Why does Monkey fear Leopard? Why does the Reed Warbler babble? How did Jabulani outwit the Lion? These and other intriguing questions are answered in When Bat was a Bird. Twenty four fresh and exciting stories feature memorable creatures both real and magical. Information boxes provide supporting information about the people, animals, reptiles, insects and birds of Africa. Over 90 full-colour illustrations bring the wealth and beauty of African wildlife alive for children.In his l...

Author Nick Greaves continues the ancient tradition of storytelling in this renamed and freshly jacketed edition by recounting the myths and legends of southern African tribes. Aimed at 7–12 year olds, the 19 stories in this volume introduce a magical cast of characters, from a feisty buck, greedy vultures and a bewitched crocodile to an arrogant bat and the perpetually crafty hare. The collection of tales is a delightful addition to the successful series by the author, including When Hipp...

England appearances, a courtroom drama and a spell in prison were just the start. He later returned to Sheffield Wednesday's first team before going into management and guiding Matlock town to the FA Trophy, but since retiring he has faced an increasing battle with Alzheimers. Setting the Record Straight lifts the lid on what was termed 'the biggest sports scandal of the century' and all that happened afterwards for this outstanding footballer.

Scott O’Dell's Newbery Medal-winning classic is a gripping tale of survival, strength, and courage. Based on the true story of a Nicoleño Indian girl living alone on an island off the coast of California, Island of the Blue Dolphins has captivated readers for generations.On San Nicolas Island, dolphins flash in the surrounding blue waters, sea otter play in the vast kelp beds, and sea elephants loll on the stony beaches. Here, in the early 1800s, a girl named Karana spent eighteen ...

Maftu was afraid of the sea. It had taken his mother when he was a baby, and it seemed to him that the sea gods sought vengeance at having been cheated of Mafatu. So, though he was the son of the Great Chief of Hikueru, a race of Polynesians who worshipped courage, and he was named Stout Heart, he feared and avoided tha sea, till everyone branded him a coward. When he could no longer bear their taunts and jibes, he determined to conquer that fear or be conquered-- so he went off in his can...

Orchard Classics is a collectible hardcover line of Newbery award-winning titles from the Orchard backlist that have fresh, beautiful new designs and include author prefaces and discussion guides. A GIRL NAMED DISASTER is the humorous and heartwrenching story of young girl who discovers her own courage and strength when she makes the dangerous journey from Mozambique to Zimbabwe. Nhamo is a Shona girl living in a traditional village in Mozambique in 1981. When her family tries to force her...

We are about to begin an extraordinary journey, said Professor Lidenbrock, nothing less than an expedition to the centre of the earth! With those words the professor, his nephew Axel and their guide Hans climbed down into an extinct volcano crater, and began an amazing subterranean odyssey. Living examples of extinct monsters, an underground ocean and a terrifying journey on the back of an erupting volcano are all part of Jules Vernes most extraordinary epic of science fiction.

Annie L. Burton's *Slavery Days of My Childhood* is a concise yet powerful memoir of enslavement and emancipation, shaped by a child's memories and an adult's retrospective understanding. Burton recalls plantation life, family relationships, forced labor, religious feeling, violence, and the uncertain transition to freedom, presenting individual experience within the broader history of the American slave system. Its plain, direct prose, episodic structure, and emphasis on remembered detail...

While he is best known for being the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt is also remembered for his immense love of nature, animals, and game hunting. "African Game Trails" is Roosevelt's memoirs about a hunting trip to Africa that he took with his son Kermit in 1908. In the text, he vividly describes the country in exotic detail. In full detail, he depicts the enthusiastic thrill of the hunt as well as the beauty of the animals he tracked. He also portrays his interact...

Storytelling is alive and well in the 21st Century. A good Fable or Fairy-tale can still hold its own in an era of DVDs, Play Stations and Cyberspace. Just imagine reading a passage in one of these stories that is so vivid that you can relate to a time and place never experience, yet, draw an association from where you are at that moment. Stories were and are still passed on to teach morals and values as well as excite, soothe or to make a positive change.African American O...

Around the beginning of the common era, Indian Buddhists began to collect fables, or jataka tales, illuminating various human virtues and foibles—from kindness, cooperation, loyalty and self-discipline on the one hand to greed, pride, foolishness, and treachery on the other. Instead of populating these stories with people, they cast the animals of their immediate environment in the leading roles—which may have given the tales a universal appeal that helped them travel around the world, sur...