Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit, becomes a thief for a band of dwarves and soon finds himself in the midst of a war with the evil goblins and wargs, and forced to make a decision between the call of duty and the pull of the simple life.

"The first great adventure story in the Western canon, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty, and power; about marriage and family; about travelers, hospitality, and the yearning for home. In this fresh, authoritative version--the first English translation of The Odyssey by a woman--this stirring tale of shipwrecks, monsters, and magic comes alive in an entirely new way. Written in iambic pentameter verse...

When a mysterious stranger with a scar on his cheek dies, young Jim Hawkins ends up with a mysterious map of an island. He imagines that he is off to a wonderful sea adventure that will lead to a huge treasure. But once he sets sail with Dr. Livesey and the one-legged Long John Silver, the dream turns out to include greed, mutiny, and murder. - Back cover. To help students experience the joys and benefits of reading, Townsend Press presents the Townsend...

"Written down two thousand years ago in ancient Latin and Greek, the fables and morals of Aesop were first published in English in 1484 and have been passed down through generations. This edition collects 284 fables, including such classics as "The boy who cried wolf", "The tortoise and the hare", "Town mouse and Country mouse", and many more enjoyable yet teachable tales. With eighty illustrations by Milo Winter, this beautiful, vibrant clothbound...

"Meek little Mole, willful Ratty, Badger the perennial bachelor, and petulant Toad. Since their first appearance over a hundred years ago in 1908, they've become emblematic archetypes of eccentricity, folly, and friendship. And their misadventures--in gypsy caravans, stolen sports cars, and their beloved Wild Wood--continue to capture readers' imaginations and warm their hearts long after they grow up. Begun as a series of letters from Kenneth Grahame...

The little red hen finds none of her lazy friends willing to help her plant, harvest, or grind wheat into flour, but all are eager to eat the cake she makes from it.

"When Black Beauty was born one sweet spring day, he could not have imagined the life ahead of him. Following his mother's advice to do his work with a good will, he enjoys the adventures of country and city life, makes new friends, and suffers from the cruelty and greed of his human masters. Beauty faces each challenge with bravery and kindness -- and then a chance encounter with an old friend brings him the greatest joy of all. Anna Sewell's classic...

How did the whale get his throat? Why was the lazy camel lumbered with a hump? And how did the elephant's insatiable curiosity earn him a trunk? Kipling first invented these delightful stories about the beginning of the world and the first animals in it for his own daughter, Josephine, who tragically died when she was six. Devastated by her loss, Kipling compiled the stories they had shared together into a treasury, which was first published in 1902....

The Little Prince describes his journey from planet to planet, each tiny world populated by a single adult. It's a wonderfully inventive sequence, which evokes not only the great fairy tales but also such monuments of postmodern whimsy. The author pokes similar fun at a businessman, a geographer, and a lamplighter, all of whom signify some futile aspect of adult existence.

It began for our narrator forty years ago when the family lodger stole their car and committed suicide in it, stirring up ancient powers best left undisturbed. Dark creatures from beyond the world are on the loose, and it will take everything our narrator has just to stay alive: there is primal horror here, and menace unleashed-- within his family and from the forces that have gathered to destroy it. His only defense is three women on a farm at the...