A "who's who" of women in classical mythology.

She was both guardian of the hearth and, on occasion, ruler and warrior, leading men into battle, managing the affairs of her people, sporting war paint as well as necklaces and earrings—she is the Native American woman. She built houses and ground corn, wove blankets and painted pottery, played field hockey and rode racehorses. Frequently she enjoyed an open and joyous sexuality before marriage; if her marriage didn't work out she could divorce her husband by the mere act of returning to her parents. She mourned her dead by tearing her clothes and covering herself with ashes, and when she herself died was often shrouded in her wedding dress. She was our native sister, the American Indian woman, and it is of her life and lore that Carolyn Niethammer writes in this rich tapestry of America's past and present. Here, as it unfolded, is the chronology of the Native American woman's life. Here are the birth rites of Caddo women from the Mississippi-Arkansas border, who bore their children alone by the banks of rivers and then immersed themselves and their babies in river water; here are Apache puberty ceremonies that are still carried on today, when the cost for the celebrations can run anywhere from one to six thousand dollars. Here are songs from the Night Dances of the Sioux, where girls clustered on one side of the lodge and boys congregated on the other; here is the Shawnee legend of the Corn Person and of Our Grandmother, the two female deities who ruled the earth. Far from the submissive, downtrodden “squaw” of popular myth, the Native American woman emerges as a proud, sometimes stoic, always human individual from whom those who came after can learn much. At a time when many contemporary American women are seeking alternatives to a lifestyle and role they have outgrown, Daughters of the Earth offers us an absorbing—and illuminating—legacy of dignity and purpose.

A literary phenomenon, Jean M. Auel’s prehistoric odyssey is one of the best-loved sagas of our time. Employing meticulous research and the consummate artistry of a master storyteller, Auel paints a vivid panorama of the dawn of modern humans. Through Ayla, an orphaned girl who grows into a beautiful and courageous young woman, we are swept up in the harsh and beautiful Ice Age world, home to the Clan of the Cave Bear. Now, for the first time, all six novels in the Earth’s Children® series are available in one convenient eBook bundle: THE CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR THE VALLEY OF HORSES THE MAMMOTH HUNTERS THE PLAINS OF PASSAGE THE SHELTERS OF STONE THE LAND OF PAINTED CAVES A natural disaster leaves a young girl wandering alone in an unfamiliar and dangerous land until she is found by a woman of the Clan, people very different from her own kind. To them, blond, blue-eyed Ayla looks peculiar and ugly—she is one of the Others, those who have moved into their ancient homeland; but Iza cannot leave the girl to die and takes her with them. Iza and Creb, the old Mog-ur, grow to love her, and as Ayla learns the ways of the Clan and Iza’s way of healing, most come to accept her. But the brutal and proud youth who is destined to become the Clan’s next leader sees Ayla’s differences as a threat to his authority. He develops a deep and abiding hatred for the strange girl of the Others who lives in their midst, and is determined to get his revenge. Praise for the Earth’s Children® series “Auel is a highly imaginative writer. She humanizes prehistory and gives it immediacy and clarity.”—The New York Times Book Review “Storytelling in the grand tradition . . . From the violent panorama of spring on the steppes to musicians jamming on a mammoth-bone marimba, Auel’s books are a stunning example of world building. They join the short list of books, like James Clavell’s Shogun and Frank Herbert’s Dune, that depict exotic societies so vividly that readers almost regard them as ‘survival manuals.’ ”—Vogue “Jean Auel has established herself as one of our premier storytellers. . . . Her narrative skill is supreme.”—Chicago Tribune “Pure entertainment at its sublime, wholly exhilarating best.”—Los Angeles Times “Readers who fell in love with little Ayla will no doubt revel in her prehistoric womanhood.”—People “Lively and interesting, enhanced greatly by the vividly colored backdrop of early humanity . . . Auel is a prodigious researcher.”—The Washington Post Book World “Among modern epic spinners, Auel has few peers. . . . She deftly creates a whole world, giving a sense of the origins of class, ethnic, and cultural differences that alternately divide and fascinate us today.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Women's contributions to science fiction have been lasting and important. This is a collection of 11 key stories, alongside 11 essays that explore the stories' contexts, meanings, and theoretical implications. Organized chronologically, it aims to create a different canon of feminist science fiction and examines the theory that addresses it.

