From werewolves to King Kong, from Frankenstein's monster to Moby Dick, there are some monsters that children and adults love to be scared by. Monsters and Villains of the Movies and Literature collects 40 of these characters, both from classical literature, with figures such as snake-headed Medusa from Greek mythology and the Ziz bird from the Book of Psalms, to Shakespeare's Caliban and witches from Macbeth, to recent fantasy literature, such as John Wyndham’s triffids and H.G. Wells’ Mo...

For centuries, folk tales about fierce, fire-breathing dragons have fascinated children and adults alike. Sometimes scary, sometimes surprisingly friendly, dragons are major characters in legends from all around the world. Dragons collects 20 of these mythical beasts from Chinese, Japanese, Babylonian, Mediterranean and Nordic mythology as well as examples from more recent fantasy literature, such as J.R.R. Tolkien’s dragon Smaug in The Hobbit. From the rage of Beowulf's dragon to the vict...

Werewolves and vampires, dragons and gorgons, giants and goblins – since ancient times man has invented strange creatures to explain the unknown or caution children. Mythical Monsters includes 44 fantastical beasts ranging from Greek mythology to present day folklore, literature and cinema. Included are such classic mythical beasts as the Minotaur, St. George and the Dragon and the Cyclops, while examples from more recent tales include Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Norwegia...

INTRODUCED BY ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH'I'm a huge fan of Barbara Pym' RICHARD OSMANMildred Lathbury is one of those excellent women who are often taken for granted. She is a godsend, 'capable of dealing with most of the stock situations or even the great moments of life - birth, marriage, death, the successful jumble sale, the garden fête spoilt by bad weather'. Her glamorous new neighbours, the Napiers, seem to be facing a marital crisis. On...

Three lonely people come together in this poignant, witty novel of star-crossed romance from the New York Times bestselling author of Jane and Prudence.After being jilted by her fiancé, Dulcie Mainwaring despairs of ever finding true love. For a distraction, she goes to a publishing conference, where she meets Viola Dace, a dramatic woman who refuses to live without romance, as well as Aylwin Forbes, an editor whom Viola adores. The fact that Aylw...

TWO NOVELS IN ONE VOLUMEAll the epic fantasy adventures of Anders Tomason: SWORD BEARER and WIND RIDER, two full-length novels collected here in one omnibus book for a combined lower price.MAGIC SWORDS, AN EVIL UNCLE, UNTAMED DRAGONS, EPIC BATTLESYou swing a staff until you're ready to swing a sword. Then you go on all kinds of adventures -- fighting monsters, casting spells and sa...

"High-action adventure, a plucky protagonist, and whimsical illustrations enliven this sea fantasy, which will be most thoroughly appreciated by series followers." — BooklistPicture an island set in a glittering blue sea, sparkling with white sand and palm trees, a secret place where humans and merfolk live together. To Emily Windsnap — half mermaid, half human — her new home is perfect. That is, until Emily ruins everything by waking a legendary sea monster known ...

Finn's monster-hunting adventures continue in Darkmouth #2: Worlds Explode, the second book of the tween fantasy series that Kirkus Reviews called " Ghostbusters meets Percy Jackson as written by Terry Pratchett."Legend Hunter–in-training Finn may be clumsy and uncoordinated, but nothing will stop him from saving his dad, who is trapped in a land full of the monsters that have plagued Darkmouth for centuries. Now Finn will have to journey between worlds t...

The latest creature to emerge from Rob's closet is a cross between Chewbacca from Star Wars and Harry Potter. Rob names him "Potterwookiee" ("Hairy" for short) and soon Rob finds himself treading water as he tries to figure out how to care for his mixed-up friend. Great laughs and great books help Rob along the way.

Jackson is looking forward to visiting his aunt who has been busy working on an anthropological dig at Stonehenge in England. Jackson can't wait to finally see the massive and mysterious stone formations in person. But then he witnesses a vicious attack on a young man, and another on his beloved aunt Sarah. A savage beast no one has ever seen before is on the prowl. Now it's up to Jackson and his new friend, Alma, a gravedigger's daughter, to stop the beast. All the clues lead back to Ston...

In Book 5 in the Creature from My Closet series, Rob Burnside is visited by an especially strange closet creature!Rob Burnside thinks he's getting the hang of things. It almost seems as if he has learned all he needed to from his unusual closet. Beardy, the doorknob, has it locked up and there are no signs of the closet door opening again.But something slips from the closet unnoticed and that something is part Gollum, part Cat in the Hat. He's an intense cre...

There's something strange going on at Washington Irving Elementary School. People are turning into monsters—literally!In The Vanishing Vampire, Sebastian's life has become a real pain in the neck. It all started the night he walked home from the movies by himself. He sort of blacked out and the next morning, he woke up as a vampire. Now he has only one chance to turn back into a human. And time is running out….With its blend of humor and horror, Davi...