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Joan Aiken (1924 - 2004) spent part of her childhood living in a haunted house. After leaving school, she worked at the BBC, the United Nations, and in the editorial department of a magazine. All this time, she had been writing stories and after her first major novel was published in 1961, Joan left her job to write full-time. She has now written almost 100 books for adults and children, Including the hugely popular The Wolves Of Willoughby Chase and Black Hearts In Battersea.
A wonderful adventure as two children flee from the yranny of their wicked guardian and bravely set out on the road to London. Miss Slighcarp is as chilling as her words sound and she is now in charge of Bonnie and Sylvia. How will they ever escape from her clutches? It would be hard in any circumstances but it is especially hard since the snow lies thick on the ground around Willoughby Chase and the wolves are snapping closer and closer. It’s scary enough, but Bonnie and Sylvia are a determined pair and nothing, not even the wolves are going to stop them from getting back to London and Aunt Jane. Helped on their way by Simon and the flock of geese he is taking to market, Bonnie and Sylvia’s journey is a thrilling adventure – and not for the faint hearted!
A wonderful adventure as two children flee from the yranny of their wicked guardian and bravely set out on the road to London. Miss Slighcarp is as chilling as her words sound and she is now in charge of Bonnie and Sylvia. How will they ever escape from her clutches? It would be hard in any circumstances but it is especially hard since the snow lies thick on the ground around Willoughby Chase and the wolves are snapping closer and closer. It’s scary enough, but Bonnie and Sylvia are a determined pair and nothing, not even the wolves are going to stop them from getting back to London and Aunt Jane. Helped on their way by Simon and the flock of geese he is taking to market, Bonnie and Sylvia’s journey is a thrilling adventure – and not for the faint hearted! This edition is part of the Vintage Children's Classics series which is aimed at and shaped by 8-12 year olds, and the adults in their lives. It is a broad, affordable selection of books that will inspire a life-long love of reading; these stories that have secured a place in the hearts of thousands. They are all unabridged. To view all the Vintage Children's Classics titles click here. They are books to be given as gifts, and passed down the generations. In addition, story hungry children often don't want the adventure to end, so why not take a look at the fully interactive website - World of Stories - which contains lots of extra material - the backstory: with quizzes, activities and fascinating facts about the books and their authors.
A wonderful adventure as two children flee from the yranny of their wicked guardian and bravely set out on the road to London. Miss Slighcarp is as chilling as her words sound and she is now in charge of Bonnie and Sylvia. How will they ever escape from her clutches? It would be hard in any circumstances but it is especially hard since the snow lies thick on the ground around Willoughby Chase and the wolves are snapping closer and closer. It’s scary enough, but Bonnie and Sylvia are a determined pair and nothing, not even the wolves are going to stop them from getting back to London and Aunt Jane. Helped on their way by Simon and the flock of geese he is taking to market, Bonnie and Sylvia’s journey is a thrilling adventure – and not for the faint hearted!
A favourite book chosen by Philip Pullman: "If Ransome was Mozart, Aiken was Rossini. Unforced effervescence."
A tale of adventure, attack, deceit, bravery, murder, abduction and high glory set in a small Welsh town. This book was also the winner of the prestigious Guardian fiction award. What Ali Sparkes, author of Dark Summer and also the Shapeshifter series says of the title and its author: JOAN AIKEN - Most people know Joan Aiken for The Wolves of Willoughby Chase but for me her best was The Whispering Mountain, featuring the wonderfully bookish Owen, unloved grandson of a Welsh museum curator, caught up in a dark plot involving an ancient harp, dodgy Cockneys, a girl with a pet hawk and a travelling poet – to say nothing of the school bullies he has to enlist to help save the day. Joan inspired me so much, I know my stories bear her mark! Sadly, this title is currently out of print so we’re unable to get a copy for you. However, you may be able to get one through second hand bookstores. To see Ali Sparkes’ 5 favourite children’s books click here
Arabel and her notorious pet raven Mortimer make a welcome return to Penguin Random House Children's Books When Arabel's father, Ebenezer Jones, drives his taxi home late one night he comes across 'a large black bird, with a hairy fringe around its beak.' He takes it home and, from that moment on, life is never the same again for the Jones family. Arabel's raven is called Mortimer - and he's one in a million. 'Nevermore!' he cries when astonished or upset, 'Down the hatch' he thinks before gobbling bowler hats, stairs, telephones. He dislikes flying except in emergencies, and with disaster-prone Mortimer around there are plenty of those. There are 7 hilarious escapades in this collection, brought to life by Quentin Blake's wonderfully animated illustrations: THE MYSTERY OF MR JONES'S DISAPPEARING TAXI; MORTIMER'S PORTRAIT ON GLASS; MORTIMER'S CROSS; MORTIMER SAYS NOTHING; A CALL FROM THE JONESES; MR JONES'S REST CURE and ARABEL'S BIRTHDAY.
