Jan Harold Brunvand

From the master folklorist and sly wit, Jan Brunvand, comes a collection of all-new urban legends.

Did your cousin's wife's dentist's daughter go to the tanning parlor once too often and had her insides cooked? Has your husband's brother's nephew teacher try to make a dead rabbit look alive? If so, you've heard―or you yourself may have told―two of the seventy-plus legends in this collection.

Urban legends are "those bizarre but believable stories about batter-fried rats, spiders in hairdos, Cabbage Patch dolls that get funerals, and the like that pass by word of mouth as being the gospel truth." But of course, though often told as having happened to a FOAF (friend of a friend), they aren't true. Included in this collection are legends about sex, horror, cars, business, and academia. Among them are "The Bible Student's Exam," "The Pregnant Shoplifter," "The Ice Cream Cone Caper," "Don't Mess with Texas," and "Mrs. Fields' Cookie Recipe."

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Texas

The Hottest Urban Legends Going

Did your cousin's wife's dentist's daughter go to the tanning parlor once too often and had her insides cooked? Has your husband's brother's nephew teacher try to make a dead rabbit look alive? If so, you've heard--or you yourself may have told--two of the seventy-plus legends in this collection.



Urban legends are "those bizarre but believable stories about batter-fried rats, spiders in hairdos, Cabbage Patch dolls that get funerals, and the like that pass by word of mouth as being the gospel truth." But of course, though often told as having happened to a FOAF (friend of a friend), they aren't true. Included in this collection are legends about sex, horror, cars, business, and academia. Among them are "The Bible Student's Exam," "The Pregnant Shoplifter," "The Ice Cream Cone Caper," "Don't Mess with Texas," and "Mrs. Fields' Cookie Recipe."

Curses! Broiled Again!

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No book cover. Full color illustrations. Newbery Honor Award winning author. 

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Virginia

Starry River Of The Sky

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

Louisiana

The witch Baba Yaga and a wolf switch bodies and form an unlikely alliance to save the forest from an evil tsar.

A Wolf for a Spell

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#paperback #chinesefolklore #fantasy #fiction #folklore 

Heavy Paperback (2 to 4 lbs)

New York

A New York Times Bestseller A National Book Award FinalistAn IndieBound Bestseller This breathtaking, full-color illustrated fantasy is inspired by Chinese folklore, and is a companion to the Newbery Honor winner Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. Pinmei's gentle, loving grandmother always has the most exciting tales for her granddaughter and the other villagers. However, the peace is shattered one night when soldiers of the Emperor arrive and kidnap the storyteller. Everyone knows that the Emperor wants something called the Luminous Stone That Lights the Night. Determined to have her grandmother returned, Pinmei embarks on a journey to find the Luminous Stone alongside her friend Yishan, a mysterious boy who seems to have his own secrets to hide. Together, the two must face obstacles usually found only in legends to find the Luminous Stone and save Pinmei's grandmother--before it's too late. A fast-paced adventure that is extraordinarily written and beautifully illustrated, When the Sea Turned to Silver is a masterpiece companion novel to Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and Starry River of the Sky.

When the Sea Turned to Silver

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Alvin Schwartz

Storage damage to corners (see pics) but never read (my kid was too scared) 😂

Arizona

Three Books to Chill Your Bones

More traditional and modern-day stories of ghosts, witches, vampires, "jump" stories, and scary songs.

The Scary Stories Treasury

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Leanna Renee Hieber

Andrea Janes

New Jersey

True Stories of America's Ghosts

From the notorious Lizzie Borden to the innumerable, haunted rooms of Sarah Winchester's mysterious mansion, this offbeat, insightful, first-ever book of its kind explores the history behind America's female ghosts, the stereotypes, myths, and paranormal tales that swirl around them, what their stories reveal about us-and why they haunt us...

Sorrowful widows, vengeful jezebels, innocent maidens, wronged lovers, former slaves, even the occasional axe-murderess-America's female ghosts differ widely in background, class, and circumstance. Yet one thing unites them- their ability to instill fascination and fear, long after their deaths. Here are the full stories behind some of the best-known among them, as well as the lesser-known-though no less powerful.

Tales whispered in darkness often divulge more about the teller than the subject. America's most famous female ghosts, from from 'Mrs. Spencer' who haunted Joan Rivers' New York apartment to Bridget Bishop, the first person executed during the Salem witchcraft trials, mirror each era's fears and prejudices. Yet through urban legends and campfire stories, even ghosts like the nameless hard-working women lost in the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire -achieve a measure of power and agency in death, in ways unavailable to them as living women.

Riveting for skeptics and believers alike, with humor, curiosity, and expertise, A Haunted History of Invisible Women offers a unique lens on the significant role these ghostly legends play both within the spook-seeking corners of our minds and in the consciousness of a nation.

"A Haunted History of Invisible Women looks beyond the legends of maligned female ghosts and gives us their real histories. It is both a meditation on the misogyny of a ghost-hunting culture that capitalizes on false narratives of sex and death, and a fascinating look at the flesh-and-blood women behind the ghost stories. This book is a long-overdue search for historic truth, yet it recognizes that "When it comes to ghosts, truth is as elusive as the spirits themselves." -Chris Woodyard, Author of The Victorian Book of the Dead.

