Service Alert
Website maintenance April 24 10pm ET
On Wednesday April 24 at 10pm ET the CELA website will be unavailable for about 15 minutes for planned maintenance.
On Wednesday April 24 at 10pm ET the CELA website will be unavailable for about 15 minutes for planned maintenance.
Showing 1 - 20 of 149 items
By Maria Tatar, Henry Louis Gates. 2018
A collection of over a hundred stories, essays, folktales, myths, and legends from African American history. Includes well-known classics, such…
as Brer Rabbit and Anansi, as well as lesser-known traditions. Includes information about how these tales were sometimes hijacked or misappropriated and contains numerous annotations and illustrations. Some strong language. 2018By Nova Ren Suma, Brenna Yovanoff, Elizabeth May, Andrea Cremer, Zoraida Córdova, Jessica Spotswood, Brandy Colbert, Robin Talley, Lindsay Smith, Emery Lord, Tess Sharpe, Shveta Thakrar, Anna-Marie McLemore, Tehlor Kay Mejia, Kate Hart. 2018
Compilation of fifteen feminist tales of women embracing their magical powers and witchcraft. In Tehlor Kay Mejia's "Starsong," sixteen-year-old Esperanza,…
a bruja, surprises herself when she connects on social media with a skeptic, a NASA-loving girl. Strong language. For senior high and older readers. 2018By Robert Michael Pyle. 2018
A nature writer searches for evidence of Bigfoot, the humanoid creature said to roam the remote forests. He spends time…
in the Dark Divide region near Mount St. Helens, interviewing other Bigfoot hunters. Includes a chapter written in 2017 about new developments in the search. Some strong language. 1995By Paula Guran. 2019
A collection of twenty-eight stories that reexamine and reinterpret ancient myths and legends. The cultural roots of the stories come…
from around the world, with contributors including Neil Gaiman, Ken Liu, Rachel Pollack, Yoon Ha Lee, and Ann Leckie. Some violence, some strong language, and some descriptions of sex. 2019By Brian Pinkney, Pat McKissack, Patricia C. McKissack. 2017
Treasury of African American children's games, songs, poetry, stories, and jump-rope rhymes. Discusses the coded language in the songs of…
the Underground Railroad, and the superstitions and fables that served to keep children from harm. For grades K-3 and older readers. 2017By Navah Wolfe, Dominik Parisien. 2016
Fantasy authors reimagine eighteen classic fairy tales. Includes Daryl Gregory's take on Hansel and Gretel, "Even the Crumbs Were Delicious."…
Other authors in the collection include Seanan McGuire, Garth Nix, and Naomi Novik. Some violence, some strong language, and some descriptions of sex. 2016By Jim Murphy, Jon Scieszka, Douglas Florian, Sy Montgomery, Candace Fleming, Elizabeth Partridge, Nathan Hale, Steve Sheinkin, James Sturm, T. Edward Nickens, Thanhhà Lai. 2014
Award-winning authors and journalists provide a collection of essays, biographies, travelogues, and more--all geared to males. In "Sahara Shipwreck," author…
Steve Sheinkin tells the true story of capture, enslavement in the desert, and urine consumption in order to survive. For grades 5-8. 2014By Inc. Foxfire Fund, Inc. Foxfire Fund. 2011
Compilation of folklore, oral histories, and songs of Appalachian mountain culture from northeastern Georgia, published to mark the forty-fifth anniversary…
of the Foxfire magazine project. Includes tales of ghosts, crime, and murders as well as bluegrass music and arts and crafts instruction. 2011By Charlotte Higgins. 2022
A brilliantly original, landmark retelling of Greek myths, recounted as if they were actual scenes being woven into textiles by…