Lucas is lonely. Orphaned and sent to live with his formidable guardian in a vast mansion, he longs for a friend. Then Anna-Marie arrives. She's spoilt and wilful - and practically half his age. Lucas feels more alone than ever. But one night something terrible happens. Lucas and Anna-Marie face a terrifying and treacherous ordeal, alone in the hostile city streets. Together, they must fight to survive ... The 40th anniversary edition of a compelling tale of villainy and suspense - from the best-selling author of THE WOLVES OF WILLOUGHBY CHASE.
Arabel and her notorious raven Mortimer make a welcome return to the Puffin nest! When Arabel's father, Ebenezer Jones, drives his taxi home late one night he comes across 'a large black bird, with a hairy fringe around its beak.' He takes it home and from that moment on, life is never the same again for the Jones family. Arabel's raven is called Mortimer - and he's one in a million. 'Nevermore!' he cries when astonished or upset, 'Down the hatch' he thinks before gobbling bowler hats, stairs, telephones. He dislikes flying except in emergencies, and with disaster-prone Mortimer around there are plenty of those. There are six hilarious stories in this classic collection by the much-loved storyteller Joan Aiken and renowned illustrator Quentin Blake. Including: ARABEL'S RAVEN; THE ESCAPED BLACK MAMBA; THE BREAD BIN; MORTIMER'S TIE; MORTIMER AND THE SWORD EXCALILBUR and THE SPIRAL STAIR.
This is how it all began... From 'A Necklace of Raindrops' to 'The Patchwork Quilt', here are eight classic stories to treasure and enjoy. Beginning and ending with a birthday, this spell-binding collection conjures up a world filled with magic, where wishes can come true. A necklace of raindrops that keeps its owner dry in the heaviest rainstorm; a tiger that runs faster than the wind; a huge floating apple pie with a piece of sky in it; a baker's cat who swells to the size of a whale when his mistress feeds him yeast; a house that stands on one leg - these are just some of the objects and characters that figure in these delightful stories.
A lonely boy haunted by an ancient family curse, The Shadow Guests is a classic supernatural mystery from the master-storyteller, Joan Aiken. After the strange disappearance of his mother and older brother, Cosmo is sent from Australia to live with his cousin in England. Lost and lonely at his new school, Cosmo escapes at weekends to the peace of his cousin's ancient mill house, and the shadowy companions only he can see. When he learns about the family curse, he realises his ghostly visitors from the past have a message for him - but are these new companions friends or enemies? 'What a marvellous writer Joan Aiken is!' - Leon Garfield
'Joan Aiken's invention seemed inexhaustible, her high spirits a blessing, her sheer storytelling zest a phenomenon. She was a literary treasure, and her books will continue to delight for many years to come' PHILLIP PULLMAN 'Favourite stories, like unexpected presents, are things that you can keep and cherish all your life, carry with you, in memory, in your mind's ear, and bring out, at any time, when you are feeling lonely, or need cheering up, or, like friends, just because you are fond of them.' Joan Aiken is justly famous for her Wolves of Willoughby Chase series, but her greatest love was for short stories, which she wrote prolifically throughout her long career From a princess turned into a pirate parrot to a procession of Father Christmases chased down Fifth Avenue by a rackety horse and cart; from the ghost of a crusader's dog, to a captured mermaid in a flying machine, there is something for everybody in this enthralling collection. These stories showcase Aiken's unique talents - the way she mixed magic and myth with humour to create a kind of modern fairytale. Her stories will appeal to readers of all ages for many years to come. WITH BEAUTIFUL ILLUSTRATIONS BY PETER BAILEY
Prize winning WOLVES CHRONICLES PREQUEL reissued in A Puffin Book - All 12 Wolves books now in print for the first time ever. In THE WHISPERING MOUNTAIN by Joan Aiken, the small town of Pennygaff, the legendary Harp of Teirtu is found - and lost again. For young Owen Hughes and his friend Arabis, it is the start of a hair-raising race to save the harp from sinister Lord Malyn. As they struggle to keep it out of his hands, they are plunged into a wild adventure involving murder, kidnapping, underground worlds, savage beasts, floods, avalanche, the mysterious children of the Pit - and above all, a man who will stop at nothing to get the harp back again. Winner of the 1969 Guardian Fiction Award.
