'A very good novel indeed about the fragility and also the tenacity of love' commented the "Spectator" about this 1953 novel by Dorothy Whipple, which was ignored fifty years ago because 'editors are going mad for action and passion' (as she was told by her publisher). But this last novel by a writer whose books had previously been bestsellers is outstandingly good by any standards. Apparently 'a fairly ordinary tale about the destruction of a happy marriage' (Nina Bawden in the Preface) yet 'it makes compulsive reading' in its description of an ordinary family ('Ellen was that unfashionable creature, a happy housewife') struck by disaster when the husband, in a moment of weak, mid-life vanity, runs off with a French girl.Dorothy Whipple is a superb stylist, with a calm intelligence in the tradition of Mrs Gaskell (both wrote in the "Midlands" and had similar preoccupations). 'The prose is simple, the psychology spot on' said the "Telegraph", and John Sandoe Books commented: 'We have all delighted in this unjustly forgotten novel; it is well written and compelling'.

One of the most loved and enduring wartime novels, Carrie's War is a modern classic. WITH A NEW FOREWORD BY MICHAEL MORPURGO AND ILLUSTRATIONS BY ALAN MARKS 'A touching, utterly convincing book' JACQUELINE WILSON 'Poignant and realistic . . . Carrie's War captures the true reality of war for a child, and it doesn't sentimentalise war' SHIRLEY HUGHES, GUARDIAN 'I did a dreadful thing, the worst thing of my life, when I was twelve and a half years old, and nothing can change it' It is wartime and Carrie and her little brother Nick have been evacuated from their London home to the Welsh hills. In an unfamiliar place, among strangers, the children feel alone and find little comfort with the family they are billeted with: Mr Evans, a bullying shopkeeper and Auntie Lou, his kind but timid sister. When Carrie and Nick visit Albert, another evacuee, they are welcomed into Hepzibah Green's warm kitchen. Hepzibah is rumoured to be a witch, but her cooking is delicious, her stories are enthralling and the children cannot keep away. With Albert, Hepzibah and Mister Johnny, they begin to settle into their new surroundings. But before long, their loyalties are tested: will they be persuaded to betray their new friends? This collection of the best children's literature, curated by Virago, will be coveted by children and adults alike. These are timeless tales with beautiful covers, that will be treasured and shared across the generations. Some titles you will already know; some will be new to you, but there are stories for everyone to love, whatever your age. Our list includes Nina Bawden (Carrie's War, The Peppermint Pig), Rumer Godden (The Dark Horse, An Episode of Sparrows), Joan Aiken (The Serial Garden, The Gift Giving) E. Nesbit (The Psammead Trilogy, The Bastable Trilogy, The Railway Children), Frances Hodgson Burnett (The Little Princess,The Secret Garden) and Susan Coolidge (The What Katy Did Trilogy). Discover Virago Children's Classics.

A poignant and realistic picture of what the second world war was like for a child' – Shirley Hughes, The Guardian

A touching, utterly convincing book’ – Jacqueline Wilson, author of The Story of Tracy Beaker

Carrie's War offers a window into the life of evacuees during World War Two, full of Nina Bawden's award-winning humour and heart. Perfect for ages 9+.

Carrie and her little brother Nick are evacuated from wartime London to the Welsh hills. Their new home with strict Mr Evans and his kind but timid sister, Auntie Lou, offers little comfort.

But then Carrie and Nick visit Albert, another evacuee, and Hepzibah Green welcomes them into her warm kitchen. People say that she is a witch, but Hepzibah’s delicious cooking and enthralling stories are impossible to resist.

With the help of Albert, Hepzibah, and even Auntie Lou, Carrie and Nick begin to settle in. But before long, Carrie’s loyalty is tested. Will she be persuaded to betray her new friends?

Keeping Henry is a heartwarming story about a cheeky squirrel set during World War Two by Nina Bawden, the beloved author of Carrie's War. Perfect for animal lovers of all ages.

'One of Nina Bawden's best' - The Observer

‘The hay stirred. There was a small nibbling sound. A furry head poked out . . . his eyes seemed alert and inquisitive, as if he were as interested in us as we were in him.’

Henry is only three inches long when he is catapulted out of his nest – a poor baby red squirrel. He is too young to survive being released into the wild, but can a squirrel be a pet?

Henry's new human family, fleeing from London during the Blitz, have made their home on a farm in Wales. Can Henry, who makes nests out of their clothes and runs up the children like they are trees, help them to settle into their new life?

Warm and funny, this tale of a pint-size pig and the family he saves will take up a giant space in your heart' ― Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Girl of Ink & Stars

What a consummate storymaker Nina Bawden is’ ― Michael Morpurgo, author of Kensuke's Kingdom

Winner of The Guardian's Prize for Children's Fiction, The Peppermint Pig is a modern classic by Nina Bawden, beloved author of Carrie's War. Perfect for children aged 9+.

