Folk Myths

Myths, as Mary Midgley argues in this powerful audiobook, are everywhere. In political thought they sit at the heart of theories of human nature and the social contract; in economics in the pursuit of self interest; and in science the idea of human beings as machines, which originates in the 17th century, is a today a potent force. Far from being the opposite of science, however, Midgley argues that myth is a central part of it. Myths are neither lies nor mere stories, but a network of powerful symbols for interpreting the world.

Is this story too long? Is this story too short? Nope, it's just right! Abby and Jonah get pulled into their magic mirror and land in the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. There's porridge to sample and beds to test out! But if they help Goldilocks, will they risk running into big trouble with the Bear family in their cottage?

This time the magic mirror sucks Abby and Jonah into the story of Beauty and the Beast. When the siblings accidentally mess up this enchanting and magical tale, hijinks and hilarity ensue...and things get pretty ugly!

In this Korean folktale, a greedy merchant sells the shade from his tree to a passing traveler. What he doesn’t realize, however, is just how clever this traveler is! What happens when the merchant’s ploy backfires and the traveler decides to stay in the shade?

My brother Jonah's dream has come true. We have finally landed in his favorite fairy tale: Jack and the Beanstalk! It's a lot of fun meeting Jack. But then we accidentally mess up his story, which means Jack can't climb up the magic beanstalk to find the giant's riches. It's time to take matters into our own hands.

What happens when a tortoise challenges a hare to a race? Listen to this popular West African tale to find out. There's more than one way to teach a boastful hare a lesson!

Here are four of Hans Christian Andersen’s best-loved short stories, specially adapted for young children and read by some of Britain’s most well-known actors. The Emperor’s New Clothes: An emperor is promised a special suit of clothes by a pair of tailors. The Little Mermaid: A beautiful mermaid falls in love with a prince. The Fir Tree: A little fir tree is desperate to grow up and be like the other trees in the forest.

Masha is a lovely little girl who lost her way in the forest. Now to find her way back she will have to plan a trick on the bear who had held her captive.

Alexandria isn’t sure she’s going to make it to her 18th birthday - to her Awakening. A long-forgotten, fanatical order is out to kill her, and if the Council ever discovers what she did in the Catskills, she’s a goner...and so is Aiden. If that’s not freaky enough, whenever Alex and Seth spend time "training" - which really is just Seth's code word for some up-close and personal one-on-one time - she ends up with another mark of the Apollyon, which brings her one step closer to Awakening ahead of schedule. Awesome.

Winner of the Newbery Medal, Cynthia Rylant has also received the Caldecott Award and numerous other honors. In The Beautiful Stories of Life, Rylant vividly retells the Greek myths of Pandora, Pygmalion, Narcissus, Perse­phone, Orpheus, and Psyche. Exploring classic themes of love, destruction, vanity, and redemption, these tales will introduce young listeners to the exciting world of Greek mythology.

"La sorcière de la rue Mouffetard", "Le géant aux chaussettes rouges", "La sorcière du placard aux balais"... Avec une malice et un humour contagieux, Pierre Gripari et François Morel nous font partager ces 13 contes modernes, insolites et savoureux! Celui qui a su ouvrir de nouvelles portes à l'imaginaire en inversant les codes du conte classique continue de faire rire et rêver avec un univers poétique et facétieux adoré des enfants.

魔法学校で一年間を過ごし、夏休みでダーズリー家に戻ったハリーは意地悪なおじ、おばに監禁されて餓死寸前。やっと、親友のロンに助け出される。ロンの家で夏休みを過ごしたハリーは初めて魔法使いの家族の生活にふれ、毎日驚くことばかり。しかし、新学期が始まった途端、また事件に巻き込まれる。 ホグワーツ校を襲う姿無き声。次々と犠牲者がでる。そしてハリーに疑いがかかる。 果たしてハリーはスリザリン寮に入るべきだったのだろうか。ヴォルデモートとの対決がその答えを出してくれる。

When Abby - plus her three best friends - land in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, they are ready to follow the Yellow Brick Road to find their way back home. But they'll have to acquire some brains, heart, and courage along the way to avoid the Wicked Witch of the West...and will they get to meet Dorothy?

My little brother Jonah and I have a magic mirror in our basement. This time, the mirror sucks us up and drops us into the story of Pinocchio. Our task? To help Gepetto get his wooden puppet son, Pinocchio, to go to school. But even though his nose grows when he lies, Pinocchio is tricky—and he ends up sneaking back into OUR world with us!

Fall in love with this Shakespearean comedy about finding and losing love. A host of characters try to act as matchmakers for a young couple, while another couple is to be married. But everything doesn't go as planned when a meddling villain schemes to ruin the wedding.

A clever monkey and a cunning crocodile face off in a tale of friendship and betrayal, showing how intelligence can outsmart danger—one of several engaging stories in this book.

A brilliantly original, landmark retelling of Greek myths, recounted as if they were actual scenes being woven into textiles by the women who feature prominently in them—including Athena, Helen, Circe and Penelope “Greek myths were full of powerful witches, unpredictable gods and...

In this challenging and entertaining audio program, internationally recognized Jungian teacher and theorist James Hillman, Ph.D., presents the themes he writes about in his well-known book, The Soul's Code. The fantasy of the family remains the dominating theme of psychotherapy and psychotheory. In this recording, Dr. Hillman brings his critical eye, his wide eye - and often his absurd humor - to bear upon the myths that operate in our thoughts about family.

In Seraphine Caelum’s world, gods exist. So do goddesses. Sera knows this because she is one of them. A secret long concealed by her parents, Sera is Lakshmi reborn, the human avatar of an immortal Indian goddess rumored to control all the planes of existence - Illysia (the Light Realm), Earth (the Mortal Realm), and Xibalba (the Dark Realm). Marked by the sigils of both heaven and hell, Sera’s avatar is meant to bring balance to the mortal world, but all she creates is chaos.

Jake thinks he’s too cool for fairy tales, but that changes when he falls into the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale and meets Belle. Her strength lies in her empathy and conviction, and Jake is in awe of her kindness. Jake is also in awe of the Beast’s demanding and rude attitude. What is his problem?