Here are eight gloriously imaginative stories for eight satisfying sessions of bedtime reading. Theres a flying apple pie, a cat thats 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 Aikens 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 Hawkess illustrations nearly 60 of them capture with great flair and fun the magical adventures and the triumph of the good over the bad.
'The Under People. They live in a huge Cave. They are thought to be boring upwards. Giant worms and flying ants. Underground magic.' Mickle, the palace cat, knows the kingdom is in danger. He can feel it in his whiskers and he has found a mysterious note in the royal library... (Yes, of course he can read, and speak - if he chooses to!) Mickle can't trust the King and Queen with his mission, so he and Prince Michael, with the help of their animal friends (and quite a bit of magic!), set out on a perilous quest to find the sinister Under People, discover their secret power and save the Kingdom of Astalon. In her first novel, written when she was only a teenager, Joan Aiken showcases the imagination, wit and storytelling zest that would lead to classics like Arabel's Raven and The Wolves of Willoughby Chase.
'I wish we'll have two children called Mark and Harriet. And I hope lots of interesting and unusual things will happen to them. It would be nice if they had a fairy godmother, for instance. And a phoenix or something out of the ordinary for a pet. We could have a special day for interesting and unusual things to happen - say, Mondays. But not always Mondays, and not only Mondays, or that would get a bit dull' As a result of their mother's honeymoon wish, Mark and Harriet Armitage have a fairy godmother, a pet unicorn, and are prepared for anything life can throw at them (especially, but not always, on a Monday): hatching griffins in the airing cupboard, Latin lessons with a ghost, furious Furies on the doorstep, and an enchanted garden locked inside a cereal packet. Life with the Armitages can be magical, funny, terrifying - but never, ever dull.
In a period of English History that never happened, when Good King James III is on the throne, and the whole country is ravaged by wolves which have migrated through the newly-opened Channel Tunnel. When orphans Bonnie and Sylvia fall into the hands of evil Miss Slighcarp, they need all their wits - and the help of Simon the goose-boy - to escape unscathed, for the governess is more cruel and merciless than the wolves that surround the great house of Willoughby Chase. Filled with brilliantly-drawn Dickensian characters, it would make an excellent choice for strong preteen readers who like an old-fashioned story with a strong plot and good characterisation. This book often appears on lists of best-loved children's books.
Dido's sister, Is, travels north to try and find her lost cousin. But instead of the promised Playland, she discovers an underground kingdom where children work as slaves in the worst conditions imaginable - under the rule of the sinister Gold Kingy...
Arun returns to his mother's house on Cold Shoulder Road, only to find it deserted and flood-ravaged. Some say she's run off with a Silent Sect, other whisper that she's a witch, and Mrs Boles mutters fearfully about the Emjee and the Handsel child, but dares say no more. With the help of his indomitable cousin, Is Twite, Arun sets off in search of Admiral Fishkin - their only key to discovering the real truth, whatever it may be...
`It's a rotten old job being King!' says Dido Twite. Her friend King Simon agrees - his scheming courtiers want to marry him off to a pushy princess, and he has to lead his army against a tribe of invading Wends. Their only hope is to find a long-lost heir to take Simon's place on the throne of England, with the help of failed witch Malise and her prophesying parrot. The last book in the series that first introduced Simon as the hero of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase is a helter-skelter of battles, vicious villains and mysterious monsters, packed full of magic and humour. If you don't know the Wolves Chronicles, this gives a wonderful taste of Joan Aiken's fantastic world - and you still have all the rest to discover!
What does a cockatrice enjoy most for dinner? Anyone it can find.So the alarmed inhabitants of England discover when a plague of monsters--known as cockatrices--invade their country and begin gobbling them up. They must be stopped! A plucky band of survivors dubbed the Cockatrice Corps--including youngsters Dakin and Sauna--decide to fight back. But how? A rollicking adventure filled with breathtaking twists and turns, The Cockatrice Boys is Joan Aiken at her comic best.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
There is eerie trouble once again in the Cornish village of St Boan, often known as Thunder's Pocket. Some hundred-year-old water pipes are being replaced and the digging has disturbed the ghosts of the past, namely the twins Matthew and Ben Pernel who were killed in mysterious circumstances and their musician father blamed. The three are now trying to be reunited but less innocent forces are also at work and the present townspeople are involved as the unhappy incidents of a hundred years ago are relived. Aunt Lal calls on her nephew Ned to help. She believes only he can bring the Pernels together again and thus truly bury the past. But even Ned is not immune to the horrors of the disturbed spirits. A thrilling sequel to In Thunder's Pocket by this prestigious author.
