Invented Fiction

In the early 17th century, a crippled, graying, almost toothless veteran of Spain's wars against the Ottoman Empire published a novel. It was the story of a poor nobleman, his brain addled from studying too many novels of chivalry, who deludes himself that he is a knight errant and sets off on hilarious adventures. That story, Don Quixote, went on to sell more copies than any other book beside the Bible, making its author, Miguel de Cervantes, the single most-read author in human history.

What if somewhere along the way we've all got the Santa story a bit wrong? Join Blanche Claus and her best friend, Rinki, for a funny festive sleigh ride you'll never forget! From Sibéal Pounder, best-selling author of the Witch Wars and Bad Mermaids series, this tale of friendship and mince-pie feasts is the perfect book to curl up with this winter. Funny, feminist and with a huge heart, it's a gloriously Christmassy adventure that will delight even the biggest Grinch.

It is hard to imagine Christmas season without the rich and fanciful Yuletide tales of Charles Dickens. Indeed, late 19th century newspapers in both England and the United States hailed him as "The man who invented Christmas". This Magical Reality Chautauqua Show Presentation illustrates why. Dickens guides us through scenes of merriment, redemption and poignant joy.

Best friends Pete and Zoey do everything together. They go to the same school, play the same video games, and work the same job as delivery drivers at the local pizzeria. After an encounter with a mysterious, talking cat named Max, Pete and Zoey find themselves in a world named Round, a place that reminds them of an MMORPG - a massive multiplayer online role-playing game. The only way they can return home is if they save Round.... But before they can level up and become heroes, Pete and Zoey must learn to navigate tomato plant monsters, raccoon warlords, and countless display prompts.

Herbert George "H. G." Wells (1866 - 1946) was an English writer. He was prolific in many genres, including the novel, history, politics, social commentary, and textbooks and rules for war games. Wells is now best remembered for his science fiction novels and is called a "father of science fiction"

BOOK THE FIRST: THE DAYS BEFORE TONO-BUNGAY WAS INVENTED: Most people in this world seem to live "in character"; they have a beginning, a middle and an end, and the three are congruous one with another and true to the rules of their type. You can speak of them as being of this sort of people or that.

Everyone knows the name Buffalo Bill, but few these days know what he did or, in some cases, didn't do. Was he a Pony Express rider? Did he serve Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn? Did he scalp countless Native Americans, or did he defend their rights? This, the first significant biography of Buffalo Bill Cody for younger listeners in many years, explains it all. Presenting Buffalo Bill makes the great showman come alive for new generations.

The creator of My Liddle Peony, Mommy's Liddle Helper, and the Modest Liddle Bloomerguards, to name only a few of his many inventions, is first encountered through the memories of his wife, Letitica Liddle, in The Flight to Brassbright. But many years before, Gerard was a young kid growing up in the idyllic town of Quartz Corners, and already toying around with his very first inventions. Learn more about this prolific inventor's early days through four amazing inventive adventures.

Everyone loves pizza, but how was it invented? Cheese and tomatoes falling from the leaning tower? Cartloads of ingredients crashing together? Or maybe someone slipped on a puddle of water, smashing the ingredients together? These zany stories tell several different ways the world's most delectable dish might have been created. The last is a retelling of the most accepted historical account of it's actual invention, slightly altered of course, to assure that it's in keeping with the humorous tone of the other stories.

Muchos conocen ya a Lucas. Pero muy pocos saben lo molesto que suele ponerse cuando se aburre. ¡Tan buenito que parecía! Chicle en las zapatillas de Simón, pimienta en la comida de Ticholo, empujoncito a Griselda—la tortuga—que termina atravesando el aire en patineta. Hasta que un día, cansado de fastidiar a todos, Lucas se encierra en el cuarto y transforma el aburrimiento en...

The (completely) true story of how the smoothie was invented. The Fruitopians eat only fruit; just over the road in Vegtaville, they're potty about peas. One day (and quite by mistake), our Fruitopian hero, Huck, drops a very squishy peach on his enemy, Drool. Unfortunately, Drool is the biggest boy in Vegtaville and the son of the Vegtavillain king. This starts a battle between the two towns, which becomes the biggest food fight in history. It reaches its conclusion when food history is made!

Litte Tiger feels so lonely, when Little Bear is away. "I wish, you'd write a letter home, to cheer me up. Please do!", he says. "All right," says Little Bear...

Everyone makes mistakes, and brilliant scientist Harry Coover is no different. But Harry keeps making the same extra-sticky mistake, and he begins to wonder whether it's such a mistake after all....

Have you been wanting to know more about the significant impact black women had on the world? The Woman Who Invented Weaving is a fascinating audiobook that contains a catalog of several notable inventors and inventions by black women, which include the invention of the bathroom tissue holder, pastry fork, and ironing board, among others.