This collection of deftly rearranged myths and fairy tales, including six original stories, rekindles the excitement of adored childhood adventures. National Endowment for the Arts recipient Michael Cadnum creates twice-told narratives revealed through their supporting casts, from the protective giantess at the top of the beanstalk to an extremely bratty Gingerbread Man.

Michael Cadnum is best known for his young-adult adventure novels, including In a Dark Wood, The Leopard Sword, and Seize the Storm. The Book of the Lion was a National Book Award finalist, a Los Angeles Times Book Award finalist, and an Owl Creek Book Award winner. Cadnum is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship and the Helen Bullis Prize for his poetry.