A beautiful new edition of retellings - including tales from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan! Enjoy a rich collection of folktales, myths and legends from all over South Asia, re-told for young readers. This book includes traditional favourites such as the story of Rama and Sita and classic folktales and mythology. Includes 19 South Asian folktales, myths and legends in a perfect, child-friendly package. Part of the Scholastic Classics collection: introducing generations of book lovers to timeless stories, repackaged especially for young readers Classic stories told from a modern perspective

This book explores the intersection of folklore and new media storytelling in feminist adaptations of traditional fairy tales. Focusing on the Germanic folktale, the author investigates how retelling and reinterpreting fairy tales in online fan fiction both criticizes traditional narratives and reinforces the continued importance of fairy tales, while also mirroring contemporary concerns and changes in German-speaking society. Fan versions of the examined folktales are repurposed to serve new functions within the communities in which they are told. Within the community investigated in this book, the stories open an online space where women can reclaim and reconsider the role canonical fairy tales play in their lives. Introducing fandom and new media studies to the realm of oral storytelling and folklore produces a new way of understanding the importance of communal folklore even in an age of mass culture. The adaptations traced throughout this book show the fascinating longevity and flexibility of the folktale and its power to reimagine the Germanic past into the future.

From the asparas of Hindu myth to the swan maidens of European fairy tales, tales of flying women-some with wings, others with clouds, rainbows, floating scarves, or flying horses-reveal both fascination with and ambivalence about female power and sexuality. In Women Who Fly, Serinity Young examines the motif of flying women as it appears in a wide variety of cultures and historical periods, expressed in legends, myths, rituals, sacred narratives, and artistic productions. She covers a wide range of themes, including supernatural women, like the Valkyries, who transport men to immortality; winged goddesses like Iris and the Greek goddess Nike; figures of terror like the Furies, witches, and succubi; the relationship of marriage and freedom; the connections between women, death, and rebirth; dreams about flying and shamanistic journeys; airborne Christian mystics; and wayward women like Lilith and Morgan le Fay. Young also looks at the mythology surrounding real-life female aviators like Amelia Earhart and Hanna Reitsch. Throughout these examples of flying women, Young demonstrates that female power has been inextricably linked with female sexuality and that the desire to control it was and continues to be a pervasive theme in these stories. The relationship between sex and power is most vividly portrayed in the 12th-century Niebelungenlied, in which the proud warrior-queen Brunnhilde loses her great physical strength when she is tricked into losing her virginity. But even in the 20th century the same idea is reflected in the exploits of the comic book character Wonder Woman, who, posits Young, retains her physical strength only because her love for fellow aviator Steve Trevor goes unrequited. The first book to systematically chronicle the figure of the flying woman in myth, literature, and art, Women Who Fly sheds new light on the ways in which women have both influenced and been understood by society and religious traditions around the world.

'James Crowden is Britain's best cider writer ... Cider Country is the book we've all been waiting for.' Oz Clarke Join James Crowden as he embarks on a journey to distil the ancient origins of cider, uncovering a rich culture and philosophy that has united farmer, maker and drinker for millennia. LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 ANDRE SIMON FOOD AND DRINK AWARD Cidermaking has been at the heart of country life for hundreds of years. But the fascinating story of how this drink came into existence and why it became so deeply rooted in the nation's psyche has never been told. In order to answer these questions, James Crowden traces an elusive history stretching back to the ancient, myth-infused civilisations of the Mediterranean and the wild apple forests of Kazakhstan. Meeting cider experts, farmers and historians, he unearths the surprising story of an apple that travelled from east to west and proved irresistible to everyone who tasted it. Upon its arrival in Britain, monks, pirates and politicians formed a pioneering and evangelical fan base, all seeking the company of a drink that might guide them through uncertain times. But the nation's love-affair with cider didn't fully blossom until after the reformation, when the thirst for knowledge about the drink was at its peak. This infatuation with experimentation would lead to remarkable innovations and the creation of a 'sparkling cider', a technique that pre-dated Dom Perignon's champagne by forty years. Turning to the present day, Crowden meets the next generation of cider makers and unearths a unique philosophy that has been shared through the ages. In the face of real challenges, these enterprising cider makers are still finding new ways to produce this golden drink that is enjoyed by so many. Spanning centuries and continents, Cider Country tells the story of our country through the culture, craft and consumption of our most iconic rural drink.

"A timely quest infused with magic." The Times, Children's Book of the Week The hugely-anticipated, brand-new fairytale adventure from Sophie Anderson, the bestselling author of The House with Chicken Legs. The Island of Morovia is shaped like a broken heart. The humans live on one side of the island, and the alkonosts - the bird-people - live on the other. But it wasn't always this way... Linnet wishes she could sing magic. But magic is forbidden and she has been banished with her father to the Mournful Swamp. She misses her old life, and dreams of reuniting with her friends. When her father is captured for taking a precious jewel, Linnet must set out on a treacherous journey. Travelling through alligator pools and sinking sands with new friends, she learns how to be brave, and discovers something even more powerful than singing magic. Something that could save her father, and heal the broken heart of her island once more... With themes of grief, trust, love, and that we have more in common than that which divides us, this is a heartfelt book filled with adventure and stunning storytelling from bestselling Sophie Anderson.

This collection of five tales and one play contains the definitive Robin Hood. They are the earliest ballads and play and still the best of the bunch. 'Robin Hood and the Monk' is the earliest surviving manuscript, dated c.1450, and is considered the greatest of the ballads, though it was probably not sung, being described as a 'talkyng'; 'Robin Hood's Death' is one of the most satisfying tragedies in the English language; while 'A Lytell Geste of Robyn Hode' is a comprehensive account of the famous English outlaw - complete, unified and pointing quite clearly to the reign of Edward II as a probable time for an historical Robin Hood, despite the opinions of most of the experts.