When Pluto wrongly takes Proserpina to be his bride in the Underworld, Ceres, mother of Proserpina and goddess of the Earth, withdraws into a cave to mourn and refuses to permit crops to grow.

Intricate illustrations depict details of a modern quilt inspired by Sibylle von Olfers' classic storybook Mother Earth and Her Children This vibrant new translation, in turn inspired by the quilt, explores the changing of the seasons and delicately touches upon the circle of life. When Mother Earth calls her children to prepare for spring, the earthly children yawn and stretch before they busy themselves with beautification. They dust off the bumblebees, scrub the beetles, paint bright new coats on the ladybugs, and rouse the caterpillars from their cocoons. Bedecked with new blossoms, the children emerge from the earth and become spring flowers that frolic through the summer and autumn, until the leaves begin to fall and they return to Mother Earth, bringing the weary bugs and beetles back to their winter refuge.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this, the extraordinary conclusion of the ice-age epic series, Earth’s Children®, Ayla, Jondalar, and their infant daughter, Jonayla, are living with the Zelandonii in the Ninth Cave. Ayla has been chosen as an acolyte to a spiritual leader and begins arduous training tasks. Whatever obstacles she faces, Ayla finds inventive ways to lessen the difficulties of daily life, searching for wild edibles to make meals and experimenting with techniques to ease the long journeys the Zelandonii must take while honing her skills as a healer and a leader. And there are the Sacred Caves that Ayla’s mentor takes her to see. They are filled with remarkable paintings of mammoths, lions, and bears, and their mystical aura at times overwhelms Ayla. But all the time Ayla has spent in training rituals has caused Jondalar to drift away from her. The rituals themselves bring her close to death, but through them Ayla gains A Gift of Knowledge so important that it will change her world. BONUS: This edition contains a reading guide and an interview with Jean M. Auel. Sixth in the acclaimed Earth’s Children® series.

A lighthearted nonfiction picture book about the formation and history of the Earth--told from the perspective of the Earth itself! "Hi, I’m Earth! But you can call me Planet Awesome." Prepare to learn all about Earth from the point-of-view of Earth herself! In this funny yet informative book, filled to the brim with kid-friendly facts, readers will discover key moments in Earth’s life, from her childhood more than four billion years ago all the way up to present day. Beloved children's book author Stacy McAnulty helps Earth tell her story, and award-winning illustrator David Litchfield brings the words to life. The book includes back matter with even more interesting tidbits. This title has Common Core connections.

The fifth novel in the Earth's Children series, Jean M. Auel's internationally bestselling reconstruction of pre-historic life, when two kinds of human beings, Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon, shared the earth. Ayla and Jondalar have reached home: the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii, the old stone age settlement in the region known today as south-west France. Ayla has much to learn from the Zelandonii as well as much to teach them. Jondalar's family are initially wary of the beautiful young woman he has brought back, with her strange accent and her tame wolf and horses. She is delighted when she meets Zelandoni, the spiritual leader of her people, a fellow healer with whom she can share her medicinal skills. After the rigours and dangers that have characterised her extraordinary life, Ayla yearns for peace and tranquility; to be Jondalar's mate and to have children. But her unique spiritual gifts cannot be ignored, and even as she gives birth to their eagerly-awaited child, she is coming to accept that she has a greater role to play in the destiny of the Zelandonii. Set 25,000 years in the past, yet utterly relatable today, The Shelters of Stone is an epic tale of love, identity and the struggle to survive, rich in detail of language, culture, myth and ritual. Praise for Jean M. Auel 'Beautiful, exciting, imaginative' New York Times 'A major bestseller . . . A remarkable work of imagination' Daily Express