instant classic.
El pequeño pollo pudo haber pensado que el cielo se caía pero Pedro Pica está seguro de que los glaciares se están derritiendo y se va donde el monarca de la montaña para hablar sobre ésto. En el camino, se encuentra con sus amigos Lali Lagópodo, Ara Ardilla, Mara Marmota y Lilo Liebre y todos se preguntan que les pasará si los glaciares se derriten. ¿Dónde vivirán? ¿Cómo sobrevivirán? Cuando Guelo Glotón trate de engañarlos, ¿podrá salvarlos el monarca de la montaña? Lo que es más importante, ¿podrá el monarca de la montaña parar que se derritan los glaciares?
Hace tiempo, los nidos de las urracas eran la envidia de todas las otras aves. Para ayudar a las otras aves, Magui Urraca pacientemente les explicó como construir un nido. Pero algunas aves eran impacientes y se fueron volando sin escuchar todas las instrucciones, razón por la cual, hasta este día, los nidos de las aves son de muchas formas y tamaños diferentes. Esta historia ingeniosa de recontar un viejo cuento popular inglés nos enseña la importancia de escuchar cuidadosamente.
Desde los días de primeros humanos, la gente ha usado el folclore para explicar porque ocurren los eventos de la naturaleza. Con la influencia de los cuentos tradicionales de los Nativo Americanos, esta fascinante historia explica las fases de la luna, mientras provee una lección de vida para los niños cuando ellos observan como la luna es capaz de superar la adversidad y construir la confianza en sí misma. Después de que el sol la insulta, la luna estaba muy ofendida y desaparece—mucho para el disgusto de los conejos quienes la extrañan en sus jugueteos a la luz de la luna. Con la ayuda de sus muchos amigos y admiradores, la luna recobra la confianza en sí misma hasta que vuelve a su tamaño natural.
Long ago, when the world was young, the magpies' nests were the envy of all other birds. To help the other birds, Maggie Magpie patiently explained how to build a nest. But some birds were impatient and flew off without listening to all the directions, which is why, to this day, birds' nests come in all different shapes and sizes. This clever retelling of an old English folktale teaches the importance of careful listening.
Influenced by Native American folktales, this story teaches the phases of the moon while emphasizing how to deal with bullies. After the sun insults her, the moon is hurt and disappears. With the help of her many friends, the moon regains her self-confidence each day until she is back to her full size. The "For Creative Minds" section includes moon observations, fun facts, Native American names for full moon, a section on how to deal with bullies (paperback), a lunar calendar, and graphics to help view and understand the moon's phases. Helps children deal with bullies.
In Jeremy and the Enchanted Theatre, Jeremy traveled to Mount Olympus with an orange cat named Aristotle to save Mr. Magnus's theatre, but Zeus only agreed to help Mr. Magnus if he could solve the riddles on three scrolls. Now, in Jeremy in the Underworld, Jeremy is willing to help solve the first riddle, but is he ready to travel into the Underworld to do so?
Jeremy should be at home eating his supper. Instead he has traveled through time with a cat named Aristotle to Mount Olympus, home of the Greek gods. Neither he nor Aristotle has any idea how to get home, let alone how to help Mr. Magnus lift Zeus's curse on his theater, where no play has been performed for years. Not knowing what else to do, Jeremy and Aristotle climb toward the summit, finding adventure all the way.
What has twenty legs but just one wing? That is part of the riddle Jeremy must solve in this sequel to Jeremy and the Enchanted Theater and Jeremy in the Underworld, if he is to help Mr. Magnus save the Enchanted Theater. However, he will have to captain a ship and face a magical bull to do it.
Jeremy and his cat Aristotle must solve one more riddle to save the Enchanted Theater. Once again they travel through time and space. Once again they face their fears, this time deep in a maze beneath the ground and high in the sky above ancient Greece. If they succeed, the enchantment will be lifted. If they fail...
Finn loves to swim with the seals in a secret cove. He arrives at the cove one day and rescues a young seal tangled in netting. Finn wishes the seal could live on land. That night the seals sing. "No good comes from seal songs," says Finn's father. When Sheila, a mysterious girl no one has ever seen before, appears on the cannery docks, the fisher folk are uneasy. They believe the newcomer is a magical selkie, a shape changer.
In this retelling of a Jewish folktale, Jacob tries to stump Rachel with his best riddles but fails repeatedly. When a young woman in need of help presents Rachel and Jacob with the trickiest riddles of all, they discover the only way to solve them is to work together.
The king is ready to step down and must choose one of his many sons to replace him. A contest will determine who inherits the throne.
The greedy Leprechaun King has locked away all the luck in Ireland and the whole country has fallen in to despair. Through clever charades, Fiona outwits the Leprechaun King and restores luck to the land. Luminous illustrations add to the magic and wonder of this original folktale.
What if you were given a locked box as a gift and told to never open it? Pandora received this gift from Zeus, the head of the Greek gods. What could be so important that it needs to be padlocked shut?
