This magical collection of eight gloriously imaginative stories is ideal for bedtime reading. These stories contain a wealth of wonderful characters and ideas, all with the colorful, dreamlike quality of the very best fairy tales. Illustrations.

Royals, witches, enchanted pigs, mermaids, wolves, and mortals star in thirteen stories gleaned from a trio of the author's earlier collections.

Wicked wolves and a grim governess threaten Bonnie and her cousin Sylvia when Bonnie's parents leave Willoughby Chase for a sea voyage. Left in the care of the cruel Miss Slighcarp, the girls can hardly believe what is happening to their once happy home. The servants are dismissed, the furniture is sold, and Bonnie and Sylvia are sent to a prison-like orphan school. It seems as if the endless hours of drudgery will never cease. With the help of Simon the gooseboy and his flock, they escape. But how will they ever get Willoughby Chase free from the clutches of the evil Miss Slighcarp?

Revised and updated, this essential and practical guide by an award-winning children's author explains how to write books for children, from where to look to inspiration to practical advice on how to create characters and structure a plot.

Oh no! A flood means that Christmas is looking doomed! Enter a spell, a surprise stay in a castle and a party to plan for - will Meg, Mog and Owl make it home for a very special Christmas Day? Jan Pienkowski's bold, colourful artwork and instantly recognisable characters make this festive adventure for our favourite witch into a fun and satisfying read for the very young onwards.

Here are eight gloriously imaginative stories for eight satisfying sessions of bedtime reading. There’s a flying apple pie, a cat that’s bigger than an elephant, a house that lays an egg, storybook animals that leap out of their books at night, and a wealth of other wonderful characters and ideas, all with the colorful, dreamlike quality of the very best fairy tales. Joan Aiken’s delicious prose is a joy to read aloud to very young listeners yet simple enough for the independent reader to savor on his or her own. Kevin Hawkes’s illustrations–nearly 60 of them–capture with great flair and fun the magical adventures and the triumph of the good over the bad.

Readers beware! Mischievous ghosts, ancient curses, and monstrous spirits inhabit these thirteen spine-tingling tales. Enter a world of fantasy where a blast of a whistle brings a boy from the past, where a ghostly awl perches night after night at the foot of your bed, and where a white seagull whispers the warning, "Listen." Each of these stories by Joan Aiken, a master of suspense, will chill and delight, lingering long after the book is closed.