Ethan Cheeseman takes his children, ages eight, twelve, and fourteen, and Captain Jibby and crew, to the year 1668 to end an ancient family curse and save the children's mother, but damage to the time machine and the arrival of Mr. 5 complicate their return.

In a faraway kingdom, there lives an Emperor who prizes fancy clothes above all else. He buys suit after suit made of the most expensive materials instead of tending to his threadbare kingdom. Then, one day, two traveling merchants offer to make the Emperor a special suit that has magical powers. The merchants, however, are not who they claim to be, and the suit has one major flaw no one can see it!

Cinderella's wicked stepmother won't let her go to the ball. But with a little help from a Fairy Godmother, she'll be getting there in style. There's just one catch. At midnight, her magical gown will turn back into dirty old rags.

Long ago, a beautiful maiden named Rapunzel lived a life of loneliness. Taken at birth by an evil witch, she remained hidden, locked within a giant tower. Then one day, a prince heard her voice through the forest. To reach her, he must climb Rapunzel's lovely locks and avoid being caught by the witch.

Macabre, ironic, and witty epitaphs share how prehistoric creatures like the terror bird, the woolly mammoth, and the T-rex met their demise. The ever-entertaining J. Patrick Lewis and the inimitable Jane Yolen offer a collection organized by era, with posthumous poems paired with short secondary text providing additional, factual information about each creature.