Zen Story and Legends Page

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As most of these pages have also "aged", many the links listed on them seem to have died away.  If a link is dead, you can try web.archive.org.  Copy and paste your URL in question on the web.archive.org site and see if they have archives of that page.  You may need to look through some of the older archives of each page to find what you are looking for.

 

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Stories and Legends

Stories and Legends

There are certain stories, legends, books and movies that kids just need to be exposed to.

Online Resources

Oprah Oprah's Kids Reading Lists

parenting.com  The Best Books to Read With Your Kids

www.rif.org  Reading is Fundamental site

Magic Key  Online Illustrated children's stories for kids of all ages

Mighty Books

New York Public Library  100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know

Wiki  List_of_children's_films - yep - a really big list.

American Library Association Reading List 

Preschool

Ages 5 - 7

Ages 7 - 9

Ages 9 - 12

Reading is Fundamental Reading List

Provided by Reading Is Fundamental, Inc.

For Preschool to Kindergarten Age Children

Grades 1 through 3

Grades 4 through 6

Caldecott Medal

The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.

ala.org  caldecottmedal

Dr. Seuss

Theodor Geisel wrote over 60 children's books during his life. He used the pen name Dr. Seuss for all of the books that he both wrote and illustrated. The pen name Theo LeSieg (his last name spelled backwards) was used for books he wrote but others illustrated.  Dr Seuss died in 1991 and four books were published posthumously.  Many more books, movies and TV episodes were later published in his Seussian style.

Anyone lucky enough to have grown up with Dr Seuss will remember some of the catchy rhymes and bizarrely distorted and oh so memorable style of drawings.

See our Dr. Seuss Page for more on Seuss' great works.

Middle Eastern

Sinbad the Sailor

Sinbad the Sailor (aka Sindbad; Arabic السندباد البحري as-Sindibād al-Baḥri; Persian سندباد Sandbād) is a fictional sailor from Basrah, living during the Abbasid Caliphate – the hero of a story-cycle of Middle Eastern origin. During his voyages throughout the seas east of Africa and south of Asia, he has fantastic adventures going to magical places, meeting monsters, and encountering supernatural phenomena.

The History of Sindbad the Sailor: Contaiing an Account of his Several Surprising Voyages and Miraculous Escapes  GAINSBROUGH

The Book of Sindibad W. A. CLOUSTON

The Voyages and Travels of Sindbad the Sailor, Giving a Full Account of His Seven Wonderful Voyages THOMAS RICHARDSON

wollamshram.ca/1001/Dixon/dixon01_09.htm

wikipedia.org  Sinbad_the_Sailor

sacred-texts.com/neu/burt1k1

Arabian Nights

One Thousand and One Nights (Arabic: كتاب ألف ليلة وليلة‎ Kitāb alf laylat wa-laylah) is a collection of Middle Eastern and South Asian stories and folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the Arabian Nights, from the first English language edition (1706), which rendered the title as The Arabian Nights' Entertainment.

burtoniana.org Arabian Nights  Burton 1885-8 Translation

wollamshram.ca/1001/index.htm

wikipedia.org  Arabian_Nights

Greek Mythology

Iliad (part 1)

The Iliad (sometimes referred to as the Song of Ilion or Song of Ilium) is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy (Ilium) by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles. Although the story covers only a few weeks in the final year of the war, the Iliad mentions or alludes to many of the Greek legends about the siege, the earlier events, such as the gathering of warriors for the siege, the cause of the war and similar, tending to appear near the beginning, and the events prophesied for the future, such as Achilles' looming death and the sack of Troy, prefigured and alluded to more and more vividly approaching the end of the poem, making the poem tell a more or less complete tale of the Trojan War.

wikipedia.org  Iliad

Odyssey (part 2)

The Odyssey (Ancient Greek: Ὀδύσσεια, Odysseia) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad.  The poem mainly centers on the Greek hero Odysseus (or Ulysses, as he was known in Roman myths) and his long journey home after the fall of Troy. It takes Odysseus ten years to reach Ithaca after the ten-year Trojan War. In his absence, it is assumed he has died, and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus must deal with a group of unruly suitors, the Mnesteres (Greek: Μνηστῆρες) or Proci, who compete for Penelope's hand in marriage.

A bloody tale of an epic adventure with many perils and mythological creatures.

wikipedia.org  Odyssey

Chinese Literature

See our Kung Fu Page for more about Fung Fu movies and such.

