The American animal writer Ernest Seton-Thompson (1860–1946) was one of the first to make animals and birds the heroes of his works. Perhaps it was he who laid the foundation for a new, realistic trend in the literature about animals, because no one had ever depicted their behavior and habits so truthfully and reliably. His first book of short stories from the life of wild animals became so...

Eleven-year-old Tomas has a secret friend like no other: Flicker, a dragon with glittering eyes and scales that flicker from fiery orange to ruby red. But Tomas is also having to get used to Flicker being away, now that his dragon's home is back in the frosty North. Adventure is never far away for Tomas, though - as he finds out when another dragon hatches on the dragonfruit tree at the bottom...

Billy and his sister, Sheena, are visiting their uncle Dr. Deep on a tiny Caribbean island. It's the perfect place to go exploring underwater...and Billy's ready for an adventure.There's only one rule to remember: Stay away from the coral reefs. Still, the reefs are so beautiful. So peaceful. Billy can't resist.But he's not alone in the water. Something's lurking deep below the surface....

While staying with his weird great-aunt Kathryn, Evan visits an eerie old toy store and buys a dusty can of Monster Blood. It's fun to play with at first. And Evan's dog, Trigger, likes it so much, he eats some. But then Evan notices something weird about the slimy green ooze. It keeps growing. And growing. And growing.And all that growing has given the Monster Blood a monstrous appetite. . . .

A calico cat, about to have kittens, hears the lonely howl of a chained-up hound deep in the backwaters of the bayou. She dares to find him in the forest, and the hound dares to befriend this cat, this feline, this creature he is supposed to hate. They are an unlikely pair, about to become an unlikely family. Ranger urges the cat to hide underneath the porch, to raise her kittens there because...

Daniel Redmayne is fast asleep on the first night of a white water rafting trip, when he's awoken by screams. The dam has failed. The river is surging, and their camp will be under water in a matter of moments.As the shrieking roar of the river rushes closer, the kids scramble to higher ground. They make it; their counselors do not.Now they're on their own, with barely any food or supplies, in...

‘The Black Hen, or the Underground Inhabitants’ is an extraordinary, enchanting story that Antony Pogorelsky wrote for his beloved nephew Alyosha, the future famous writer Alexei Tolstoy. This is the first work in the history of Russian literature written specifically for children.

Three wonderful fairy tales ‘The Disheveled Sparrow’, ‘The Steel Ring’ and ‘Warm Bread’ are not like fairy tales. These are stories about ordinary children who believe in miracles, and therefore miracles happen to them.

Who are friends? Classmates, neighbors at the dacha, boys and girls in the yard or in extracurricular activities, or maybe a brother and sister or mom and dad? Everyone can be friends, the most faithful, cheerful inventors and playmates, or they can also be those with whom it’s even interesting to do homework. And your favorite authors can also be friends - A. Barto, E. Uspensky, S. Marshak, S....

Bianki knew how to see what we usually don’t notice in everyday life: how insects live, how animals communicate with each other, and also how interconnected we are with the beautiful and mysterious world of nature! V. Bianchi even wrote fairy tales about this. For example, about Ant, who was carried away by a gust of wind far, far from home. We need to get home before sunset, but how can we...

The pressure's really piling up on Greg Heffley. His mom thinks video games are turning his brain to mush, so she wants her son to put down the controller and explore his 'creative side.' As if that's not scary enough, Halloween's just around the corner and the frights are coming at Greg from every angle. When Greg discovers a bag of gummy worms, it sparks an idea. Can he get his mom off his...