‘D’ya want a peppermint pig, Mrs Greengrass?’ Poll looked at the milkman, thinking of sweets, but there was a real pig poking its snout out of the milkman’s coat pocket. It was the tiniest pig she had ever seen.

It is a difficult year for the Greengrasses. Poll’s father has gone overseas for work and the family has to rely on the generosity of two aunts. After moving to a small country town, Poll struggles to settle into her new life and she just can’t seem to keep out of trouble! Everything changes when a clever, mischievous pig arrives. Can he bring joy and laughter back into their lives?

'A very good novel indeed about the fragility and also the tenacity of love' commented the Spectator recently about this 1953 novel by Dorothy Whipple, which was ignored fifty years ago because 'editors are going mad for action and passion' (as she was told by her publisher). But this last novel by a writer whose books had previously been bestsellers is outstandingly good by any standards. Apparently 'a fairly ordinary tale about the destruction of a happy marriage' (Nina Bawden in the Preface) yet 'it makes compulsive reading' in its description of an ordinary family ('Ellen was that unfashionable creature, a happy housewife') struck by disaster when the husband, in a moment of weak, mid-life vanity, runs off with a French girl. Dorothy Whipple is a superb stylist, with a calm intelligence in the tradition of Mrs Gaskell (both wrote in the Midlands and had similar preoccupations). 'The prose is simple, the psychology spot on' said the Telegraph, and John Sandoe Books commented: 'We have all delighted in this unjustly forgotten novel; it is well written and compelling.'

One of a series of top-quality fiction for schools. Carrie and her brother Nick are evacuated to a Welsh mountain village in 1939, and become closely involved with several memorable characters.

WITH A NEW FOREWORD BY EMMA CARROLL 'A touching, utterly convincing book' JACQUELINE WILSON 'What a deep, dark, deceptively simple, brilliant novel it is' EMMA CARROLL 'Poignant and realistic . . . Carrie's War captures the true reality of war for a child, and it doesn't sentimentalise war' SHIRLEY HUGHES, GUARDIAN 'I did a dreadful thing, the worst thing of my life, when I was twelve and a half years old, and nothing can change it' When the bombs rain down on London, Carrie and her little brother Nick are evacuated to a small town in the Welsh hills. Without their mother, and away from anything familiar, they must take refuge among strangers. Reluctantly, Mr Evans, the grocer, takes them in, with his kind, timid sister, Aunt Lou. But the children find little comfort in his austere home. Their fellow evacuee, Albert, is luckier, living in a rambling old mansion with Hepzibah Green and Mister Johnny. Hepzibah is rumoured to be a witch, but the children feel safe in her warm kitchen and are spellbound by her stories. Just as Carrie and Nick begin to settle into their new life, something happens that tests their loyalties: will they be persuaded to betray their friends? ILLUSTRATED BY ALAN MARKS

TV adaptation of the bestselling children's novel by Nina Bawden. When 14-year-old Carrie Willow (Keeley Fawcett) and her younger brother Nick (Jack Stanley) are evacuated from London to the small Welsh town of Druids Bottom during World War II, they are taken in by the strict Mr Evans (Alun Armstrong) and his sister Auntie Lou (Lesley Sharp). As the children gradually realise they have entered a mysterious world of curses, witchcraft and druids, their lives are altered forever.

Both a spellbinding love story and a superb evocation of Cornwall's mythic past, Castle Dor is a book with unique and fascinating origins. It began life as the unfinished last novel of Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, the celebrated 'Q', and was passed by his daughter to Daphne du Maurier whose storytelling skills were perfectly suited to the task of completing the old master's tale. The result is this magical, compelling recreation of the legend of Tristan and Iseult, transplanted in time to the Cornwall of the last century. A chance encounter between the Breton onion-seller, Amyot Trestane, and the newly-wed Linnet Lewarne launches their tragic story, taking them in the fateful footsteps of the doomed lovers of Cornish legend . . .

There was a real pig poking its snout out of the milkman's coat pocket. It was the tiniest pig she had ever seen.' 'What's a peppermint pig?' Poll asks her mother. Johnnie was only the runt of the litter. He'd cost Mother a shilling, but somehow his naughtiness and cleverness kept Poll and her little brother Theo cheerful, even though it was one of the most difficult years of their lives. This collection of the best children's literature, curated by Virago, will be coveted by children and adults alike. These are timeless tales with beautiful covers, that will be treasured and shared across the generations. Some titles you will already know; some will be new to you, but there are stories for everyone to love, whatever your age. Our list includes Nina Bawden (Carrie's War, The Peppermint Pig), Rumer Godden (The Dark Horse, An Episode of Sparrows), Joan Aiken (The Serial Garden, The Gift Giving) E. Nesbit (The Psammead Trilogy, The Bastable Trilogy, The Railway Children), Frances Hodgson Burnett (The Little Princess,The Secret Garden) and Susan Coolidge (The What Katy Did Trilogy). Discover Virago Children's Classics.

