The Last of the Mohicans is the second and most popular of James Fenimore Cooper's five Leatherstocking Tales. Set in 1757 during the fierce French and Indian wars, Cooper's classic novel of adventure follows an adroit scout and his companion as they weave through the lush and spectacular wilderness of upstate New York, fighting to save the beautiful daughters of a fort commander from a treacherous Huron renegade. With its death-defying chases and...

What a stunning discovery: an old, coded note that actually contains directions for reaching the Earth's very core! And once he finds it, renowned geologist Professor Liedenbrock can't resist setting out with his 16-year-old nephew to go where only one man has gone before. Jules Verne takes young readers on one of the most incredible journeys ever imagined, from Iceland's frozen tundra far down into fantastic underground prehistoric worlds and back...

Have you ever enquired why the elephant has such an enormously elongated nose? Are you confused by a cat's contrary nature? Have you ruminated on the wrinkles of a rhinocerous? Or speculated on a leopard's spots? Rudyard Kipling wondered about all these things too, and in this marvelous collection of stories he imagines how the animals became "just so." Backstory: Find out why Just So Stories is one of Philip Pullman's favourite books and discover...

While going through the possessions of a deceased guest who owed them money, the mistress of the inn and her son, Jim Hawkins, find a treasure map that leads to a pirate fortune as well as great danger. Jim sets out for Treasure Island with honest Captain Smollett, heroic Dr. Livesey, and obtuse Squire Trelawney, encountering Long John Silver and his band of pirates along the way. The unexpected and complex relationship that develops between Silver...

A little girl falls down a rabbit hole and discovers a world of nonsensical and amusing characters. Alice has two adventures: first she follows a rabbit into a curious world where she meets the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts. In Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There (written 1870; orig. U.S. pub. 1899; St. Martin, 1977; Knopf, 1986; Schocken, 1987; Morrow, 1993), she steps through a mirror into a backward world. Davy and the Goblin,...

Written by Italian political satirist Carlo Collodi, this is the story of Geppetto, a poor puppeteer who uses an enchanted piece of wood to carve a marionette boy he calls Pinocchio. The impish Pinocchio does not want to be a puppet; he yearns to become a real boy. Soon, his curiosity, mischievousness, and naivete lead him away from his father's shop and into a series of perilous encounters with vicious puppet masters, cunning animals, and other magical...

Idealistic young scientist Henry Jekyll struggles to unlock the secrets of the soul. Testing chemicals in his lab, he drinks a mixture he hopes will isolate--and eliminate--human evil. Instead it unleashes the dark forces within him, transforming him into the hideous and murderous Mr. Hyde. "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" dramatically brings to life a science-fiction case study of the nature of good and evil and the duality that can...