1629: A newly orphaned young girl named Mayken is bound for the Dutch East Indies on the Batavia, one of the greatest ships of the Dutch Golden Age. Curious and mischievous, Mayken spends the long journey going on misadventures above and below the deck, searching for a mythical monster. But the true monsters might be closer than she thinks. 1989: A lonely boy named Gil is sent to live off the coast of Western Australia among the seasonal fishing community...

"Aware of the racial tumult in the years after the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act, Mei tries to remain blissfully focused on her job, her close friendship with the camp foreman's daughter, and telling stories about Paul Bunyan--reinvented as Po Pan Yin (Auntie Po), an elderly Chinese matriarch"--

Andi, a passionate basketball player is stunned to discover her half-brother whom she has not seen in ten years has grown to eight feet a tall. Bernardo, is sixteen and suffers from a condition call Gigantism. He leaves the Philippines to live with his mother's family in London to the delight of his half-sister.

Even with the combined skills of Kage Tatsumi and the demon Hakaimono inside of him, they both know that it may be impossible to overcome the evil forces that control the cursed sword that keep them trapped as one.

Unable to stand his overcrowded and noisy home any longer, a poor man goes to the Rabbi for advice.

"In this witty and exuberant collection of linked stories, Aoko Matsuda takes the rich, millenia-old tradition of Japanese folktales-shapeshifting wives and foxes, magical trees and wells-and wholly reinvents them, presenting a world in which humans are consoled, guided, challenged, and transformed by the only sometimes visible forces that surround them. A busybody aunt who disapproves of hair removal; a pair of door-to-door saleswomen hawking portable...

"London, 1893. Seeking refuge after the death of her husband, Cora Seaborne departs for coastal Essex. Once there, she hears rumors that after nearly three hundred years, the mythical Essex Serpent, a fearsome creature that once roamed the marshes, has returned. Eager to investigate, Cora is introduced to parish vicar William Ransome. As they attempt to discover the truth, these seeming opposites find themselves inexorably drawn together--and as their...

"Helen is a fine hand with a slingshot, and more than at home in the woods. After all, she was raised by bears. When she stumbles upon three evil giants, she hatches the perfect plan to rid the land of them. Well, almost perfect...Bulleybummus, the fiercest giant, catches her and insists she help kidnap the princess Antoinette. Instead, Helen manages to save the sleeping princess and finish off the giant before heading quietly back home. No one knows...

A collection of folktales, primarily from the United States, as well as one adaptation and two original stories, each followed by tips for novice storytellers.

"Greek and Roman demigods from the Prophecy of Seven must work together to seal the Doors of Death--and help Percy and Annabeth escape the Underworld in the process"--