Four Great Classical Novels (Chinese)

The Four Great Classical Novels, or the Four Major Classical Novels (Chinese: 四大名著; pinyin: sì dà míng zhù) of Chinese literature, are the four novels commonly regarded by scholars to be the greatest and most influential of pre-modern Chinese fiction. Dating from the Ming and Qing dynasties, they are well known to most Chinese readers. They are not to be confused with the Four Books of Confucianism.

They are among the the world's longest (some consist over 120 chapters) and oldest novels, and these works are considered to be the pinnacle of China's achievement in classical novels, influencing the creation of many stories, theater, movies, games, and other entertainment throughout East Asia, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.

Reader Beware: Translations vary greatly in accuracy, completeness and readability.  Some versions are basically unreadable or painful at best, others you won't be able to put down, some will have you rolling on the floor, and others will leave out important parts of the story needed for the full effect.

Water Margin (Outlaws of the Marsh)

Water Margin (known in Chinese as Shuihu Zhuan, sometimes abbreviated to Shuihu), also known as Outlaws of the Marsh, All Men Are Brothers, Men of the Marshes, or The Marshes of Mount Liang  is somewhat like the Iliad and Odyssey... An ancient epic tale of unknown time in history or known author.  Attributed to Shi Nai'an and written in vernacular Chinese, the story, set in the Song Dynasty, tells of how a group of 108 outlaws gathered at Mount Liang (or Liangshan Marsh) to form a sizable army before they are eventually granted amnesty by the government and sent on campaigns to resist foreign invaders and suppress rebel forces. The novel was originally titled in Chinese Jianghu Haoke Zhuan (江湖豪客傳), and the title was sometimes extended to Zhongyi Shuihu Zhuan (忠義水滸傳).

This is a Chinese epic tale of a rebellion against tyranny with 108 different Chinese Robin Hoods representing the108 ancient eastern astrological signs.  Some feel the the outlaws are too criminal for young minds.

amazon.com/Outlaws-Chinese-Classics-Classic-Volumes/dp/7119016628/

amazon.com/gp/product/0804840954/

wikipedia.org  Water_Margin

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century, is a Chinese historical novel based on the events in the turbulent years near the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history, starting in 169 and ending with the reunification of the land in 280.

A complex story about China, family dynamics and politics.  Maybe not for kids.

amazon.com/Kingdoms-Chinese-Classics-Classic-4-Volumes/dp/7119005901

wikipedia.org  Romance_of_the_Three_Kingdoms

Journey to the West (aka Monkey, Dear Monkey)

Journey to the West (西遊記) was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley. The Waley translation has also been published as Adventures of the Monkey God, Monkey: [A] Folk Novel of China, and The Adventures of Monkey, and in a further abridged version for children, Dear Monkey.

The novel is a fictionalized account of the legendary pilgrimage to India of the Buddhist monk Xuanzang, and loosely based its source from the historic text Great Tang Records on the Western Regions and traditional folk tales. The monk travelled to the "Western Regions" during the Tang Dynasty, to obtain sacred texts (sūtras). The Bodhisattva Guan Yin, on instruction from the Buddha, gives this task to the monk and his three protectors in the form of disciples — namely Sun Wukong (Monkey King), Zhu Bajie (Holy Pig) and Sha Wujing (Sandy or Water demon) — together with a dragon prince who acts as Xuanzang's steed, a white horse. These four characters have agreed to help Xuanzang as an atonement for past sins.

A monk, a pig, a Monkey King and a sand demon on an epic quest.  It's better than Kung Fu Panda.

amazon.com/dp/7119016636

wikipedia.org  Journey_to_the_West

Dream of the Red Chamber

Chinese Romeo-and-Juliet love story and considered the greatest Chinese novel ever written.  This may be good for an older child.

amazon.com/Dream-Red-Chamber-Tsao-Hsueh-Chin/dp/0385093799

wikipedia.org  Dream_of_the_Red_Chamber

Jin Ping Mei (aka The Plum in the Golden Vase, The Golden Lotus) NOT FOR CHILDREN

This is considered the fifth classical novel after the Four Great Classical Novels, but due to its sexual content, has been banned by many and isn't really a book for children or many Americans in general.

wikipedia.org  Jin_Ping_Mei

English/European Knights, Kings and Fighters with Swords or Arrows

More reading and movie lists can be found on our Knights, Castles and Dragons Page.

King Arthur and the Nights of the Round Table

King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defense of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and his historical existence is debated and disputed by modern historians. The sparse historical background of Arthur is gleaned from various sources, including the Annales Cambriae, the Historia Brittonum, and the writings of Gildas. Arthur's name also occurs in early poetic sources such as Y Gododdin.

