"'Tripitaka, can you go to the west for me – and for Buddha?' When the holy woman Guanyin asks the young Chinese monk Tripitaka to bring some holy writings back from India, he says 'yes'. But how can he travel across rivers, and fight terrible monsters and demons, on his long journey? He needs three strong helpers – Monkey, Pigsy, and Sandy – to do that! But where do they come from? Do they always help? And can they bring the holy writings home again? Read this old Chinese story, and find out."
"Hollywood - nine big white letters against the Hollywood Hills. Every year millions of people come from all over the world and look up at this famous sign. Why do they come? They come to see the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and to see the hand and foot prints outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre. They come to visit Universal Studios, and perhaps to see a movie star or two. Most of all, they come to be in the most famous place in movie history - exciting, wonderful Hollywood!"
"'Be careful with Morfran,' Princess Adhan tells her young son, Merlin. Morfran, the son of the Enchantress Ceridwen, is a bully. Then one day, Merlin drinks one of Ceridwen's magic potions. After this, he can become different animals, see through walls, change the weather, and look into the future. But Morfran is angry with Merlin when Ceridwen dies. Years later, Morfran – now King Vortigern's magician – plans to kill Merlin, the boy with no father. How can Merlin's magic powers help him to fight his old enemy?"
"'Help! A wolf is eating my sheep!' What happens when a bored shepherd boy lies to the people in his village – or when he later tells the truth? What do a man and his wife do when their goose lays golden eggs? And what can two travellers learn from a bear in the woods? These three old Greek tales teach us important truths about people today."
"'It's a good place for gold,' said people in the 1840s, and they came from all over the world. 'It's a good place for a prison,' said the US government in the 1920s, and they put Al Capone there on the island of Alcatraz. 'It's a good place for love,' said the hippies in the 1960s, and they put flowers in their hair and came to Haight Ashbury. And San Francisco is still a good place - to take a hundred photographs, or see the Chinatown parade, or just to sit in a coffee shop and be in this interesting, different city ..."
"Ali Baba finds a thieves' treasure cave, and he is suddenly rich. Then his brother Kasim visits the cave, and things go wrong. The forty thieves find Kasim there, kill him, and cut him into four pieces. What can Ali Baba do? He wants to bury his brother quietly, but how can he? Morgiana, his servant-girl, has the answer. But what can she do when the thieves find Ali Baba and want to kill him, too?"
"You can drink it, and you can cook with it. You can even make buildings, dresses, and hats out of it. You can give it to somebody as a present, or you can buy it for yourself. And of course you can eat it. Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, chocolates with gold on the outside - everybody loves chocolate. Follow its story, from the forests of Central America hundreds of years ago, through Africa, Europe, and the United States, to the growing markets of India and China. Perhaps you need a little something to eat while you read ..."
"'My first journey was a pilgrimage to Mecca. I got on a donkey and said 'Goodbye' to my parents in Tangier when I was 21. My mother cried.' In this way Ibn Battuta, one of the greatest travellers in the world, begins telling his story to his nephew, Ahmed. His many journeys take him to new and interesting places far from home. He sees many strange and wonderful things, has many funny and frightening experiences, and meets many different people along the way. This is his story..."
"When the Emperor calls every man to join the army and fight the enemy, Mulan's father is old and ill, and cannot go. Wearing men's clothes and riding a horse, Mulan leaves her family and fights bravely for the Emperor in her father's place. She is soon a hero for all the soldiers in the Chinese army. One of them, Ye Ming, is her best friend. But does he know that she is a woman? And can Mulan fall in love with a friend?"
"Sinbad the sailor spends many years at sea. He visits strange countries, meets some strange people and some very frightening animals. He is sometimes rich, sometimes poor... and always in danger. But all the time he is learning from his adventures, until finally he returns home to Baghdad, an older and wiser man."
"A man from the British royal family leaves an expensive gold and emerald crown at Holder and Stevenson's – one of the best banks in London. When someone tries to take the crown from Mr Holder's desk, he asks Sherlock Holmes for help. Who wants the crown and why? Only Sherlock can find the answers."
"Hercules is the strongest man in the world, but one day he does something very bad. The priestess at Delphi tells him: 'The gods are angry with you. For twelve years you must work for King Eurystheus, and do twelve tasks for him. When you finish, the gods can forgive your crime.' Some tasks are easier, and some tasks are more difficult. Can Hercules finish all twelve of them? And what happens when he does?"