Afterword by Bram Stoker Award-winning author Linda D. Addison

A Haunted History of Invisible Women

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Jacob Grimm

Wilhelm K. Grimm

Elizabeth Dalton

Perfect for children between the ages of 8 -12, but also enjoyable for teens, young adults and adults

Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

Maryland

Linguists, philologists, and restorers of ancient texts, the Brothers Grimm practically invented the science of folklore with the publication of Kinder-und Hausmarchen (1812-1815), which became popularly known as Grimm's Fairy Tales. Comprising 120 of their best-loved tales, this new Barnes & Noble Classics edition of Grimm's Fairy Tales includes criticism, reception, discussion questions, and legacies, to appeal to readers of all ages.

Grimm's Fairy Tales

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#fables #folklore #fiction #paperback #children #stories #vintage #collection 

Kansas

Readings to Remember 

Brothers Brothers Grimm

Michigan

"Adult and child can delight together in the richness of color, gilt and detail...captured in such art. The story is palinly and gracefully told."--The New York Times Book Review"A lush and substantial offering." -- Booklist

Rumpelstiltskin

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Wu Ch'êng-ên

Arthur Waley

Hu Shih

Georgia

Folk Novel of China

Probably the most popular book in the history of the Far East, this classic sixteenth century novel is a combination of picaresque novel and folk epic that mixes satire, allegory, and history into a rollicking adventure. It is the story of the roguish Monkey and his encounters with major and minor spirits, gods, demigods, demons, ogres, monsters, and fairies. This translation, by the distinguished scholar Arthur Waley, is the first accurate English version; it makes available to the Western reader a faithful reproduction of the spirit and meaning of the original.

Monkey

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Shawn MacKenzie

Pennsylvania

Majestic, mighty, and mysterious, dragons teach us how to rise above the mundane and shine like beacons in the dark. This beautiful hardcover book provides everything you need to become a cryptoherpetologist--a student and researcher of these fantastic creatures.

Discover the different dragon species and their histories. Learn about dragon life cycles and how to live harmoniously with them. Explore vacation spots for dragon watching in America and Europe. Celebrate seasonal dragon festivals and meet the most famous dragons from literature and lore. Dragon expert Shawn MacKenzie guides you on an epic journey into the world of dragons--all in this convenient hardcover book.

Llewellyn's Little Book of Dragons

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Karah Sutton

Sabine Baring-Gould

Vermont

With the shocking histories of ten famous cases, this classic blends science, superstition, and fiction to tell the full story of the werewolves among us. The Book of Werewolves was the first serious academic study of lycanthropy and "blood-lust" written in English. Combining a vast body of observation, myth, and lore, it explores the tradition of werewolves as a widespread and persistent theme throughout history. Sabine Baring-Gould, a prominent Victorian theologian, was a gifted and original thinker who possessed a vast knowledge of folklore and mythology. He draws upon his impressive store of scholarship to trace lycanthropy among the ancients and onward through medieval and latter-day Europe. His real-life case studies examine the bloody deeds of cannibals and grave desecrators, including an extended treatment of the crimes of Gilles de Retz, the notorious associate of Joan of Arc, who was convicted and executed for necrosadistic crimes. One of the most oft-cited references, this book is an essential and primary document on the subject of lycanthropy.

The Book of Werewolves

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Mythical Monsters

The First Strawberries

A series of short stories telling tales of unsolved mysteries and murder. 

A Puzzling History of Murder, Mayhem & Mystery

Are inscriptions on lead crosses found on the banks of the Santa Cruz River remnants of Freemasons or a hoax? How did famous evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson arrive in Douglas weeks after she went missing in Los Angeles and was presumed dead? Did the Lost Dutchman's treasure spell the end for Adolph Ruth, whose skull was found nearly a mile away from his body in the Superstition Mountains? Author Jane Eppinga details thirteen stories of disappearances, murders and unsolved cases from the annals of Arizona history.

Unsolved Arizona

87f9ddd2-10e9-4d7d-850a-81e998658084-1

Margot Edmonds

Ella Clark

North Carolina

Native American Legends

This wonderfully colorful and appealing anthology gathers more than 130 Native American legends, many told to the authors by elder storytellers and tribal historians.

Voices of the Winds

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Anne Smith

Idaho

A collection of distinctive Ute animal and human tales that offers a rich source of Ute culture for anyone interested in the peoples of the Great Basin.

Ute Tales

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#paperback #urbanlegend #folklore #americancustoms

Tennessee

Curses! Broiled Again! The Hottest Urban Legends Going

Good, readable condition. Small tear and bent  on front cover. 

Elmet 

Peggy Shinner

Signed copy. No other writing inside. Flaws are pictured. 

