A retelling of the La Fontaine fable in which a small rat is the only animal capable of saving the life of the King of the Beasts.

Here are five of the best-loved fables of La Fontaine simply retold and sumptuously illustrated by Brian Wildsmith, an internationally acclaimed picture-book writer and artist. We meet a boastful hare as he challenges a slow-and-steady tortoise to a race. We see how a bag of coins threatens to rob a simple shoemaker of his happiness. We discover that the Sun's gentle warmth is more than a match for the North Wind's bluster. We join a miller, a boy, and a donkey on their eventful journey. And we witness a little rat's kindness and courage in helping a mighty lion. These are lovely stories for adults to share with children over and over again.

A collection of animal fables told by the Greek slave Aesop.

Tiger has been acting like a bully, but Rat shows him how important it is to share and play fair. Rat and Tiger are best friends. They have lots of fun playing together, even though when they play cowboys, Rat always has to be the bad guy. When they share a snack, Rat always gets the smaller piece. But one day, Tiger takes the bullying too far, and Rat decides that he’s not going take it anymore. Rat stands up for himself and refuses to be Tiger’s friend until Tiger learns to play fair and square. With appealing illustrations and a simple text, Keiko Kasza delivers an important message about friendship in this heartwarming story.

A sheltered young American boy learns a hard lesson about life, strength, marriage, and what it means to be a man in this poignant memoir. Alex thought life in Korea would provide him with many new and exciting opportunities, but unfortunately, life and circumstance introduced him to the most difficult years of his life. A marriage he wasn't mentally or emotionally prepared for brought nothing but heartache, stress, and sorrow to him. He was in a foreign land, surrounded by people he didn't know and wasn't sure he could trust, living with a menacing, manipulative, and abusive woman. His almost-four years in Korea changed him in big and small ways. When he left Korea, he was no longer the boy with big dreams and high hopes. He was a man who had experienced hardships and pain; yet, through it all, he discovered who he was, what he was capable of, and what he truly wanted for himself. Follow Alex's raw, emotional, and moving metaphorical transformation from a naïve young man to a courageous lion who refuses to wallow in the pains of the past but instead lives life to the fullest.

A lion learns the value of friendship when he trapped by hunters.

A New York Times bestseller about how cats conquered the world and our hearts in this “deep and illuminating perspective on our favorite household companion” (Huffington Post). House cats rule bedrooms and back alleys, deserted Antarctic islands, even cyberspace. And unlike dogs, cats offer humans no practical benefit. The truth is they are sadly incompetent mouse-catchers and now pose a threat to many ecosystems. Yet, we love them still. In the “eminently readable and gently funny” (Library Journal, starred review) The Lion in the Living Room, Abigail Tucker travels through world history, natural science, and pop culture to meet breeders, activists, and scientists who’ve dedicated their lives to cats. She visits the labs where people sort through feline bones unearthed from the first human settlements, treks through the Floridian wilderness in search of house cats-turned-hunters on the loose, and hangs out with Lil Bub, one of the world’s biggest celebrities—who just happens to be a cat. “Fascinating” (Richmond Times-Dispatch) and “lighthearted” (The Seattle Times), Tucker shows how these tiny felines have used their relationship with humans to become one of the most powerful animals on the planet. A “lively read that pounces back and forth between evolutionary science and popular culture” (The Baltimore Sun), The Lion in the Living Room suggests that we learn that the appropriate reaction to a house cat, it seems, might not be aww but awe.

All of the animals are afraid of the Selfish Crocodile - he never let's them into his river, and he's always so snappy! And so when the Selfish Crocodile finds himself in terrible pain, no-one wants to help him - after all, what if he gobbles them up? But, to everyone's surprise, there is one animal in the forest who is willing to help . . . A brilliant tale of friendship, The Selfish Crocodile has become a picture book classic.

Traditional fables, designed especially for early childhood and the emergent reader

One day a rat walks by accident right in front of a big, fierce lion. The lion lets the rat escape. In return, the rat promises to repay him for his kindness. But what can the little rat do to help the mighty King of the Jungle?