In this selection of tales by the master folklorist Andrew Lang, the reader is taken into the romantic world of the gallant Knights of the Round Table and their courageous and chivalrous deeds, fair maidens, castles steeped in history, the quest for the Holy Grail, and the tragic love of King Arthur and Sir Lancelot for Guinevere, and Tristan for Iseult. The Arthurian legends are the most potent of the thrilling and mist-enshrouded tales of adventure to be passed down from pre-recorded history, and they have as much appeal today as they did in the age of the troubadours.

Following Sterling's spectacularly successful launch of itschildren's classic novels (240,000 books in print to date),comes adazzling new series: Classic Starts . The stories areabridged; the quality is complete. Classic Starts treats theworld's beloved tales (and children) with the respect theydeserve--all at an incomparable price. No child is too young to appreciate the amazing deductive powers ofthe world's smartest detective. These easy-to-read Sherlock Holmesstories provide the perfect introduction to the super sleuth andhis friend and assistant, Dr. Watson. Among the intriguing tales:"A Scandal in Bohemia," Holmes's first encounter with themysterious Irene Adler; "The Red-Headed League"; "The Adventure ofthe Six Napoleons" and others.

The magical Peter Pan comes to the night nursery of the Darling children, Wendy, John and Michael. He teaches them to fly, then takes them through the sky to Never-Never Land, where they find Red Indians, wolves, Mermaids and... Pirates. The leader of the pirates is the sinister Captain Hook. His hand was bitten off by a crocodile, who, as Captain Hook explains 'liked me arm so much that he has followed me ever since, licking his lips for the rest of me'. After lots of adventures, the story reaches its exciting climax as Peter, Wendy and the children do battle with Captain Hook and his band. Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens is the magical tale that first introduces Peter Pan, the little boy who never grows any older. He escapes his human form and flies to Kensington Gardens, where all his happy memories are, and meets the fairies, the thrushes, and Old caw the crow. The fairies think he is too human to be allowed to stay in after Lock-out time, so he flies off to an island which divides the Gardens from the mo

This collection of over forty of Andersen's most popular stories includes The Mermaid, The Real Princess, The Snow Queen, The Tinder Box, The Ugly Duckling, The Red Shoes and The Little Match Girl.

0in 0in 0pt" Call me Ishmael. These three famous wordsbegin one of America’s most epic novels, a tale of one obsessedcaptain, his doomed crew, and an elusive white whale namedMoby-Dick. The massive original, however, can be very hardfor young readers to navigate. This beautifully abridged andadventure-filled version will thrill children and whet theirappetite for the complete work—when they are ready to tackleit.

Andrew Lang draws on his classical learning to recount the Homeric legend of the wars between the Greeks and the Trojans. Paris, Helen of Troy, Achilles, Hector, Ulysses, the Amazons and the Wooden Horse all figure in this magical introduction to one of the greatest legends ever told. Also included in this book are the adventures of Theseus and his dramatic battle with the Minotaur with the help of Ariadne, and the quest of Jason for the Golden Fleece with the help of the Princess Medea.

Book De*ion The highest standards inediting and production have been applied to the WordsworthChildren's Classics, while the low price makes them affordable foreveryone. Wordsworth's list covers a range of the best-lovedstories for children, from nursery tales, classic fables, and fairytales to stories that will appeal to older children and adultsalike. Many of these volumes have contemporary illustrations, andwhile they are ideal for shared family reading, their attractiveformat will also encourage children to read for themselves. Likeall Wordsworth Editions, these children's books representunbeatable value. When Jerry, Jimmy and Cathy discover a tunnel that leads to acastle, they pretend that it is enchanted. But when they discoverthe Sleeping Princess at the centre of the maze, astonishing thingsbegin to happen. Amazon.com A plot summary makes this story sound ordinary by children'sliterature standards: the summer adventures of four children whodiscover an enchanted castle and a magic ring. But Edit

Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserly old skinflint.He hates everyone,especially children．But at Christmas three ghosts come to visit him，scare him into mending his ways，and hefinds，as he celebrates with Bod Cratchit，TinvTim and their family,that geniality brings itsown reward. This finest of all Christmas Stories is beautifully illustrated with Arthur Rackham’s superb line drawings．

Heidi is the heart-warming tale of a small girl's power for good, and it has remained a firm favourite since it was published over 100 years ago.It has teen filmed and televised several times. It tells of the orphan Heidi and her idyllic existence with her gruff grandfather in the mountains. When she is sent to live in a city, comic chaos ensues, and eventually it is arranged that Heidi should return to the mountains. Together she and her friend Peter, the goat-herd, achieve wondrous changes in the community in which they live.

Far from fading with time, Kenneth Grahame's classic tale of fantasy has attracted a growing audience in each generation. Rat, Mole, Badger,and the preposterous Mr. Toad (with his 'Poop-poop-poop' road-hogging new motor car), have brought delight to many through the years with their odd adventures on and by the river, and at the imposing residence of Toad Hall. Grahame's book was later dramatized by A. A. Milne, and became a perennial hristmas favourite, as Toad of Toad Hall. It continues to enchant and, above all, inspire great affection.

Following Sterling's spectacularly successful launch of itschildren's classic novels (240,000 books in print to date),comes adazzling new series: Classic Starts . The stories areabridged; the quality is complete. Classic Starts treats theworld's beloved tales (and children) with the respect theydeserve--all at an incomparable price. He robbed from the rich and gave to the poor, and had escapadesenough to please any adventure-loving child. Now even the youngestreaders can have the chance to enter Sherwood Forest with Robin'sband of merry men, and meet such unforgettable characters as FriarTuck, Little John, Allan-a-Dale, the nasty Sheriff of Nottingham,and wicked King John. Every moment of the story is filled withaction and excitement.

