From E.B. White's motherly Charlotte to J.R.R. Tolkien's monstrous Shelob, spiders both lovable and loathsome have crept their way into human literature. Here is a collection of tales about these fearsome, yet fascinating creatures. A golden spider learns how to spin webs of dreams and visions…A modern London barrister is chosen to be the vessel for an ancient African god…A scientist discovers some legends are all too true…An outlawed demigod passes judgment on a prince's fitness to rule. ...

Ticky-Ticky is a twelve-year-old with a secret: He is the youngest son of the infamous trickster Anansi the Spider-man. Hiding in the human world, Ticky-Ticky fears his father's enemies will recognize and punish him for being the butt of Anansi's embarrassing pranks.Now, the joke's on Ticky-Ticky. A school incident forces him to follow his missing father's footsteps on a dangerous quest across time and reality. Riding a magical ghost-bat canoe with a dog of the dead as his guide, T...

How did Anansi the spider-man end up in the Americas? And why are his stories still told? Learn the historic bond between the slave trade and the spider-man from Michael Auld's critically-acclaimed ANANSESEM comic strip.

For thousands of years, people have claimed to have spotted mermaids in the waves and on the rocks. Some were beautiful with long flowing hair and lovely voices. But other mermaids liked to drag people down to their watery homes and eat them! If you thought mermaids were just pretty ladies with scaly tails, think again. There is more to these mythical creatures than meets the eye!

You might know that they are the biggest land animal on earth, but here are some other things about elephants that you might not know.How much water can an elephant's trunk hold?Can an elephant drink through its trunk?Can an elephant's foot get stuck in the mud?Can elephants run?Learn the answer to these questions and many more in this 15-Minute Book. Elephants are huge, exciting animals that have some strange ways of doing things. How much do you know ...

Sea horses are some of the smallest animals in the sea. They look like little chess pieces, with a tail. They have a long snout or nose at the front of their head. They have a high, arched neck like a proud horse. They also have a rounded body like a horse.This book will introduce you to sea horses and tell you many interesting facts about them, including:What does a sea horse use its tail for?Do sea horse mothers or sea horse fathers have babies?What do sea h...

Giant pandas are one of the most loved of all animals. Here are some fun facts you may not have known about giant pandas.Is a giant panda an herbivore or a carnivore?Do giant pandas hibernate like other bears?What do a giant panda's pupils look like?Which has more fingers; a giant panda or a human?Learn the answer to these questions and many more in this 15-Minute Book. Giant pandas look like cute, cuddly creatures from the Far East. How much do you kno...

Why do big cats have pads on their feet?Which is the largest big cat?Which big cat lives at the highest elevation?Which is the only social cat?Which is the only cat that runs its prey to the ground?Find out the answers to these questions and more in this 15-minute book. Amaze your family and friends with these fun facts.LearningIsland.com believes in the value of children practicing reading for 15 minutes every day. Our 15-Minute Books give child...

In the 1920s, the first passenger airplanes began to fly over the Peruvian mountains. Passengers looking out their windows said they could see lines on the Nazca plateau below. The lines looked like runways where airplanes could land.They could also see animals and other objects. There are birds, monkeys, spiders, a killer whale, plants and flowers. There are human like figures. There are geometric shapes; triangles, spirals, rectangles, wavy lines and concentric circles (circles th...

When Sammy, a young Wilson's warbler, wakes up one frosty August morning near the Arctic Circle, he instinctively knows that it's time to make his first migratory journey south to Panama. But there's one problem — where's Panama? All the other warblers having left without him, Sammy sets off on his journey by himself, stopping to ask the same question of each of the different animals that he meets along the way: "Is this Panama?" From the caribou heading to his winter forest to t...

Deep in the Amazon rainforest Spanish soldiers went looking for El Dorado in the City of Gold. But few survived to tell the tale...Packed with full-color photographs, lively illustrations, and engaging, age-appropriate stories to introduce young children to a life-long love of reading. These amazing stories are guaranteed to capture children's interest while developing their reading skills. Perfect for reading together!

The Amazon River is the largest river in the world. It winds its way across South America, picking up dirt, leaves, and mostly water from over one third of South America. Then it empties into the Atlantic Ocean.Learn about the Amazon River and find out the answers to these questions:Is the Amazon the biggest river in the world?Are there more kinds of fish in the Amazon or in the ocean?The Amazon drains how much of South America?How deep does the Amazon ri...