Full AspenCat Catalog

A retelling of a folktale in which a beautiful girl with long golden hair is kept imprisoned in a lonely tower by a sorceress. Includes a note that traces the Italian, French, and German origins of the story, and discusses the author's decision to mimic the style of Italian Renaissance art in his illustrations.

Presents humorous retellings of six well-known fairy tales featuring surprise endings in place of the traditional happily-ever-after.

On Christmas Eve, a little girl helps break the spell on her wooden nutcracker and transforms him into a handsome prince, who takes her to his kingdom in the Land of Sweets.

A boy climbs to the top of a giant beanstalk, where he uses his quick wits to outsmart an ogre and make his and his mother's fortune.

Three clever billy goats outwit a big, ugly troll that lives under the bridge they must cross on their way up the mountain.

A collection of horror stories for children.

Fifteen brief folktales in which there is a mystery or problem that the reader is invited to solve before the resolution is presented.

Clever Beatrice seeks out Mister Le Pain, the village breadmaker, to come up with a plan to protect her pony from the tiny bearded lutin that magically rides him every night.

In this retelling of a folktale, a group of slaves, unable to bear their sadness and starvation any longer, calls upon the African magic that allows them to fly away. "The well-known author retells 24 black American folk tales in sure storytelling voice: animal tales, supernatural tales, fanciful and cautionary tales, and slave tales of freedom. All are beautifully readable. With the added attraction of 40 wonderfully expressive paintings by the Dillons,...