In The Canterbury Tales Chaucer created one of the great touchstones of English literature, a masterly collection of chivalric romances, moral allegories and low farce. A story-telling competition between a group of pilgrims from all walks of life is the occasion for a series of tales that range from the Knight’s account of courtly love and the ebullient Wife of Bath’s Arthurian legend, to the ribald anecdotes of the Miller and the Cook. Rich...

A collection of poetry, including King John's Christmas, Sneezles, Us Two, Cradle Song, and other poems from the life and imagination of a small child.

"Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse ..." 'The Night Before Christmas' was first published in 1823 and is considered as being largely responsible for the conception of Santa Claus from the mid-19th century through to today. The enchanting poem tells the story of a man who, while his wife and children are fast asleep, awakens on Christmas Eve to curious noises coming from outside...

"A landmark new translation of Homer's most popular epic by distinguished author and classicist Daniel Mendelsohn. In 1961, the University of Chicago Press published Richmond Lattimore's translation of Homer's The Iliad. For more than sixty years, it has served to introduce readers to the ancient Greek world of gods and heroes and has been one of the most popular and respected versions of the work. Yet through all those decades, Chicago never published...

A republication of the first edition of American poet Walt Whitman's poetry collection, containing twelve poems and originally published in 1855.

"An illustrated collection of comically irreverent rhyming poems for readers of all ages, ranging in topic from avocados and anacondas to zombies and zebras (dressed like ghosts)"--

The verses of Emily Dickinson belong emphatically to what Emerson long since called "the Poetry of the Portfolio,"—something produced absolutely without the thought of publication, and solely by way of expression of the writer's own mind. Such verse must inevitably forfeit whatever advantage lies in the discipline of public criticism and the enforced conformity to accepted ways. On the other hand, it may often gain something through the habit of...

"'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house . . . P.J. Lynch brings his rich and atmospheric art to the well-loved holiday poem. Children will pore over every cozy detail in these warm, sweeping watercolor illustrations-from snug mice to stockings hung by the chimney with care to toys in the bundle flung over merry St. Nicholas's back. A glowing interpretation of a favorite read-aloud, this is a keepsake volume to cherish and return...

One of Hilaire Belloc's most famous works, "Cautionary Tales for Children" satirizes a genre of admonitory children's literature popular in England in the late 18th and 19th centuries. The seven stories contained in this work are macabre parodies of childhood lessons, and will entertain more sophisticated readers who can appreciate these tales of disproportionate punishment. Presented in a classic picture book style, illustrators have captured the...

Finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize, this retrospective of Ruth Stone's poetry combines the best work from twelve previous volumes with an abundance of new poems. This comprehensive selection includes early formal lyrics, fierce political poems, and meditations on her husband's suicide and her own blindness. As Sharon Olds says in her foreword, "A Ruth Stone poem feels alive in the hands--ardent, independent, restless." What Love Comes To is a necessary...