Despised by his Spanish relatives and ignored by his distant grandfather, twelve-year-old orphan Felix Brooke is lonely and unhappy. So when he's given a parcel with a blood-stained letter from his dead father, it inspires him to track down his long-lost English family. Felix packs his bag, jumps on his trusty mule and heads for the coast and a new life. But his journey across the mountains and over the sea does not prove to be plain sailing - as Felix soon discovers . . .
Don Francisco wants you home, and in double-quick time, too. We must leave tomorrow at dawn . . . Felix's heart sinks at Pedro's words. What can be wrong? Is his beloved grandfather ill? Dashing and loyal, he speeds towards Villaverde - and a rescue mission. Donna Conchita's children are kidnapped and Felix may be reunited with the feisty Juana, if he agrees to help. Despite warnings of a conspiracy and his own suspicions of a trap, Felix fearlessly plunges into a plot thick with intrigue and danger. His grandfather said it was a matter of life and death - but whose?
Packed-off to boarding school and bullied by his peers, Felix feels sad and trapped. Although he has a home in England, his heart lies in Spain - so he runs away. But Felix's journey is cut short when his ship is caught in a storm off the French coast. Despite being shipwrecked and then held prisoner in a remote monastery, Felix's spirit is far from broken - and he needs all the strength he can muster to battle against the demonic Abbot Vespasian and his evil powers . . .
The first story about Arabel and her pet raven Mortimer. In Arabel's Raven, Mr Jones, while driving his taxi, notives something bedraggled in the road. He stops and discovers an injured raven. He takes it home and his four-year-old daughter Arabel falls in love at first sight. 'His name is Mortimer,' she announces and Mortimer has found a home. A series of thefts and a robber quarrel are only two of the dramas in this delightful tale in which Mortimer and Arabel find their ways straight to the reader's heart.
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?
`Wait, wait! Save us! What'll we do?' Simon is determined to become a painter when he grows up so he sets off to London to make his fortune. But the city is plagued by wolves and mysterious disappearances. The Twite household, where Simon is lodging, seems particularly shifty. Before he even gets a chance to open his glistening new paints Simon stumbles right into the centre of a plot to kill the King. And worse than that Simon is kidnapped and sent to sea! Luckily there are two friendly stowaways aboard - the feisty Dido Twite and the spoiled young Justin. But when the ship catches fire things look pretty dire. Can they escape? Will they save the king in time? BACKSTORY: Test your knowledge of Black Hearts in Battersea and play the name game.
Can you go a little faster? Can you run? Long ago, at a time in history that never happened, England was overrun with wolves. But as Bonnie and her cousin Sylvia discover, real danger often lies closer to home. Their new governess, Miss Slighcarp, doesn't seem at all nice. She shuts Bonnie in a cupboard, fires the faithful servants and sends the cousins far away from Willoughby Chase to a place they will never be found. Can Bonnie and Sylvia outwit the wicked Miss Slighcarp and her network of criminals, forgers and snitches? BACKSTORY: Find out a few things you didn't know about wolves and learn all about the wonderful world of the author.
Dido Twite, heroine of Black Hearts in Battersea and Nightbirds on Nantucket, is on her wildest adventure yet. On her way back to London aboard the Thrush, Dido and crew are summoned to the aid of the tyrannical queen of New Cumbria. Her island is an infernal place where birds carry off men and fish eat human flesh. The queen is greatly distressed because a neighbouring king has stolen her lake. Dido faces fire, flood, wild beasts and, ultimately, threat of execution in order to get the lake back. Is she equal to the challenge? A rich mixture of legend, fantasy, humour and pure snowballing adventure.
Joan Aiken was famous for her spine-tingling ghost stories, and this collection presents five classic Aiken chillers in a new, accessible edition. Ghosts appear both in the strangest and most familiar places, but their effect is often the same, inspiring shock and chills in the characters and readers alike. None of these stories will be easily forgotten!
Dido Twite is aboard the Thrush, trying to return to England after her adventures in America. But orders have been sent to find Lord Herodsfoot, said to be on Aratu, the Pacific 'Island of the Pearl Snakes'. Snakes are the least of Dido's worries as she and her companions struggle through the jungle. On Aratu she is helped by spirit magic but also meets settlers who will stop at nothing to achieve their ends. And what is this strange royal residence called Limbo Lodge?
Shipwrecked Dido Twite, picked up by a whaling ship, finds herself many miles from home and facing deep troubles. Sinister Miss Slighcarp, the governess from Willoughby Chase, makes a reappearance, this time is cahoots with Hanoverian plotters who have a dastardly plan in mind.
