Head keeper Ken is world-famous for never turning a difficult animal away. Ken's zoo gives a 'last chance', offering a home to all those animals whose misbehaviour or strange habits have led to their exclusion from other zoos. But Ken and his wife adore animals, and have collected a team of keepers who share their passion and their unusual approach to animal care. However naughty or difficult an animal, Ken's zoo will always give them plenty of care and understanding. Remaining forever calm, Ken is infinitely resourceful with his network of world-wide contacts - and always thrives on a crisis. This time, he's got beavers who won't stop building dams, unruly ostriches, a baby crocodile with teething problems, and a baby giraffe afraid of heights ... And, when the Council decide to close the zoo, there's a dragon at the gates ...

Mr Elives' Magic Shop seems to appear from nowhere - and disappears again just as fast! Never in the same place twice, it sells only the most exclusive wares... A talking toad, anyone? A dragon's egg? There's plenty to choose from... When Russell buys a magic ring from weird Mr Elives, he's told it will turn him into a monster. Just the thing for school! Russell's sure it's all a stupid trick - until he whispers the chant, twists the ring and begins to sprout horns... At first it's fun changing from boy to monster and back again, but Russell hasn't paid proper attention to the instructions - and now he's gone too far...

Once upon a time all literature was fantasy, set in a mythical past when magic existed, animals talked, and the gods took an active hand in earthly affairs. As the mythical past was displaced in Western estimation by the historical past and novelists became increasingly preoccupied with the present, fantasy was temporarily marginalized until the late 20th century, when it enjoyed a spectacular resurgence in every stratum of the literary marketplace. Stableford provides an invaluable guide to this sequence of events and to the current state of the field. The chronology tracks the evolution of fantasy from the origins of literature to the 21st century. The introduction explains the nature of the impulses creating and shaping fantasy literature, the problems of its definition and the reasons for its changing historical fortunes. The dictionary includes cross-referenced entries on more than 700 authors, ranging across the entire historical spectrum, while more than 200 other entries describe the fantasy subgenres, key images in fantasy literature, technical terms used in fantasy criticism, and the intimately convoluted relationship between literary fantasies, scholarly fantasies, and lifestyle fantasies. The book concludes with an extensive bibliography that ranges from general textbooks and specialized accounts of the history and scholarship of fantasy literature, through bibliographies and accounts of the fantasy literature of different nations, to individual author studies and useful websites.

Fantasy is a genre in motion, gradually expanding its reach and historical sources to embrace a global identity Historical Dictionary of Fantasy Literature, Second Edition is a snapshot of the genre in this moment, identifying new themes and sources that are emerging to inspire, enhance and invigorate the published works of fantasy writers.

In this magical fantasy adventure by the award-winning author of Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher, a talking toad takes a girl on a wild ride. Jennifer Murdley has always wanted to be pretty. That’s why she’s so surprised to leave Mr. Elives’s magic shop with a particularly ugly toad. As her worst enemy says, “A toad for a toad.” But this toad can talk. And what it has to say sets Jennifer off on a journey that leads her into the company of the Immortal Vermin and straight to the Beauty Parlor of Doom . . . where she comes face-to-face with her deepest fears and dreams. Jennifer Murdley would give anything to be beautiful. But sometimes anything is too high a price to pay. “Endlessly funny . . . . A roller-coaster ride of a story, full of humor and even wisdom.” —Kirkus Reviews “Fast-moving with slapstick humor . . . . Recommended.” —Horn Book

Following the 2012 release of The Devils, Raising Hell examines the film from its inception through its reception.