Intermediate (ages 9-14)

Material appropriate for intermediate age groups

The Thief and the Beanstalk: A Further Tales Adventure

Everyone knows the story of Jack and the beanstalk. Everyone also knows that Jack’s little adventure made him a very rich man. But what they don’t know is what happened a long time after Jack…. That’s where Nick comes in. Orphaned and desperate, Nick joins a rugged band of thieves in hopes of a warm meal and a little protection. In exchange Nick must help them break into the lavish white castle rumored to belong to an old man named Jack. Legend says it’s full of riches from Jack’s quest up a magical beanstalk decades ago. When Nick’s dangerous mission leads him straight to Jack, he sees a chance to climb the famed beanstalk himself. But what Nick doesn’t know is that things are different from when Jack made his climb. There are new foes at the top now. Ones with cruel weapons and foul plans — plans that could destroy the world as Nick knows it. Will Nick come down the beanstalk a hero? Will he come down at all?

The People Could Fly

Retold Afro-American folktales of animals, fantasy, the supernatural, and desire for freedom, born of the sorrow of the slaves, but passed on in hope.

When Birds Could Talk And Bats Could Sing

Based on African-American folktales told in the South during the plantation era, a collection of stories originally gathered by journalist Martha Young pays tribute to the human spirit in the face of terrible hardship.

Stockings of Buttermilk: American Folktales

This handsome volume brings together eighteen American stories from eleven states, all of which are based on traditional tales of the European cultures that had the earliest influence on this country-the British Isles, France, Spain, and Germany. Some stories are variants of familiar favorites like “Snow White” (“A Stepchild That Was Treated Mighty Bad”), while others, like “The Little Bull with the Golden Horns,” are less well known; some are funny, some poignant. All share a characteristic freshness, energy, and informality that mark them as purely American. Vividly colored illustrations in the style of American folk art add humor and charm to this collection of lively, colloquial tales-tales that just beg to be read aloud. An authoritative introduction and notes place each in its folkloric context.

Swan Sister

Just as fairy-tale magic can transform a loved one into a swan, the contributors to this book have transformed traditional fairy tales and legends into stories that are completely original, yet still tantalizingly familiar. In this book you will find:• a Rapunzel whose most confining prison is her loneliness • a contemporary rendering of the Green Man myth • two different versions of Red Riding Hood • a tale that grew out of a Celtic folk song • Sleeping Beauty’s experience of her enchantment• two works inspired by the Arabian Nights • and morel In the follow-up to A Wolf at the Door, thirteen renowned authors come together with a selection of new and surprising adaptations of the fairy tales we think we know so well. These fresh takes on classic tales will show you sides of each story you never dreamed of.

American Fairy Tales: From Rip Van Winkle To The Rootabaga Stories

Includes works and discussion of Washington Irving, Horace E. Scudder, M.S.B., Frank Stockton, Howard Pyle, Louisa May Alcott, L. Frank Baum, Laura E. Richards, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Will Bradley, Carl Sandburg, and Neil Philip.

The Great Hamster Massacre

Anna and her brother, Tom, have always wanted a pet. And after their latest pestering campaign, their mother finally gives in and lets them choose a pair of hamsters from the local pet shop. But their happiness soon turns to horror when the hamsters are found mysteriously dead in their cage. Anna and Tom launch a full-scale investigation to determine who—or what—is behind the hamster homicides. Can they solve the case of the Great Hamster Massacre? Katie Davies’ irresistibly funny mystery and Hanna Shaw’s spot-on illustrations combine for a quirky, delightful read that is part detective tale, part diary, and altogether hilarious.

Seven Sorcerers

“Nin had never liked Wednesdays, but this one took the cake. On this Wednesday she woke up to find that it was raining buckets and that her little brother had ceased to exist.” Nin Redfern wakes up one Wednesday to discover that her little brother, Toby, has vanished and no one — not her mother, not her grandparents — can remember him. Only Nin can, and she’s going to get him back. But when Bogeyman Skerridge (who always gets his child) comes for Nin too, she realizes that finding Toby is going to be a lot harder then she thought. Toby is trapped in the House of Strood, which is located in another land called The Drift, and Skerridge can’t — or won’t — help her find him. Left with no choice, Nin heads into The Drift with her new friend Jonas. The Drift is filled with the fabulous and the terrible, but a plague is slowly killing all the magical things. The Seven Sorcerers who ruled there might have been able to prevent it, but in the end, even they have succumbed. Can Nin find Toby before he falls victim to a terrible fate in the House of Strood and before the plague makes it impossible for them to get home? Can she and Jonas avoid the tombfolk, mud men, and various creatures who want to stop them? And what is the secret of the Seven Sorcerers?

Belladonna

A lyrical coming-of-age story about a boy, a girl, and a horse – and how a chance encounter can lead to a life of intrigue and learning, a life beyond imagining. When Thomas Rose first spots the girl hidden by the roadside, she looks as drab as a lark, with only her red kerchief giving her away. But French Helene, who goes by “Ling,” is no ordinary bird. Tiny Ling enchants Thomas with her wild spirit and tales of a circus where she danced atop her beloved horse, Belladonna. But the horse has been sold, and Ling must fetch her back. Now Thomas’s life as a clever but unschooled wheelwright’s son is about to change. Their search leads to painter George Stubbs, who euthanizes ailing animals in order to study their anatomy. Stubbs draws eerie horses that stride as if they could move out of the paper world into the real one – but he assures his young friends that their horse is safe at a nearby estate. As Ling and Thomas devise a risky plan to recover Belladonna, Stubbs hires Thomas as an apprentice, teaching him to read and write as well. In this fascinating story, Mary Finn incorporates a real eighteenth-century artist into a beautifully imagined tale of adventure and young romance.

Septimus Heap, Book Six: Darke

In the sixth book of the ‘Magykal’ series, Alther Mella has been Banished, a Dark Domaine engulfs the Castle, and a Darke dragon is on the loose. Septimus must use all of his skills to save the Castle and the Wizard Tower from destruction; He must enter the Darke. But he cannot do this alone. With the help of Jenna, Alther Mella, Marcellus Pye, and his estranged brother, Simon Heap, Septimus and Marcia Overstrand, the Extraordinary Wizard, battle the spreading Darkenesse. Will Septimus succeed in protecting his Magykal world?