At the time the world is being born, only Crocodile Man has fire, and he jealously guards it. One day, while Crocodile Man is distracted, Bird Woman steals his fire and flies off to give heat and light to the whole land. Putting firesticks in her tail, she becomes the rainbow bird.

The first man and woman are lonely. What to do? They decide to fashion children out of clay. As they are baking the little figures in their fire, they're constantly interrupted by visits from the sky-god, Nyame. As a result, some of the children are pale and underdone, some are left in so long that they come out very dark, and the rest are every shade between. Frane Lessac's gorgeous gouache paintings, inspired by West African masks and pottery, and Eric Maddern's vivid text make this one of the most compelling of creation myths for young readers.

The old kingdom of Gwynedd - the mountains of Eryri (Snowdonia), Ynys (Anglesey) and the Llyn Peninsula - may be the most mythic landscape in Britain. The ancient Druids and from it sprang the tales of Blessed Bran who protected the land, wizards who made a Woman of Flowers, and Merlin the dragon whisperer whose prophecy echoes still. The poet Taliesin walked these hills, Welsh bards told stories of Arthur by these hearths and saints made pilgrimages along these paths. From these hidden nooks the Tylwyth Teg (Fair Folk) emerged to tease the people, and through these mountain passes rode Llywelyn the Great and Owain Glyndw r, living lives that would be spun into legend. Storyteller and singer Eric Maddern has gathered these old tales here and breathed fresh life into them.