Urban Legends & Tall Tales
Sometimes, a good story is better than a true story. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not endorsing lying or yarn spinning. Well, not exactly. But sometimes stories are just a little more fun when a little fanciful fabrication is added in for flavor. Tall tales and urban legends take what is real and make it so much bigger, so much more wonderful! So, if you, like me, are a fan of these types of stories, follow along with these tales, some slightly true and some not-so-true.
After losing her mother, thirteen-year-old Opal moves in with her uncle Roscoe on the family farm. There, Opal bonds with Uncle Roscoe over music and befriends a group of orphaned, music-loving bats. But just as the farm is starting to feel like home, the bats’ cave is destroyed by a big mining company with its sights set on the farmland next.
If Opal and the bats can fit in anywhere, it’s the nearby city of Austin, home to their favorite music and a host of wonderfully eccentric characters. But with people afraid of the bats and determined to get rid of them, it’ll take a whole lot of courage to prove that this is where the bats—and Opal—belong.
Thirteen-year-old Blue Broen is on the hunt for a legendary ship of gold, lost centuries ago when her ancestors sailed to New York. Blue knows her overprotective parents won’t approve of her mission to find their family’s long-lost fortune, so she keeps it a secret from everyone except her constant companion, Otis, an 80-pound diabetic alert dog. But it’s hard to keep things quiet with rival treasure hunters on the loose, and with Blue’s reputation as the local poster child for a type 1 diabetes fundraiser.
Blue’s quest gets even harder when she’s forced to befriend Jules, the brainy but bratty daughter of a vacationing movie star who arrives on the scene and won’t leave Blue alone. While Blue initially resents getting stuck with this spoiled seventh-grade stranger, Jules soon proves Blue’s not the only one who knows about secrets — and adventure.
Will Blue unravel a three-hundred-year-old family mystery, learn to stand up for herself, and find the missing treasure? Or is she destined to be nothing more than “diabetes girl” forever?
Did you know that Jack was looking for hot dogs when he climbed up the beanstalk? Or that he was led there by a talking fox named Wendy?
Ok, maybe that’s not how the real story goes, but when Estella’s dad, Andrew, tells her bedtime stories, she’s always in for a bit of twist!
A hilarious modern retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk, Daddy and the Beanstalk is a recipe for fun and adventure—with a hint of magic.
Aspiring engineer Suzy Hess is invited to the famous Underlook Hotel, domain of the reclusive horror writer Jack Axworth, in the mountains above her hometown of Estes Park, Colorado. Suzy thinks she’s there to tutor Jack’s son, Danny, but instead she finds herself investigating a local curse that threatens the landmark hotel.
With the help of Elijah Jones, an amateur filmmaker who thought he’d been asked to make a film about the so-called King of Horror; Rena Hallorann, the hotel’s caretaker; and Danny, who knows more than he’s letting on, Suzy sets out to solve the mystery at the heart of the Underlook, one that holds the town of Estes Park in its grasp. With only a week to save the hotel—and the town—the friends find themselves racing against time to uncover the shadows of the past.
Using traditional reading teaching techniques (alliteration, rhyme, and repetition), this book is perfect for inviting young children to read along with peers or an adult for the first time.
With clear, color-coded typography, and sly, lively illustrations, this collection is sure to entertain while encouraging reading skills and interaction with others. Readers will relish these new twists on familiar folklore characters, including Johnny Appleseed, Annie Oakley, Paul Bunyan, John Henry, and many more!
Sometimes, legends are just that: legends. You’re told a story about the big bad wolf, only to discover that the wolf isn’t bad at all! This enchanting graphic novel about a feud, a friendship, and two girls forever changed shows us that sometimes the truth is hidden in stories.
After learning that WOLFWALKERS aren’t to be feared, Robyn decides she must protect Mebh and her pack from the hunters. As the girls search for Mebh’s missing mother, Robyn uncovers a secret that draws her further into the enchanted world of the WOLFWALKERS and risks turning her into the very thing her father is tasked to destroy.
This graphic novel makes a great gift for readers of all ages and includes a special introduction, written and illustrated by film cocreator, Tomm Moore, and co-Art Director, Maria Pareja.
WolfWalkers is created by Cartoon Saloon, the award-winning Irish studio behind some of the industry’s most renowned animated films including Song of the Sea and The Secret of Kells.
Omega Morales’s family has been practicing magic for centuries in Noche Buena. But over the years, the town’s reputation for the supernatural is no longer one the people carry with pride. So Omega’s family keeps to themselves, and in private, they’re Empaths—diviners who can read and manipulate the emotions of people and objects around them. But Omega’s powers don’t quite work, and it leaves her feeling like an outsider in her own family.
When a witch with the power to transform herself into an owl—known in Mexican folklore as La Lechuza—shows up unannounced, Omega, her best friend Clau (who happens to be a ghost), and her cousin Carlitos must conduct a séance under a full moon in order to unravel the mystery of the legend.
Suddenly Omega’s magic begins to change, and the key to understanding her powers is more complicated than she thought. Omega will have to decide what’s more important—trusting the instincts of others or learning to trust in herself.
Charlie is the new kid at Castle School for the Deaf and one of the few students who is hearing. It’s hard to keep up (and fit in) when you don’t know American Sign Language. That’s why Charlie missed the most important detail of all about the Legend of the Boney Hand. It’s real! And when the Boney Hand goes missing, outsider Charlie is suspect number one.
Francine (aka Frog) Castle wants to be understood. Frog has been at Castle School for the Deaf her entire life. It’s hard to break away (and stand out) when people don’t take you seriously. That’s why Frog desperately wants to solve a mystery and show the world who she really is: a detective. But when the Boney Hand goes missing, insider Frog is suspect number two.
Together, Charlie and Frog must uncover the facts about an old legend and solve their latest case before the trail goes cold. It will take the help of unexpected friends and a daring race against the clock to finally reveal the truth. Explore what it means to be seen in this thrilling Charlie & Frog mystery from Edgar Award-nominated author Karen Kane.