Arkansas

Essays on the Body

Feet, bras, autopsies, hair—Peggy Shinner takes an honest, unflinching look at all of them in You Feel So Mortal, a collection of searing and witty essays about the body: her own body, female and Jewish; those of her parents, the bodies she came from; and the collective body, with all its historical, social, and political implications. What, she asks, does this whole mess of bones, muscles, organs, and soul mean? Searching for answers, she turns her keen narrative sense to body image, gender, ethnic history, and familial legacy, exploring what it means to live in our bodies and to leave them behind. Over the course of twelve essays, Shinner holds a mirror up to the complex desires, fears, confusions, and mysteries that shape our bodily perceptions. Driven by the collision between herself and the larger world, she examines her feet through the often-skewed lens of history to understand what makes them, in the eyes of some, decidedly Jewish; considers bras, breasts, and the storied skills of the bra fitter; asks, from the perspective of a confused and grieving daughter, what it means to cut the body open; and takes a reeling time-trip through myth, culture, and history to look at women’s hair in ancient Rome, Laos, France, Syria, Cuba, India, and her own past. Some pieces investigate the body under emotional or physical duress, while others use the body to consider personal heritage and legacy. Throughout, Shinner writes with elegance and assurance, weaving her wide-ranging thoughts into a firm and fascinating fabric. Turning the category of body books on, well, its ear, You Feel So Mortal offers a probing view of our preoccupation with the body that is both idiosyncratic and universal, leaving us with the deep satisfaction of our shared humanity.

SIGNED - You Feel So Mortal

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Alaska

Includes "Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp," "The Ebony Horse," "The Dream," and other stories.

Aladdin and Other Tales from the Arabian Nights

5a986080-05c4-420d-8d62-db28c4fc4f2e-1

Julius Lester

Excellent condition from a smoke-free home.

Ohio

Julius Lester and Jerry Pinkney's warm, humorous retelling of a popular African-American folk ballad. When John Henry was born the birds, bears, rabbits, and even a unicorn came to see him. He grew so fast, he burst right through the porch roof, and laughed so loud, he scared the sun! Soon John Henry is swinging two huge sledgehammers to build roads, pulverizing boulders, and smashing rocks to smithereens. He's stronger than ten men and can dig through a mountain faster than a steam drill. Nothing can stop John Henry, and his courage stays with us forever. A Caldecott Honor Book * "This is a tall tale and heroic myth, a celebration of the human spirit . . . The story is told with rhythm and wit, humor and exageration, and with a heart-catching immediacy that connects the human and the natural world. " --Booklist, starred review "Another winning collaboration from the master storyteller and gifted artist of Tales of Uncle Remus fame." --School Library Journal "A great American hero comes fully to life in this epic retelling filled with glorious, detailed watercolors . . . This carefully crafted updating begs to be read aloud for its rich, rhythmic storytelling flow, and the suitably oversize illustrations amplify the text." --Publishers Weekly

John Henry

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Elayne Audrey Becker

A young, orphaned shapeshifter in a world that fears magic must risk everything if she hopes to save her only friend in Elayne Audrey Becker's Forestborn, first in a new fantasy series with a timeless feel. TO BE BORN OF THE FOREST IS A GIFT AND A CURSE. Rora is a shifter, as magical as all those born in the wilderness—and as feared. She uses her abilities to spy for the king, traveling under different guises and listening for signs of trouble. When a magical illness surfaces across the kingdom, Rora uncovers a devastating truth: Finley, the young prince and her best friend, has caught it, too. His only hope is stardust, the rarest of magical elements, found deep in the wilderness where Rora grew up—and to which she swore never to return. But for her only friend, Rora will face her past and brave the dark, magical wood, journeying with her brother and the obstinate, older prince who insists on coming. Together, they must survive sentient forests and creatures unknown, battling an ever-changing landscape while escaping human pursuers who want them dead. With illness gripping the kingdom and war on the horizon, Finley’s is not the only life that hangs in the balance.

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Jan Harold Brunvand

Curses! Broiled Again!

Grace Lin

Starry River Of The Sky

Karah Sutton

A Wolf for a Spell

Grace Lin

When the Sea Turned to Silver

Alvin Schwartz

The Scary Stories Treasury

Leanna Renee Hieber; Andrea Janes

A Haunted History of Invisible Women

Jacob Grimm; Wilhelm K. Grimm; Elizabeth Dalton

Grimm's Fairy Tales

Solomon Schlakman

Readings to Remember

Brothers Brothers Grimm

Rumpelstiltskin

Wu Ch'êng-ên; Arthur Waley; Hu Shih

Monkey

Shawn MacKenzie

Llewellyn's Little Book of Dragons

Karah Sutton

A Wolf for a Spell

Sabine Baring-Gould

The Book of Werewolves

Chris Mcnab

Mythical Monsters

Joseph Bruchac

The First Strawberries

Jane Eppinga

Unsolved Arizona

Margot Edmonds; Ella Clark

Voices of the Winds

Anne Smith

Ute Tales

Jan Harold Brunvand

Curses! Broiled Again! The Hottest Urban Legends Going

Fiona Mozley

Elmet

Peggy Shinner

SIGNED - You Feel So Mortal

N. J. Dawood (Retold by); William Harvey (Illustrator)

Aladdin and Other Tales from the Arabian Nights

Julius Lester

John Henry

Elayne Audrey Becker

Forestborn