the women who feature prominently in them—including Athena, Helen, Circe and Penelope &“Greek myths were full of powerful witches, unpredictable gods and sword-wielding slayers. They were also extreme: about families who turn murderously on each other; impossible tasks set by cruel kings; love that goes wrong; wars and journeys and terrible loss. There was magic, there was shape-shifting, there were monsters, there were descents to the land of the dead. Humans and immortals inhabited the same world, which was sometimes perilous, sometimes exciting. &“The stories were obviously fantastical. All the same, brothers really do war with each other. People tell the truth but aren&’t believed. Wars destroy the innocent. Lovers are parted. Parents endure the grief of losing children. Women suffer violence at the hands of men. The cleverest of people can be blind to what is really going on. The law of the land can contradict what you know to be just. Mysterious diseases devastate cities. Floods and fire tear lives apart. &“For the Greeks, the word muthos simply meant a traditional tale. In the twenty-first century, we have long left behind the political and religious framework in which these stories first circulated—but their power endures. Greek myths remain true for us because they excavate the very extremes of human experience: sudden, inexplicable catastrophe; radical reversals of fortune; and seemingly arbitrary events that transform lives. They deal, in short, in the hard, basic facts of the human condition.&” —from the Introduction  By Ellen Wahi, Ashley Stewart. 2017
By Jane Cabrera. 2014
By H. Dwight Weaver. 2008
There are over 6000 caves in the state of Missouri, created by limestone rock slowly dissolved by groundwater. They have…
much to tell us about extinct species and Native Americans; they have been hideouts for outlaws, and have been mined for saltpeter and guano. H. Dwight Weaver, a former show cave operator, tells of the historical and social impact they have had on the stateBy Scott Reynolds Nelson. 2006
History professor explores the truths behind the legend of railway man John Henry. Recounts his imprisonment and forced labor for…
the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad. Confirms Henry's 1871 contest with a steam drill, explores his mysterious death, and traces the evolution of the folk song that immortalizes his exploits. 2006By Ace Collins. 2007
Award-winning author explores historical and religious origins of customs associated with the Christian holiday of Easter. Discusses the roots of…
Lent, passion plays, sunrise services, Easter parades, Easter eggs, and the Easter bunny as well as the inspiration for such hymns as "He Lives!" and "The Old Rugged Cross." 2007By Reimund Kvideland, Henning K. Sehmsdorf. 1999
Collection of tales from the repertoires of five traditional storytellers, one from each of five principal Scandinavian tradition areas: Norway,…
Denmark, Sweden, Swedish-speaking Finland, and Iceland. An introduction to each section places the tales and tellers in their cultural context, and short commentaries elucidate the ninety-eight individual texts. 1999By Isabel Campoy, Maribel Suarez. 2004
A sampler of traditional Spanish lullabies, finger plays, nursery and jump-rope rhymes, riddles, and songs. Includes an introduction in English…
and the poems in English and Spanish language. For preschool-grade 2. 2004By Maurice Sendak, Tony Kushner. 2002
Aninku and Pepicek need milk for their sick mother. Brundibar sings for money in the village square but won't let…
the brother and sister earn a few coins, too. It takes the collective effort of many people to overcome the bully and help the children. Adapted from a 1938 concentration-camp opera. For grades 4-7. 2003By Shahrukh Husain, Shahrukh Husain, James Mayhew. 1999
Presents the stories of seven operas retold for children: The Little Sweep, The Magic Flute, Hánsel and Gretel, The Flying…
Dutchman, La Cenerentola, Orpheus and Eurydice, and Christmas Eve. Each entry is prefaced with background remarks. For grades 4-7. 1999By Clifford E. Trafzer. 1996
Thirty short stories by Native Americans from different tribal groups. Original tales created from personal experiences, like being sent to…
a government boarding school or moving away from the reservation. Other selections are based on traditional themes involving ghosts or people especially attuned to natureBy Molly Bang, Amy L Cohn. 1993
Collection of more than 140 tales, poems, songs, and stories that provide a history of the United States. Topics include…
the creation, immigrants coming to America, the Revolutionary War, westward expansion, slavery, animals, sports, and ghost stories. For grades 2-4 and older readers