Rendered in brilliant candy-shop colors, Joanna Isles's folk-art designs, whimsical characters and striking typestyles put a beguiling face on a beloved work: Abrams's edition of Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses glows with charm and vitality ($14.95, all ages ISBN 0-8109-3196-6, Dec.).Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Far from fading with time, Kenneth Grahame's classic tale of fantasy has attracted a growing audience in each generation. Rat, Mole, Badger, and the preposterous Mr. Toad （with his 'Poop-poop-poop' road-hogging new motor-car）, have brought delight to many through the years with their odd adventures on and by the river, and at the imposing residence of Toad Hall. Grahame's book was later dramatised by A.A.Milne, and became a perennial Christmas favourite,as Toad of Toad Hall. It continues to enchant and,above all perhaps, inspire great affection.

Renting a lighthouse is unusual, but even more so is anunfriendly boy's peculiar behavior.

Source of legend and lyric, reference and conjecture, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is for most children pure pleasure in prose. While adults try to decipher Lewis Carroll's putative use of complex mathematical codes in the text, or debate his alleged use of opium, young readers simply dive with Alice through the rabbit hole, pursuing "The dream-child moving through a land/Of wonders wild and new." There they encounter the White Rabbit, the Queen of Hearts, the Mock Turtle, and the Mad Hatter, among a multitude of other characters--extinct, fantastical, and commonplace creatures. Alice journeys through this Wonderland, trying to fathom the meaning of her strange experiences. But they turn out to be "curiouser and curiouser," seemingly without moral or sense. For more than 130 years, children have reveled in the delightfully non-moralistic, non-educational virtues of this classic. In fact, at every turn, Alice's new companions scoff at her traditional education. The Mock Turtle, for example, remarks t

Rip van Winkle is an amiable man whose home and farm suffer from his lazy neglect; a familiar figure about the village, he is loved by all except his wife. One autumn day he escapes her nagging to wander up into the mountains, and there after drinking some liquor offered to him by a band of very strange folk, he settles down under a shady tree and falls asleep. He wakes up twenty years later and returns to his village to find that not only is his wife dead but war and revolution have changed many things. He, on the other hand, although older is not appreciably wiser and soon slips back into his idle habits. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow tells of conscientious schoolmaster Ichabod Crane. Orderly and strict in school, out of school his life is disorderly and his head full of fearful fantasies. He is in love with the beautiful Katrina but has a rival for her hand, a dashing young hero who, together with his prankster friends, plays on Ichabod's superstitions, notably with the story of a headless horseman who

Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny, four orphaned brothers andsisters, suddenly appear in a small town. No one knows who theseyoung wanderers are or where they have come from. Frightened tolive with a grandfather they have never met, the children make ahome for themselves in an abandoned red boxcar they discover in thewoods. Henry, the oldest, goes to town to earn money and buy foodand supplies. Ambitious and resourceful, the plucky children make ahappy life for themselves–until Violet gets too sick for herbrothers and sister to care for her.

Following Sterling's spectacularly successful launch of itschildren's classic novels (240,000 books in print to date),comes adazzling new series: Classic Starts . The stories areabridged; the quality is complete. Classic Starts treats theworld's beloved tales (and children) with the respect theydeserve--all at an incomparable price. Poor Sara Crewe. onceupon a time her beloved father pampered and adored her. But eversince he died, leaving her alone and penniless, she's been caughtin the cruel clutches of Miss Minchin, the headmistress at theSelect Seminary for Young Ladies, where Sara once studied. But nomatter how terrible things get, Sara always has her imagination andgoodness of heart to carry her through. This timeless tale of apoor orphan has won children's hearts for a century--and continuesto be a favorite.

Following Sterling's spectacularly successful launch of itschildren's classic novels (240,000 books in print to date),comes adazzling new series: Classic Starts. The stories are abridged; thequality is complete. Classic Starts treats the world's belovedtales (and children) with the respect they deserve--all at anincomparable price. Louisa May Alcott's classic novel, set during the Civil War, hasalways captivated even the most reluctant readers. Little girls,especially, love following the adventures of the four Marchsisters--Meg, Beth, Amy, and most of all, the tomboy Jo--as theyexperience the joys and disappointments, tragedies and triumphs, ofgrowing up. This simpler version captures all the charm and warmthof the original.

Homer's epic tale of the warrior odysseus's decades-longstruggle to return home after the Trojan War is simply andbeautifully retold, with all the drama intact. Young readers willthrill at odysseus's adventures with the man-eating Cyclops; theenchantress Circe, who turns his crew into pigs; and the angry seagod Poseidon.

When a huge cyclone transports the orphan Dorothy and her little dog Toto from Kansas to the Land of Oz,she fears that she will never see Aunt Em and Uncle Henry ever again. But she meets the Munchkins, and they tell her to follow the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City where the Wonderful Wizard of Oz will grant any wish.On the way, she meets the brainless Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion. The four friends set off to seek their hearts' desires, and in a series of action-packed adventures they encounter a deadly poppy field, fierce animals, flying monkeys, a wicked witch, a good witch, and the Mighty Oz himself.

The two American classics here together in one volume, Little Men and Jo's Boys, are worthy sequels to Little Women, one of the best-loved children's stories of all time, and its continuation, Good Wives. In Little Men, Louisa May Alcott takes up the story of the everyday dramas and exploits of the naughty but easy-going boys at Plumfield, now a boarding-school run by Professor Bhaer and his lovable madcap wife Jo, the most fiery and free-spirited of the four March sisters. Jo's Boys revisits the one-time members of that 'wilderness of boys' ten years later when they are making their ways in the world with varying degrees of triumph and disaster.