Carrie Willow and her brother Nick are evacuees transported to the safety of the countryside in the 1940s. There they stay with mean Mr Evans; but there's also kind Auntie Lou, and brilliant young Albert Sandwich and Mr Johnny, who speaks his own language, and Hepzibah, the witch at Druid's Grove who makes perfect mince pies. And then there's the ancient skull with its terrifying curse...

'The hay stirred. There was a small nibbling sound. A furry head poked out. I saw its dark, beady eyes, its sharp, pointed ears ...his eyes seemed alert and inquisitive, as if he were as interested in us as we were in him' Henry is only three inches long when naughty Charlie catapults him out of his nest - a poor baby red squirrel, all ragged and skinny. He is too young to survive being released into the wild, but can a squirrel be a pet? Henry's new human family has also had to adapt to a different way of life. Evacuated from London during the Blitz, to a farm in Wales, they were upturned from their old life just as Henry was 'tipped out' of his nest. Can this mischievous little creature, who makes nests out of their clothes and runs up the children like they are trees, help them to settle into their new life? A collection that will be coveted by children and adults alike, this list is the best in children's literature, curated by Virago. These are timeless tales with beautiful covers, that will be treasured and shared across the generations. Some titles you will already know; some will be new to you, but there are stories for everyone to love, whatever your age. Our list includes Nina Bawden (Carrie's War, The Peppermint Pig), Rumer Godden (The Dark Horse, An Episode of Sparrows), Joan Aiken (The Serial Garden, The Gift Giving) E. Nesbit (The Psammead Trilogy, The Bastable Trilogy, The Railway Children), L. M. Montgomery (The Anne of Green Gables series) and Susan Coolidge (The What Katy Did Trilogy). Discover Virago Children's Classics.

Determined to find the ex-lodger who stole his grandmother's savings, Fred McAlpine and his friends Sid, Rosie, Algy and Clio launch on a series of sleuthing activities to trace the thief. Unfortunately their detective work leads them nowhere fast and very soon they decide the best way to track a thief might just be by acting like one themselves. Resorting to cunning of their own, the children find their doings attracting the attention of the police. Can they - a handful of well-meaning thieves - find the criminal and vindicate themselves in the process? Pacy and suspenseful, A Handful of Thieves is another vivid and colourful novel from one of Britain's most inventive children's authors.

Amy thought the Hotel Parthenon in Greece would be a nice change for her Labour MP husband, Tom. But the place is overrun with a host of unlikely characters who fall in and out of love with one another, including Tom's ex-mistress, his rakish father, and the enigmatic, elegant twins, Jane and Tish.

'I am an outside child. That is what Plato Jones calls me.' Jane Tucker is thirteen years old when she discovers she has a half-brother and sister, a revelation which promises to bring both excitement and succour to her ordinary life. But obstacles lie in her path when, for unknown reasons, she is prevented from meeting them. Aided by her friend Plato, Jane tracks down her brother and sister to their home in the East End of London. There she finds still more surprises lie in store for her. Can Jane at last be part of a 'proper' family, or must she always remain the outside child? This is the story of a girl and her family and the secrets they keep from one another. Both funny and poignant, The Outside Child is a beautifully drawn study of adolescence from one of Britain's most skilled writers for children.

On the Scottish island of Skua, friendship develops between the lonely and mysterious Perdita and a blind girl, Janey. Both possess a kind of second sight - Janey's is the ability to hear, feel and remember more than others, and Perdita's is the ominous legacy of her being a witch's daughter. When Janey's brother, Tom, starts investigating a cluster of mysterious events and suspicious characters, all three become entwined in an adventure of hidden jewels, desperate criminals and dangerous detection. Written in 1963, The Witch's Daughter showcases Nina Bawden's innate regard for the integrity of her young characters. As she has said: 'I like writing for children. It seems to me that most people underestimate their understanding and the strength of their feelings and in my books for them I try to put this right.' Hugely admired on publication by both reviewers and readers, it was described as 'thrilling' by the Times Literary Supplement.

Lonely and forlorn after their mother's death and their sudden arrival at Aunt Mabel's seaside boarding-house, John, Mary and Ben Mallory are unimpressed with their new life in England. But there are wonderful surprises in store for them when they discover a secret way into the grand and empty house next door. Soon all sorts of unexpected events will unfold as the siblings encounter a whole host of eccentric characters and happenings. Completed in 1963, The Secret Passage is Nina Bawden's first children's novel and was written especially for her own three children after they had discovered a secret passage in the cellar of their house. It beautifully reflects her own inquisitive nature - as she herself has said: 'I was a keyhole child, fearsomely curious' - wedded to her subtly innovative ability to empathise with the child's view.