Winston Rabbit wants to be the coolest rabbit in school, so he changes his name to Wicked and gets his ears and nose pierced. He doesn't like school and still can't read or write so he isn't too bothered when his teacher bans him from school until he removes his earrings. On his way home he falls down a large hole where he discovers what he thinks is hidden treasure left by pirates years ago. It is the best treasure in the world. Boxes and boxes of chocolate eggs! Unfortunately the chocolate eggs belong to the Easter Bunny and he has asked The Fairy Queen and King of the Elves to turn the thief into a giant frog with red legs so he will be easy to see. Will Wicked discover what his treasure really is and return the chocolate eggs before the spell is made? Or will he become a giant frog with red legs forever?
Stanley Hoff is not your typical teenager. He's getting hairier by the minute, his teethe ache, and the moon above him makes him want to howl and growl. But those are the least of his problems. After a confrontation with a high school bully brings him sudden fame, Stanley's childhood crush Meredith invites him to her Halloween party. Which would be more than fine, except his friend Karen has broken up with her boyfriend and wants to be more than friends. But when Karen turns allergic to sunlight, Stanley has to ask himself, is Karen interested in Stanley as a boyfriend, or as... food? And Stanley himself? He's WICKED HUNGRY. And not for anything his vegetarian family provides. As a growing supernatural threat menaces his suburban New England community, as more and more of his friends turn into shifters, as the stakes get higher and higher, Stanley must decide who will he choose to love, and, even, much as it's going to hurt... who will survive.
Patrick Downey explores the biblical writings of Genesis and the Hebrew prophet Jeremiah, the Greek tragedies, Plato, Aristotle, and political philosophers--such as Rousseau, Hobbes, Nietzsche and René Girard--to seek answers to the profound question, What is the human heart like?
Xurt’an (the end of the world) showcases the rich storytelling traditions of the northern Lacandones of Naha’ through a collection of traditional narratives, songs, and ritual speech. Formerly isolated in the dense, tropical rainforest of Chiapas, Mexico, the Lacandon Maya constitute one of the smallest language groups in the world. Although their language remains active and alive, their traditional culture was abandoned after the death of their religious and civic leader in 1996. Lacking the traditional contexts in which the culture was transmitted, the oral traditions are quickly being forgotten. This collection includes creation myths that describe the cycle of destruction and renewal of the world, the structure of the universe, the realms of the gods and their intercessions in the affairs of their mortals, and the journey of the souls after death. Other traditional stories are non-mythic and fictive accounts involving talking animals, supernatural beings, and malevolent beings that stalk and devour hapless victims. In addition to traditional narratives, Xurt’an presents many songs that are claimed to have been received from the Lord of Maize, magical charms that invoke the forces of the natural world, invocations to the gods to heal and protect, and work songs of Lacandon women, whose contribution to Lacandon culture has been hitherto overlooked by scholars. Women’s songs offer a rare glimpse into the other half of Lacandon society and the arduous distaff work that sustained the religion. The compilation concludes with descriptions of rainbows, the Milky Way as “the white road of Our Lord,” and an account of the solstices. Transcribed and translated by a foremost linguist of the northern Lacandon language, the literary traditions of the Lacandones are finally accessible to English readers. The result is a masterful and authoritative collection of oral literature that will both entertain and provoke, while vividly testifying to the power of Lacandon Maya aesthetic expression.
