Books with title Hero and the Crown

Newbery Medal Winner, 1985 Uncertain of the past, Aerin-sol, daughter of King Arlbeth, decides to forge her own future by challenging the lashing tongues of the dragon’s fire. Aerin’s proficiency as "the Dragon-slayer" sets her on a quest for the stolen Crown of Damar, believed to be in the hands of rebellious northerners who threaten to destroy the Damarian people and their home forever.

An outcast princess must earn her birthright as a hero of the realm—in this “utterly engrossing” Newbery Medal–winning fantasy (The New York Times). Aerin is an outcast in her own father’s court, daughter of the foreign woman who, it was rumored, was a witch, and enchanted the king to marry her. She makes friends with her father’s lame, retired warhorse, Talat, and discovers an old, overlooked, and dangerously imprecise recipe for dragon-fire-proof ointment in a dusty corner of her father’s library. Two years, many canter circles to the left to strengthen Talat’s weak leg, and many burnt twigs (and a few fingers) secretly experimenting with the ointment recipe later, Aerin is present when someone comes from an outlying village to report a marauding dragon to the king. Aerin slips off alone to fetch her horse, her sword, and her fireproof ointment . . . But modern dragons, while formidable opponents fully capable of killing a human being, are small and accounted vermin. There is no honor in killing dragons. The great dragons are a tale out of ancient history. That is, until the day that the king is riding out at the head of an army. A weary man on an exhausted horse staggers into the courtyard where the king’s troop is assembled: “The Black Dragon has come . . . Maur, who has not been seen for generations, the last of the great dragons, great as a mountain. Maur has awakened.”

A Newbery Medal WinnerAlthough she is the daughter of Damar's king, Aerin has never been accepted as full royalty. Both in and out of the royal court, people whisper the story of her mother, the witchwoman, who was said to have enspelled the king into marrying her to get an heir to rule Damar-then died of despair when she found she had borne a daughter instead of a son. But none of them, not even Aerin herself, can predict her future-for she is to be the true hero who will wield the power of the Blue Sword...“[The Hero and the Crown] confirms McKinley as an important writer of modern heroic fantasy, a genre whose giants include C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Ursula K. Le Guin.”—The Washington Post“An utterly engrossing fantasy.”—The New York Times

For over a decade, Robin McKinley's richly woven saga has gripped the imagination of readers and caused critics to hail her as a master of fantasy. It is the story of Aerin, haunted since childhood by the legend of her mother-a "witchwoman" who enspelled the king and then died of disappointment after giving birth to a daughter, rather than the heroic son the kingdom needed. But little did the young princess know the long-dormant powers of her mother would wield their own destiny. For though she was a woman, Aerin was destined to be the true hero who would one day wield the power of the Blue Sword....

The beloved classic fantasy novel, a Newbery Medal winnerRobin McKinley's mesmerizing history of Damar is the stuff that legends are made of. Aerin is the only child of the king of Damar, and should be his rightful heir. But she is also the daughter of a witchwoman of the North, who died when she was born, and the Damarians cannot trust her.But Aerin's destiny is greater than her father's people know, for it leads her to battle with Maur, the Black Dragon, and into the wilder Damarian Hills, where she meets the wizard Luthe. It is he who at last tells her the truth about her mother, and he also gives over to her hand the Blue Sword, Gonturan. But such gifts as these bear a great price, a price Aerin only begins to realize when she faces the evil mage, Agsded, who has seized the Hero's Crown, greatest treasure and secret strength of Damar.The Hero and the Crown is a dazzling prequel to The Blue Sword.

