Puffin Classics: the definitive collection of timeless stories, for every child. Tom tucked a blanket round him, drew up a chair by the fire and watched Willie fall asleep. The tales he had heard about evacuees didn't seem to fit Willie. 'Ungrateful' and 'wild' were the adjectives he had heard used, or just plain 'homesick'. He was quite unprepared for this timid, sickly little specimen. Britain, 1940. With World War Two raging all around, young children are being sent from their homes in the city to the countryside for safety. When eight-year-old Willie Beech first arrives on Tom Oakley's doorstep, neither are quite sure what to make of each another. Brought up in terrible poverty, Willie is terribly shy, and totally unprepared for village life - but the gruff-but-gentle 'Mister Tom' quickly takes him under his wing. Neither he nor Willie could ever have predicted the journey they will go on together - nor the unbreakable bond that will be formed. Winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Award, and rightly hailed as a true classic of children's literature, Goodnight Mister Tom is a beautifully told, deeply moving story about the power of friendship, kindness, hope - and love. 'Everyone's idea of a smash-hit novel: full-blown characters to love and hate, moments of grief and joy, and a marvellous story that knows just how to grab the emotions' - Guardian

A fantastic retelling of the story of Aladdin with some of your favourite Mr Men! Mr Funny has discovered a magic flying carpet which flies him to the desert! There he finds a magic lamp with a very sad Genie who offers to grant him three wishes. What fun! What will Mr Funny wish for? And will any of his wishes make the Genie smile? The Mr Men and Little Miss Magic series takes kids on a series of sparkling adventures where they meet some extraordinary characters including a dragon, an ogre, a mermaid, a princess, a fairy, pirates and many others. These colourful adventures will delight children of two years and upwards. Bold illustrations and funny stories make Mr Men and Little Miss the perfect story time experience.

The hero of the sun-drenched hours, he looks godlike with his golden hair aglow in the sun as he hunts the wild beasts of field and wood. Yet as the light flees at the onset of evening, his self-assurance and bravado fade with the light . . . and he finds himself beset by terrors he cannot reign.

Then he discovers solace, in that terrifying night -- for within the depths of his fears he encounters a strange, beautiful creature who offers him comfort -- a girl, who is as much a creature of the dark hours as he is of sunlit days.

Watching over both their lives is red-haired witch Watho -- who with guilt and malice in her heart first cares for the two youths -- then jealously plots their destruction!

George MacDonald (1824-1905), Scottish author of "Phantastes," here relates the romance of the unusual lovers Photogen and Nycteris, in a land drenched in magic.

Purchase one of 1st World Library's Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. Visit us online at www.1stWorldLibrary.ORG - - The Opera ghost really existed. He was not, as was long believed, a creature of the imagination of the artists, the superstition of the managers, or a product of the absurd and impressionable brains of the young ladies of the ballet, their mothers, the box-keepers, the cloak-room attendants or the concierge. Yes, he existed in flesh and blood, although he assumed the complete appearance of a real phantom; that is to say, of a spectral shade. When I began to ransack the archives of the National Academy of Music I was at once struck by the surprising coincidences between the phenomena ascribed to the "ghost" and the most extraordinary and fantastic tragedy that ever excited the Paris upper classes; and I soon conceived the idea that this tragedy might reasonably be explained by the phenomena in question. The events do not date more than thirty years back; and it would not be difficult to find at the present day, in the foyer of the ballet, old men of the highest respectability, men upon whose word one could absolutely rely, who would remember as though they happened yesterday the mysterious and dramatic conditions that attended the kidnapping of Christine Daae, the disappearance of the Vicomte de Chagny and the death of his elder brother, Count Philippe, whose body was found on the bank of the lake that exists in the lower cellars of the Opera on the Rue-Scribe side. But none of those witnesses had until that day thought that there was any reason for connecting the more or less legendary figure of the Opera ghost with that terrible story.

A funny picture book about Paddington, the beloved, classic bear from darkest Peru - soon to be a major movie star!

Paddington has never been to a carnival before, so Mr Gruber takes him down to the canal to join in the fun. Hoping to win a boat ride for two, the friends enter the Busy Bee Adventure Trail. Paddington soon discovers that he's very good at spotting things beginning with the letter B, but it seems that he's not the only one with his eye on the prize...