These stories are the core of most western medieval, knight, castle and king type stories.

Teacher’s Guide to The Core Classics Edition of Alice M. Hadfield’s KING ARTHUR And THE ROUND TABLE

wikipedia.org  King_Arthur

wikipedia.org  Knights_of_the_Round_Table

Beowulf

Beowulf is a legendary Geatish hero and later turned king in the epic poem named after him, one of the oldest surviving pieces of literature in the English language.

Everyone loves a kick butt hero

wikipedia.org  Beowulf_(hero)

Robin Hood

Robin Hood was an heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor," assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men."  Traditionally Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes. The origin of the legend is claimed by some to have stemmed from actual outlaws, or from ballads or tales of outlaws.

A good thief taking on overwhelming odd and fighting for what is right

wikipedia.org  Robin_Hood

The Three Musketeers

The Three Musketeers (French: Les Trois Mousquetaires) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, first serialized in March–July 1844. Set in the 17th century, it recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan after he leaves home to travel to Paris, to join the Musketeers of the Guard. D'Artagnan is not one of the musketeers of the title; those are his friends Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, inseparable friends who live by the motto "all for one, one for all" ("tous pour un, un pour tous").

Friends are important, especially in a fight

wikipedia.org  Three_musketeers

The Count of Monte Cristo

The story takes place in France, Italy, islands in the Mediterranean and the Levant during the historical events of 1815–1838 (from just before the Hundred Days through to the reign of Louis-Philippe of France). The historical setting is a fundamental element of the book. An adventure story primarily concerned with themes of hope, justice, vengeance, mercy and forgiveness, it tells of a man who is wrongfully imprisoned, escapes from jail, acquires a fortune and sets about getting revenge on the men who destroyed his life. However, his plans also have devastating consequences for the innocent as well as the guilty.

The incent are sometimes punished, life isn't fair and revenge is good

Wiki The_Count_of_Monte_Cristo

Germanic heroes, Middle Earth and anything with Enchanted Midgets

Nibelungenlied

The Nibelungenlied, translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem in Middle High German. The story tells of dragon-slayer Siegfried at the court of the Burgundians, how he was murdered, and of his wife Kriemhild's revenge.

The Nibelungenlied is based on pre-Christian Germanic heroic motifs (the "Nibelungensaga"), which include oral traditions and reports based on historic events and individuals of the 5th and 6th centuries. Old Norse parallels of the legend survive in the Völsunga saga, the Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda, the Legend of Norna-Gest, and the Þiðrekssaga.

This predates and is the core of modern Lord of the Rings Dungeons and Dragons type fantasy world.

yorku.ca/inpar/nibelung_armour.pdf

Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit (1937), but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in stages between 1937 and 1949, much of it during the Second World War. It is the second best-selling novel ever written, with over 150 million copies sold. Only A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens has sold more copies worldwide while the third best-selling novel is Tolkien's The Hobbit.

The backbone of today's fantasy sagas.

wikipedia.org  Lord_of_the_Rings

Other Magic

Harry Potter Series

Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main story arc concerns Harry's quest to overcome the evil dark wizard Lord Voldemort, whose aim is to subjugate non-magical people, conquer the wizarding world, and destroy all those who stand in his way, especially Harry Potter.

A coming of age and coming of magic story

wikipedia.org  Harry_potter_series

Alice in Wonderland

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (commonly shortened to Alice in Wonderland) is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world (Wonderland) populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures. The tale plays with logic, giving the story lasting popularity with adults as well as children. It is considered to be one of the best examples of the literary nonsense genre, and its narrative course and structure have been enormously influential, especially in the fantasy genre.

The best stories are from our own imagination.  Some have better imaginations that others.

wikipedia.org  Alice_in_Wonderland

Pirates and Sea Monsters

More reading and movie lists can be found on our Pirates Page.

Treasure Island

Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "pirates and buried gold". First published as a book on May 23, 1883, it was originally serialized in the children's magazine Young Folks between 1881–82 under the title Treasure Island; or, the mutiny of the Hispaniola with Stevenson adopting the pseudonym Captain George North.

Traditionally considered a coming-of-age story, Treasure Island is an adventure tale known for its atmosphere, characters and action, and also as a wry commentary on the ambiguity of morality — as seen in Long John Silver — unusual for children's literature then and now. It is one of the most frequently dramatized of all novels. The influence of Treasure Island on popular perceptions of pirates is enormous, including treasure maps marked with an "X", schooners, the Black Spot, tropical islands, and one-legged seamen carrying parrots on their shoulders.

