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Born in Vienna, Eva Ibbotson came to England as a small girl. She spent much of her adult life in Newcastle upon Tyne. When her husband was alive he bred snails in the garage; they also kept fish and had a small and very hairy dog. Eva had four grown-up children and seven grandchildren. She wrote for both adults and children. Which Witch was runner-up for the Carnegie Medal and The Secret of Platform 13 was shortlisted for the Smarties Prize. Journey to the River Sea won the Smarties Book Prize Gold Award, was runner-up for the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year and the Guardian Fiction Award, and was also shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal.
Eva's books for older readers (12+) include: The Morning Gift, A Song for Summer, The Secret Countess, A Company of Swans and Magic Flutes. Her books for younger readers (9+) include: The Dragonfly Pool, Journey to the River Sea and The Star of Kazan.
And for even younger readers (7+): Which Witch, Dial a Ghost, Not just a Witch, Monster Mission, The Beasts of Clawstone Castle, The secret of Platform 13, The Great Ghost rescue and The Haunting of Hiram.
Eva's final novel that she completed prior to her death at the age of 85 in 2010 is called One Dog and his Boy.
Eva Ibbotson on writing:
"I started to scribble stories when I was about seven years old and I just carried on so I became a writer gradually. I didn't try to get anything published until I was quite grown-up. I write at my mother's old desk, looking out on to a leafy street, and I rewrite what I have written again and again until I get the words the way I want them (most of my pages have been through eight drafts or so). It's my belief that one should be in the same place each day, so that if an idea is hovering it knows where to find you. Ideas can come from places one has seen or conversations one has overheard - or just from nowhere! Being an author can be lonely, difficult and frustrating, but there is nothing else I'd rather be."
A special 15th anniversary edition of this award-winning classic adventure from Eva Ibbotson in which orphaned Maia travels from England to the Amazon with her governess.
Reading the three stories in this excellent collection reminds one again of what an extremely fine author Eva Ibbotson was, how beautifully she wrote, and how bold she was in her storytelling. All three stories are set in Vienna, where Ibbotson grew up, as preparations for Christmas take place. Christmas in Vienna sounds wonderful, but these preparations are not without tension and even trauma for the principal characters involved. Fortunately, each Christmas, when it finally arrives, is happy and joyful, if in a totally unexpected way. Vicky, whose story comes first, is described as one ‘in whom the flame of imagination burnt with an almost dangerous brightness’ and the same can surely be said of Eva Ibbotson. Funny, surprising, and serious too, these are very special stories indeed. ~ Andrea Reece
Shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2010. Shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2010. A Richard and Judy Children's Book Club selection 2011 - Fluent Readers Irresistibly ridiculous, this is a wonderful and enchanting romp from a master storyteller. Every year at the Summer Meeting of Unusual Creatures the annual task is set. This year, the task is formidable! Ivo, an un-magical boy, a hag, a troll and a wizard all set about it with the greatest misgivings. The question is, once they have got their courage up, will they succeed? ~ Julia Eccleshare ***Eva's son, Toby Ibbotson, is now continuing the tradition of storytelling with his debut novel Mountwood School for Ghosts which is based on an original idea by Eva Ibbotson.
Eva Ibbotson’s Journey to the River Sea is the book that for many will be the most memorable of all the books they read as a child. Like Journey to the River Sea, A Company of Swans is set in the Amazon jungle, and is another book to touch the heart. Oppressed by her mean-spirited father and aunt, teenager Harriet is finally driven to rebel and runs away with a troupe of Russian ballerinas, all the way to the city of Manaus. There she falls in love with another runaway, the handsome Rom. Of course the path of their love is far from straight, and Harriet’s nasty father is determined she won’t escape. A Cinderella story distinguished by Ibbotson’s humour, intelligence and gift for creating unusual but always believable characters this wonderful book is recommended for romantics of all ages. ~ Andrea Reece
Romance and intrigue make this lyrical historical adventure an unputdownable read! When a British millionaire sets out to buy a secluded fairy tale castle set high up on a rock above a beautiful lake he finds that its heiress is missing. Meanwhile, the heiress herself is enjoying a secret life working backstage at the Viennese opera. Can the two lives be kept separate forever? Evocative descriptions of the contrasts between the two worlds provide a vivid background for a romp of a read. ~ Julia Eccleshare Lovereading4kids comment: It’s wonderful to see a new edition of a wonderfully evocative novel that was first published back in the early 1980s and has now been given a new cover look for a new generation. Set in the 1920s Tessa is a beautiful young girl who takes on a new identity. As a princess she’s empty and bereft and so disappears to Vienna and works backstage in the theatre. Her secret safely hidden until one day her life collides with a handsome man. In escaping her inheritance with this man she finds her destiny.