Shelly Siren and her friends visit King Neptune’s royal castle and attend their first ball in this Mermaid Tales adventure.Shelly, Echo, Kiki, and Pearl are spending their school vacation at Neptune’s castle! Shelly’s aunt, Queen Edwina, has invited the girls to stay for a whole week, and while they’re there the girls can’t wait to visit the Royal Orca Museum, see the Palace Library, ride seahorses, and maybe even attend a royal ball. Shelly is nervous about meeting her royal family, especially since she’s never felt like a princess. But when she arrives at the castle, she is welcomed with curtsies, bows, and sea flowers. Queen Edwina even gives Shelly a sparkling tiara that she once wore as a young princess. Just as Shelly starts to relax and have fun, the tiara disappears and the girls have to find it before the queen finds out! The mergirls have a real mermystery on their fins! But will they be able to figure out who took the tiara before Shelly’s royal visit turns into a royal disaster?

Ever since Anna can remember, she has avoided the ancient Grünwald Forest, where her parents disappeared years ago. Everyone in the kingdom of Weissburg knows the forest is haunted. Tales abound of vengeful spirits that lurk among the trees, and of a Beast that has taken the lives of peasants, knights, and the king’s own son. But when the Beast emerges after seven silent years to wreak havoc on the kingdom, Anna braves all her fears to confront him. She soon discovers that there's more to the Beast than she realized...and more to herself than she ever imagined.

For over a decade, Robin McKinley's richly woven saga has gripped the imagination of readers and caused critics to hail her as a master of fantasy. It is the story of Aerin, haunted since childhood by the legend of her mother-a witchwoman who enspelled the king and then died of disappointment after giving birth to a daughter, rather than the heroic son the kingdom needed. But little did the young princess know the long-dormant powers of her mother would wield their own destiny. For though she was a woman, Aerin was destined to be the true hero who would one day wield the power of the Blue Sword....

Discover the classic story that has captured hearts for decades...Aerin could not remember a time when she had not known the story; she had grown up knowing it. It was the story of her mother, the witchwoman who enspelled the king into marrying her, to get an heir that would rule Damar; and it was told that she turned her face to the wall and died of despair when she found she had borne a daughter instead of a son. Aerin was that daughter. But there was more of the story yet to be told; Aerin’s destiny was greater than even she had dreamed—for she was to be the true hero who would wield the power of the Blue Sword…

A Newbery Medal Winner. \n\nAlthough she is the daughter of Damar's king, Aerin has never been accepted as full royalty. Both in and out of the royal court, people whisper the story of her mother, the witchwoman, who was said to have enspelled the king into marrying her to get an heir to rule Damar-then died of despair when she found she had borne a daughter instead of a son. But none of them, not even Aerin herself, can predict her future-for she is to be the true hero who will wield the power of the Blue Sword...

Shelly Siren and her friends visit King Neptune’s royal castle and attend their first ball in this Mermaid Tales adventure.Shelly, Echo, Kiki, and Pearl are spending their school vacation at Neptune’s castle! Shelly’s aunt, Queen Edwina, has invited the girls to stay for a whole week, and while they’re there the girls can’t wait to visit the Royal Orca Museum, see the Palace Library, ride seahorses, and maybe even attend a royal ball. Shelly is nervous about meeting her royal family, especially since she’s never felt like a princess. But when she arrives at the castle, she is welcomed with curtsies, bows, and sea flowers. Queen Edwina even gives Shelly a sparkling tiara that she once wore as a young princess. Just as Shelly starts to relax and have fun, the tiara disappears and the girls have to find it before the queen finds out! The mergirls have a real mermystery on their fins! But will they be able to figure out who took the tiara before Shelly’s royal visit turns into a royal disaster?

Ever since Anna can remember, she has avoided the ancient Grünwald Forest, where her parents disappeared years ago. Everyone in the kingdom of Weissburg knows the forest is haunted. Tales abound of vengeful spirits that lurk among the trees, and of a Beast that has taken the lives of peasants, knights, and the king’s own son. But when the Beast emerges after seven silent years to wreak havoc on the kingdom, Anna braves all her fears to confront him. She soon discovers that there's more to the Beast than she realized...and more to herself than she ever imagined.