This is the core of modern pirate stories and themed parties.

wikipedia.org  Treasure_island

kellscraft.com/treasureislandcontent.html

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (French: Vingt mille lieues sous les mers) is a classic science fiction novel by French writer Jules Verne published in 1870. It tells the story of Captain Nemo and his submarine Nautilus as seen from the perspective of Professor Pierre Aronnax.

Submarines and deep sea dangers

wikipedia.org  Twenty_Thousand_Leagues_Under_the_Sea

Moby Dick

In Moby-Dick, Melville employs stylized language, symbolism, and metaphor to explore numerous complex themes. Through the main character's journey, the concepts of class and social status, good and evil, and the existence of God are all examined as Ishmael speculates upon his personal beliefs and his place in the universe. The narrator's reflections, along with his descriptions of a sailor's life aboard a whaling ship, are woven into the narrative along with Shakespearean literary devices, such as stage directions, extended soliloquies, and asides. The book portrays destructive obsession and monomania, as well as the assumption of anthropomorphism; projecting human instincts, characteristics and motivations onto animals. Moby-Dick is ruthless in attacking the sailors who attempt to hunt and kill him, but it is Ahab who invests Moby-Dick's natural instincts with malign and evil intent. In fact it is not the whale, but the crippled Ahab who alone possesses this characteristic.

A dangerous whale and vengeful whaler and projection unto others

wikipedia.org  Moby_dick

Adventure

South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition (1914-1917)

The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (1914–17), also known as the Endurance Expedition, is considered the last major expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Conceived by Sir Ernest Shackleton, the expedition was an attempt to make the first land crossing of the Antarctic continent. After the conquest of the South Pole by Roald Amundsen in 1911, this crossing from sea to sea remained, in Shackleton's words, the "one great main object of Antarctic journeyings". The expedition failed to accomplish this objective, but became recognized instead as an epic of endurance.

Epic adventure against the freezing cold and isolation of the Antarctic

wikipedia.org  Shackleton%27s_Expedition

A Journey to the Center of the Earth

A Journey to the Center of the Earth (French: Voyage au centre de la Terre) is a classic 1864 science fiction novel by Jules Verne. The story involves a German professor (Otto Lidenbrock in the original French, Professor Von Hardwigg in the most common English translation) who believes there are volcanic tubes going toward the center of the Earth. He, his nephew Axel (Harry), and their guide Hans encounter many adventures, including prehistoric animals and natural hazards, eventually coming to the surface again in southern Italy.

Journey into the unknown and yield some very unexpected results.

wikipedia.org  Journey_to_the_center_of_the_earth

Starship Troopers

Starship Troopers is a military science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, first published (in abridged form) as a serial in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (October, November 1959, as "Starship Soldier") and published hardcover in December, 1959.

SciFi, War and ideas about civilization and politics

wikipedia.org  Starship_troopers

Zorro

Zorro (Spanish for fox) is the secret identity of Don Diego de la Vega (pronounced [don ˈdjeɣo de la ˈbeɣa]; originally Don Diego Vega), a nobleman and master living in the Spanish colonial era of California. The character has undergone changes through the years, but the typical image of him is a dashing black-clad masked outlaw who defends the people of the land against tyrannical officials and other villains. Not only is he much too cunning and foxlike for the bumbling authorities to catch, but he delights in publicly humiliating those same foes.

Robin Hood doesn't have to be British.

wikipedia.org  Zorro

Conan the Barbarian

Conan is often associated with the fantasy subgenre of sword and sorcery and heroic fantasy. He was created by writer Robert E. Howard in 1932 via a series of fantasy stories sold to Weird Tales magazine. The character has since appeared in licensed books, comics, films, television programs, video games, roleplaying games, and even a board game, all of which contribute to the hero's long-standing popularity.

Basically a brut with a sword or axe and will to survive

wikipedia.org  Conan_the_Barbarian

Gulliver's Travels

Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships, better known simply as Gulliver's Travels (1726, amended 1735), is a novel by Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift (also known as Dean Swift) that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of the "travelers' tales" literary sub-genre. It is Swift's best known full-length work, and a classic of English literature.

Little people, big people and human satire

wikipedia.org  Gulliver's_Travels

Star Wars

Exposure to these movies, cartoons and perhaps even books and comic is a must.  The original series not only revolutionized action films forever, they introduced us to a wonderful world (worlds actually) of many races, cultures, technologies, adventure, the Force, and a new kind of Epic battle between Good and Evil.

One must choose between dark and light.  Both have drawbacks, but dark can become very dark in the end.

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