A classic collection of tales for young readers of about five, featuring beloved characters and lively stories by Michael Bond, Jill Barklem, Elizabeth Laird and others, chosen by children's book expert, Julia Eccleshare. Paddington Bear tries to buy a birthday present, the animals of Brambly Hedge set off to the seaside; A greedy queen insists on having the biggest tree in the world, but will Cinderella get to go to the ball? These classic stories are wonderful to share and enjoy with your child at any time of the year, or would make the perfect birthday gift.

A classic collection of tales for young readers of about six, featuring beloved characters and lively stories by P.L. Travers, Jill Barklem, Michael Morpurgo and others, chosen by children's book expert, Julia Eccleshare. The Banks family are searching for a nanny; Macaw the parrot helps out at the fish and chip shop and a stonecutter dreams of becoming an emperor... These classic stories are wonderful to share and enjoy with your child at any time of the year, or would make the perfect birthday gift.

A classic collection of stories by Michael Rosen, Alexander McCall Smith, Ted Hughes, Michael Morpurgo and others, specially chosen for young readers of around eight by children's book expert, Julia Eccleshare. Mary Poppins takes Jane and Michael on a topsy-turvy day; a boy watches over a beautiful swan... These classic stories are wonderful to share and enjoy with your child at any time of the year, or would make the perfect birthday gift.

A classic collection of tales to tell children of about four, featuring beloved characters and lively stories, by Michael Bond, Jill Barklem, Anne Fine amongst others, chosen by children's book expert, Julia Eccleshare. Paddington Bear has a magical moment, the animals of Brambly Hedge are struggling at the dusty mill: Lara's godmother sorts out a noisy lion and Rapunzel is rescued from the tower... These classic stories are wonderful to share and enjoy with your child at any time of the year, or would make the perfect birthday gift.

Babe, the piglet, has been won at a fair by Farmer Hoggett and is surely destined for the family freezer – yet here he is wanting to herd sheep! Babe is determined to learn and so Fly, the kind-hearted sheep-dog, teaches him everything she knows…

Winner of the Guardian Children’s Fiction Award, 1984

A classic collection of stories by P.L Travers, Penelope Lively, Michael Morpurgo, Michael Rosen, Alexander McCall Smith and others, specially chosen for young readers of around seven by children's book expert, Julia Eccleshare. Mary Poppins takes Jane and Michael on a gravity-defying tea party on the ceiling; Meet the boy who rescues a beached dolphin: Can the barber keep the secret of the Rajah's big ears? These classic stories are wonderful to share and enjoy with your child at any time of the year, or would make the perfect birthday gift.

J.K. Rowling is half-way through a series which has taken the world by storm. Unusually, she has attracted success both in terms of massive sales figures and critical acclaim. This study looks at her books and considers some of the reasons for their phenomenal success. This is done against a background of how Harry Potter relates to other contemporary children's books so that students and teachers can place them in the context for which they were written.;The underlying thesis is: when J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter title and planned the rest, she drew on her considerable experience as a reader and, through her powers of story telling, created a world of her own. What was initially imitative has, with her gaining confidence, become witty pastiche (or, as it was recently described, intertextuality). This, combined with an unusual ability to tell a long story and to keep up a flow of creative invention, has enabled her to create four absorbing novels that have given story telling a good name for adults and children alike.