Central Skagit Library District

Beowulf is the foundation of English literature. It celebrates the courage and leadership of the mythical Anglo-Saxon warlord in his battles with supernatural monsters. The Nibelungenlied, in a version rendered by critic and academic Helen M. Mustard, endures as a remarkable fusion of history and poetry that is a vital component of German literature. Goethe maintained that knowledge of the work constituted an integral part of the country's education. Also...

At the height of WWII, a quartet of daring American adventurers pits their cunning against a cadre of Nazi S.S. agents seeking to acquire a powerful weapon for the Fuhrer's arsenal; today, as the Nazi specter begins to rear its head once again, the descendants of those long-ago adventurers must unlock the secrets of their forebears' mission in order to save the world from Hitler's resurgent Reich. Now, modern science and ancient Tibetan mythology...

Geoffrey Chaucer's fourteenth-century masterpiece The Canterbury Tales is such a rollicking good read that you'll forget many critics and scholars also regard it as one of the most important literary works in English. A group of pilgrims are traveling together to visit a holy shrine at the Canterbury Cathedral. Along the way, they decide to hold a storytelling contest to pass the time, with the winner to be awarded a lavish feast on the

...

The inspiration for the iconic musical Cats, T. S. Eliot's classic and delightful collection of poetry about cats. These lovable cat poems were written by T. S. Eliot for his godchildren and continue to delight children and adults alike. This collection is a curious and artful homage to felines young and old, merry, and fierce, small and unmistakably round. This is the ultimate gift for cat and poetry lovers.

In 1810, John Jacob Astor sent out two advanced parties to settle the wild, unclaimed western coast of North America. More than half of his men died violent deaths. The others survived starvation, madness, and greed to shape the destiny of a continent. At a time when the edge of American settlement barely reached beyond the Appalachian Mountains, two visionaries, President Thomas Jefferson and millionaire John Jacob Astor, foresaw that one day the...

Two Horror classics perfect for a dark and stormy night. In Mary Shelley's tale of bio-engineering gone horribly wrong, Victor Frankenstein uses body parts of the dead to bring a creature to life. When Frankenstein abandons his experiment in horror, the Monster embarks on a quest for ultimate revenge. In Bram Stoker's timeless gothic vampire romance, young solicitor Jonathan Harker must shield his fiancée Mina from the predations of the insatiable...

Presents the original text of Shakespeare's play side by side with a modern version, with marginal notes and explanations and full descriptions of each character.

Presents the original text of Shakespeare's play side by side with a modern version, discusses the author and the theater of his time, and provides quizzes and other study activities.

"[T]ells the remarkable story of Royal Air Force technician Frank Williams and Judy, a purebred pointer, who met in an internment camp during WWII. Judy was a fiercely loyal animal who sensed danger and instinctively mistrusted anyone in enemy uniform. Their relationship deepened throughout their imprisonment. The prisoners suffered severe beatings which Judy would interrupt with her barking. The dog became a beacon for the men, who saw in her survival...