Simon paid off the driver and turned to follow Mrs Twite. But she seemed to have locked the door behind her and, as he rattled the latch unavailingly and then rapped the locker, something dark and suffocating was forced down over his head and a pair of hands gripped his throat. Simon, coming to London to study painting with his old friend Dr Field, finds he has vanished without trace. Determined to discover what lies behind his disappearance, Simon is trapped in a fiendish plot. Why has his landlord got guns in his cellar and how does one deal with his irrepressible daughter, Dido . . .?
While her friend Capt Hughes recovers from a carriage accident, Dido is marooned with the odd inhabitants of the Tegleaze estate. Soon suspicious things happen; a priceless possession is stolen, a boy kidnapped, a twin sister found and when Dido catches a glimpse of her rascally father in Petworth, she is sure she is in the midst of another wicked Hanoverian plot. Can she combat mass hypnotism, smugglers, and a gang of murderers to prevent the plot to put St Paul`s Cathedral in the River Thames?
1832 - a period of English History that never happened. Good King James III is on the throne and the country is ravaged by wolves which have migrated through the newly-opened Channel Tunnel. When Sylvia and Bonnie (both orphans) fall into the hands of evil Miss Slighcarp, they must use all their wits to escape unscathed - for the governess is more cruel and merciless than the wolves that surround the great house of Willoughby Chase.
Dido Twite is waylaid by her father, the shady Abednego Twite, acting on instructions from his evil patron. Why is Dido so urgently needed in Wapping? Why are King Richard's friends all accidentally drowning in the Thames? How does hard-drinking Mrs Lily Bloodvessel figure in this intricate plot, with her cellar full of sleeping guttersnipes? Another rollercoasting story by Joan Aiken, in which Dido's scheming Pa finally receives his comeuppance.
After the mysterious disappearance of both his mother and older brother, Cosmo is sent away to live with his eccentric mathematician aunt. Lonely and confused, Cosmo must also deal with being the new kid at school. Not an easy assignment! But things take a weird twist when Cosmo is visited by ghosts from the past. Ghosts who claim to need his help fighting an ancient curse!Only in time will Cosmo learn that he is at the center of that ancient...and deadly...curse.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Winner of the Guardian Prize for FictionIn the small town of Pennygaff, where Owen has been sent to live after his mother's death, a legendary golden harp has been found. Knowing of the prophesy of the Harp of Teirtu, Owen must prevent the magic harp from falling into the evil clutches of its reputed owner, the sinister and diabolical Lord Mayln. But it won't be easy. Owen and his friend Arabis are plunged into a hair-raising adventure of intrigue, kidnapping, exotic underground worlds, savage beasts...even murder.For only too late will Owen learn that Lord Mayln will stop at nothing to have the golden harp.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
The first story about Arabel and her pet raven Mortimer. In Arabel's Raven, Mr Jones, while driving his taxi, notives something bedraggled in the road. He stops and discovers an injured raven. He takes it home and his four-year-old daughter Arabel falls in love at first sight. 'His name is Mortimer,' she announces and Mortimer has found a home. A series of thefts and a robber quarrel are only two of the dramas in this delightful tale in which Mortimer and Arabel find their ways straight to the reader's heart.
When Ned is sent to stay with his aunt and uncle in Thunder's Pocket, he's not very pleased. But from the moment a bird flies into the train carriage on his journey there, Ned realises this isn't going to be an ordinary seaside holiday. Has the eccentric sculptor, Marlot Corby, really put a curse on Ned's aunt? What secrets will he find in Marlot's house and gardens? Life in Thunder's Pocket is going to be anything but dull.
Anything is magically possible in these twelve short stories by gifted storyteller, Joan Aiken. Imagine ordering a sunny day from the local weather witch, asking an appletree to answer the telephone and making a beautiful garden out of old cereal boxes. What would you do if you inherited a real hair loom, or found three ugly old ladies and a dragon on your doorstep and would you need a bicycle if you had a unicorn to ride?
The start of an adventure trilogy set in the early-19th century. Twelve-year-old orphan Felix is despised by his Spanish relatives and ignored by his distant grandfather. When he's given a parcel containing a blood-stained letter from his dead father, he sets off in search of his English family.
Dido faces fire, flood and execution as she unravels New Cumbria's dark secrets. But has she met her match in the shape of the country's tyrannical queen, whose secret of eternal youth seems suspiciously linked to the lack of children in the land.
Lonely Cosmo, hit by family tragedy, finds a strange atmosphere in the home of his aunt and meets some eerie friends. The author also wrote Midnight is a Place, The Whispering Mountain and The Wolves of Willoughby Chase.
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