"A timely quest infused with magic." The Times, Children's Book of the Week The hugely-anticipated, brand-new fairytale adventure from Sophie Anderson, the bestselling author of The House with Chicken Legs. The Island of Morovia is shaped like a broken heart. The humans live on one side of the island, and the alkonosts - the bird-people - live on the other. But it wasn't always this way... Linnet wishes she could sing magic. But magic is forbidden and she has been banished with her father to the Mournful Swamp. She misses her old life, and dreams of reuniting with her friends. When her father is captured for taking a precious jewel, Linnet must set out on a treacherous journey. Travelling through alligator pools and sinking sands with new friends, she learns how to be brave, and discovers something even more powerful than singing magic. Something that could save her father, and heal the broken heart of her island once more... With themes of grief, trust, love, and that we have more in common than that which divides us, this is a heartfelt book filled with adventure and stunning storytelling from bestselling Sophie Anderson.

This 15-book collection includes all the stories in The Wizard of Oz series by L. Frank Baum. These beloved children's classics have fresh new covers that bring these timeless classics to a whole new generation.

This box set of Wilder's favorite stories from her childhood contains the first five books of the beloved series. This set is released just in time for the brand-new "Little House on the Prairie" miniseries, scheduled to air on ABC this fall.

Little Lord Fauntleroy (1885, 1886) by Frances Hodgson Burnett is a beloved children's novel that made a huge impact on 19th century public, shaping everything from boys' clothing fashions to copyright law.

Cedric Errol is a generous, kind, and exemplary middle-class American boy who is suddenly found to be the heir of the Earl of Dorincourt. Saying loving goodbyes to his working-class friends, Cedric goes to England together with his mother to embrace his new fortune. His grandfather, the old earl, is a bitter old man ridden with gout and a foul temper, trusting no one. However the angelic boy elicits a profound transformation in the grandfather, which not only benefits the castle household but the whole populace of the earldom.

If only the old man's heart would soften toward Cedric's estranged mother, the family would be healed at last. And when another potential heir to the earldom makes a claim, it seems that everything is lost....

But all things are possible through a child's innocent trust, true friendship, and unconditional love.

Edinburgh, 1930, and the world is on the brink of change. Leading the charge is the glamorous, free-spirited Miss Jean Brodie, schoolteacher at the Marcia Blaine Academy, whose guiding principle is 'Give me a girl at an impressionable age and she ll be mine for life. I am dedicated to you in my prime.' While Miss Brodie manipulates and charms 'her girls' - known as the Brodie Set - with notions of romance and heroism, tragedy and a cruel betrayal beckon.

This is one of the 22 novels written by Muriel Spark in her lifetime. All are being published by Polygon in hardback Centenary Editions between November 2017 and September 2018.

The first story in the Magic Faraway Tree series by one of the world's most popular children's authors, Enid Blyton.

Joe, Beth and Frannie find the Enchanted Wood on the doorstep of their new home, and when they discover the Faraway Tree it is the start of a wonderful series of magical adventures.

Join them and their friends Moonface, Saucepan Man and Silky the fairy as they discover which new land is at the top of the Faraway Tree. Will it be the Land of Spells, the Land of Treats, or the Land of Do-As-You-Please?

This is the perfect story for bedtime and shared reading for young children. Discover the magic!

A stunningly beautiful hardback edition of the most famous Christmas story in the world - Charles Dickens' beloved book A Christmas Carol.

Ebenezer Scrooge is a mean, miserable, bitter old man with no friends. One cold Christmas Eve, three ghosts take him on a scary journey to show him the error of his nasty ways. By visiting his past, present and future, Scrooge learns to love Christmas and the people all around him.

This Scholastic Classics edition of George Orwell's classic dystopian novel is perfect for students and Orwell enthusiasts alike. Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past. Winston Smith has always been a dutiful citizen of Oceania, rewriting history to meet the demands of the Ministry of Truth. But with each lie that he writes, Winston starts to resent the totalitarian party that seeks power for its own sake and punishes those that desire individuality. When Winston begins a secret relationship with his colleague Julia, he soon realises it's virtually impossible to escape the watchful eye of Big Brother... Totalitarianism, identity and independence, repression, power, language, rebellion, technology and modernisation are some of the themes that run throughout this novel.

Adapted and illustrated to introduce children and students to the works of Shakespeare! Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare is a delightful comic love story. The play begins with a shipwreck, during which Viola, a young aristocratic-born woman, is separated from her identical twin brother, Sebastian, and is swept onto the shores of the Kingdom of Illyria. Thus begins this entertaining tale of mistaken identities and thwarted love. Includes a QR code for the FREE audiobook! The easy-to-read narrative and comic-style illustrations are a great way to introduce children and students to the story before approaching the original texts.