Nature Myths

Humans are primates, much like chimps—or so we've been continually told. Yet recent discoveries show that our species has a different brain design, function, and chemistry; different eating, sleeping, mating, and rearing patterns; a different metabolism; and a different physiology than apes. Nor is our behavior much like theirs, and we don't even have the feet made for climbing trees that define the primate order. Could it be that conceiving of ourselves as primates isn't helping us understand what it is to be human?

It began as a dream, a quest for the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, a mythic place where each night an order of owls rises to perform noble deeds. There Soren, Gylfie, Twilight, and Digger hope to find inspiration to fight the evil that dwells in the owl kingdom. The journey is long and harrowing. When Soren and his friends finally arrive at the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, they will be tested in ways they never dreamed and face challenges they never imagined.

Beneath a shadowed moon in a cloud-streaked sky, the sacred orb splits and a hatchling is born. It is Nyroc, son of Kludd, fallen leader of the Pure Ones, and his evil mate, Nyra. Born from evil, trained to evil, Nyroc is destined to fulfill his father's terrible plan: the oppression of all owldom under the vicious talons of the Pure Ones.

Soren and his band are sent to the mysterious Northern Kingdoms to gather allies and learn the art of war in preparation for the coming cataclysmic battle against the sinister Pure Ones. Meanwhile, in the Southern Kingdoms, St. Aggie's has fallen to the Pure Ones, and they are using its resources to plan a final invasion of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree.

A wolf mother has given birth, but the warm bundle snuffling next to her brings only anguish. The pup, otherwise healthy, has a twisted paw, and the mother knows what the harsh code of the pack demands. Her pup will be taken from her and abandoned on a desolate hill. The pack cannot have weakness—the wolf mother knows that her pup is condemned to die. But alone in the wilderness, the pup, Faolan, does not perish. This his story—a story of survival, of courage, and of love triumphant.

From acclaimed Atlantic staff writer and host of BBC’s podcast “The New Gurus” Helen Lewis comes a timely and provocative interrogation of the myth of genius, exploring the surprising inventions, inspirations and distortions by which some lives are elevated to 'greatness' - and others are...

Presenting scientific evidence from diverse fields, including anthropology, biology, and psychology, Fuentes devises a myth-busting toolkit to dismantle persistent fallacies about the validity of biological races, the innateness of aggression and violence, and the nature of monogamy, sex, and gender. This revised and expanded edition provides up-to-date references, data, and analyses, and addresses new topics, including the popularity of home DNA testing kits and the lies behind ‘"incel" culture.

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK #1 LibraryReads Pick Indie Next Pick A spellbinding novel about sisters separated by centuries, but bound together by the sea, from the author of the runaway New York Times bestseller Weyward. “Narrator Barrie Kreinik offers a first-rate...

Why does a gifted psychiatrist suddenly begin to torment his own beloved wife? How can a ninety-pound woman carry a massive air conditioner to the second floor of her home, install it in a window unassisted, and then not remember how it got there? Why would a brilliant feminist law student ask...

Revisit the tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears with this audiobook for listeners. Goldilocks takes a walk and discovers a special place in the woods. She innocently eats some food, breaks a chair, and falls asleep. What happens when a bear family discovers a sleeping Goldilocks?

A harrowing adventure inside enemy territory. Heather and Picket are plunged into the darkness of Morbin's shadow, fighting to bear the flame of the cause and light the way for rabbitkind's upright insurrection.

Ben and his trained dog, Sancho, run away from the circus and soon find a warm welcome in a kind community where spirited games are played. Theatricals and imaginative pageantry are all part of the fun.

Nyroc has exiled himself from the Pure Ones. He flies alone, feared and despised by those who know him as Kludd's son, hunted by those whose despotism he has rejected, and haunted by ghostly creatures conjured by Nyra to lure him back to the Pure Ones. He yearns for a place he only half believes in - the great tree - and an uncle - the near-mythic Soren - who might be a true father to him. Yet he cannot approach the tree while the rumor of evil still clings to him.

What if the world around you was not empty, ordinary, or silent—but alive with sacred meaning? Celtic Spirituality for Beginners opens the door to a tradition where rivers bless, trees teach, stories carry wisdom, and the turning seasons reveal the deeper rhythm of life. This clear and engaging guide introduces readers to the beauty, mystery, and spiritual power of Celtic wisdom without confusion, academic heaviness, or romantic exaggeration. Inside, you’ll discover: How the ancient Celtic worldview saw nature as sacred, alive, and full of presence Why trees, rivers, wells, mountains, ...

Happiness expert Sonja Lyubomirsky’s research-based lessons in how to find opportunity in life’s thorniest moments In The Myths of Happiness, Sonja Lyubomirsky isolates the major turning points of adult life, looking to both achievements (marriage, children, professional satisfaction...

James Marshall retells the familiar tale in which one of three pigs survives a wolf's attacks by using his head.

You think you know the story of "Three Billy Goats Gruff"? You're in for a surprise. The troll SAID he wanted to gobble up the billy goats, but what's the real story behind his stomps and roars? A classic fairy tale gets a trip-trapping twist as the troll tells all.

Ever since Soren was kidnapped and taken to the St. Aegolius School for Orphaned Owls, he has longed to see his sister, Eglantine, again. Now Eglantine is back is Soren's life, but she's been through an ordeal too terrible for words. Deep within Soren's gizzard, something more powerful than knowledge tells him there's a connection between these mysterious events.

Coryn and the Band have returned to the Great Ga’HooleTree and restored order. With the ember safely hidden away, the tree shakes off its gaudy golden glow and recovers its natural majesty. Meanwhile, deep in the Palace of Mists, Bess finds an ancient map fragment that reveals that there are not five owl kingdoms - as has been thought since time immemorial - but six. Coryn and the Chaw of Chaws set off to find this unknown land and, in a landscape of perpetual winter, discover a monastery of serene, learned owls, the likes of which no one has ever seen before.

Anyone who has ever lived in the great state of Pennsylvania has at one time or another either read about or heard someone talk about one of its folktales and legends. These types of stories seem to be a part of our heritage here in the Keystone State, and they are unquestionably an intriguing source of entertainment even yet today. In fact, they seem so popular that new ones are born all the time. However this continuous creation of new material tends to push the older tales into the background until they are either lost forever or are barely kept alive in the undercurrents of oral history...