"Fantasy icon Jane Yolen (The Devil's Arithmetic, Briar Rose, Sister Emily's Lightship) is adored by generations of readers of all ages. Now she triumphantly returns with this inspired gathering of fractured fairy tales and legends. Yolen breaks open the classics to reveal their crystalline secrets: a philosophical bridge that misses its troll, a spinner of straw as a falsely accused moneylender, the villainous wolf adjusting poorly to retirement....

"It is the waning days of the Russian monarchy. A reckless man rules the land and his dragons rule the sky. Though the Tsar aims his dragons at his enemies-- Jews and Bolsheviks-- his entire country is catching fire. Conspiracies suffuse the royal court: bureaucrats jostle one another for power, the mad monk Rasputin schemes for the Tsar's ear, and the desperate queen takes drastic measures to protect her family."--

Hannah resents stories of her Jewish heritage and of the past until, when opening the door during a Passover Seder, she finds herself in Poland during World War II where she experiences the horrors of a concentration camp, and learns why she-- and we--need to remember the past.

Cast from the high court of the Fairy Queen, sisters Serena and Meteora must find a way to survive in the mortal realm of Earth. But when signs point to a rising power that threatens to tear asunder both fairy and human worlds, they realize that they were chosen to fight the menace because they were the only ones who could do what must be done.

Having been presumed dead, Jakkin and Akki finally return to Austar IV with newfound skills, and the knowledge that what they have learned could either transform their planet or destroy it.

In the newest volume of her World Fantasy Award-winning short story collections, beloved author Jane Yolen's dark side has fully emerged. Her vivid, startling, and thrilling tales and poems of the supernatural-- from icy-hearted witches to sometimes-innocent shapeshifters-- reveal a classic storyteller at the height of her powers. Welcome to the Midnight Circus-- and watch your step. The dark imaginings of fantasy icon Jane Yolen are not for the faint...

The old giant at the top of the hill is lonely. He has no one to play games with, no one to read to, and no one to drink tea with. When he ventures into the nearby town, every person and animal screams and hides - except for one girl, Arabella. The two become quick friends and spend the day playing together. But will the giant ever get his cup of tea? -- Front flap.

In 1965, a year after Arianne thinks she sees a shooting star land in the fields surrounding her family's horse farm, a baby centaur's born, and the family, already under scrutiny because Arianne's six-year-old brother has birth defects, struggles to keep the colt a secret.

Aliera is a star at fencing, but at school no one notices her-- until her new lab partner Avery begins flirting with her. Aliera's mother just bought her a foil from a garage sale, and it has a strange jewel attached to the hilt. Will Aliera's first date be ruined when magical creatures try to steal her foil?