The story of this marvellous romance begins in Vienna, then moves to London – the gloomy, tense London of 1939 when the reception for refugees like Ruth and her family was meaner than we’d like to think. It’s a journey Ibbotson herself took, but Ruth’s story has all the elements of a fairy tale. To escape the Nazis she marries a family friend, paleontologist Quinton Somerville. When divorce proves harder to get than either of them imagined, fate throws them together and gives them time to fall in love. Ruth and Quint are delightful characters, as are the supporting cast of relations – passionate Viennese and reserved British. In all fairy stories there is always grief, but there’s also reward for being honest, faithful and good. Ruth gets her happy ending, and it will make readers’ hearts sing. ~ Andrea Reece
This is a beguiling story of a young Russian countess who loses everything in her homeland but finds sanctuary in England as a house maid in an aristocratic household. The trappings of her childhood of privilege are a distant memory but then she falls in love (forbidden of course for she is a servant girl) with the young Earl of the family who is already spoken for, Anna must decide whether to risk losing everything or reveal her true identity in the hope of ensnaring the love of her life. As with all Eva's novels, the writing and characterisation is sublime.
Eva Ibbotson is so clever at capturing moments in history and weaving a story around them and her characters too are so real you feel you can reach out and touch them. Here in A Song for Summer is absolutely no exception. A growing friendship leads to romance but at what price. Can good deliver over evil when it involves Hitler’s Reich and can the relationship survive?
Eva Ibbotson is one of those rare authors that really delivers believable and utterly captivating characters. Her setting is a castle that is quite fantastical, with some incredibly funny ghosts. And yet readers are drawn in in such a way as to make them feel completely at home and part of the interplay between good and evil. A rollercoaster of a read. ***Eva's son, Toby Ibbotson, is now continuing the tradition of storytelling with his debut novel Mountwood School for Ghosts which is based on an original idea by Eva Ibbotson.
Eva Ibbotson is the author of numerous award winning novels for children including this, a new cover edition of one of her spookiest and most fantastical adventures in which three kidnapped children must save themselves and their new friends they meet on the bizarre island they are taken to. As with all Eva Ibbotson's novels for children, she draws the reader in through the strength of her storytelling and superb characterisation. ***Eva's son, Toby Ibbotson, is now continuing the tradition of storytelling with his debut novel Mountwood School for Ghosts which is based on an original idea by Eva Ibbotson.
A beautiful new cover edition of this enthralling adventure set in turn-of-the-century Vienna. From the author of the bestselling Journey to the River Sea. ***Eva's son, Toby Ibbotson, is now continuing the tradition of storytelling with his debut novel Mountwood School for Ghosts which is based on an original idea by Eva Ibbotson.
A new cover edition of this award-winning classic adventure from Eva Ibbotson in which orphaned Maia travels from England to the Amazon with her governess. August 2013 Guest Editor, Lauren St John "To me, Eva Ibbotsen is a genius. You can pick up any of her books – The Dragonfly Pool and One Boy and His Dog are also fantastic – and be guaranteed a good read. Journey to the River Sea is about orphaned London schoolgirl, Maia, who, accompanied by her strict but kind governess, is sent to live with her ghastly relatives in South America. Unlike her nature-phobic relatives, Maia loves her exotic, colourful new world. This is a journey of the spirit as well as the globe and the way Maia unfurls like a flower with each new adventure and encounter is one of the many reasons Journey to the River Sea is a classic. A warm, joyous book to be enjoyed by any generation." ***Eva's son, Toby Ibbotson, is now continuing the tradition of storytelling with his debut novel Mountwood School for Ghosts which is based on an original idea by Eva Ibbotson.
A wonderful, magical adventure spins out of a school story with a difference. Tally doesn’t want to leave her father and her aunts and go away to boarding school. But Delderton Hall is a very special school with interesting staff and pupils and loads of scope for imagination and creativity. Tally organises a trip to the Kingdom of Bergania where she befriends the prince and soon finds herself swept up in a thrilling and dangerous adventure. ***Eva's son, Toby Ibbotson, is now continuing the tradition of storytelling with his debut novel Mountwood School for Ghosts which is based on an original idea by Eva Ibbotson.
Award-winning Eva Ibbotson’s charming fantasy about the rescue of an entertaining family group of Yeti and their transportation from the Himalayan Mountains to England in a frozen food lorry is touching, tender and very funny. It also carries a strong message about the need for humans to leave nature alone and especially to protect the survival of all kinds of endangered species – real and imaginary! This early novel, never submitted for publication, contains all the trademark qualities that made Eva's subsequent books so successful; comedy, loveable and eccentric characters, perfectly-crafted plotting, and inspiring themes of tolerance, kindness to animals, and the defeat of cruelty. ***Eva's son, Toby Ibbotson, is now continuing the tradition of storytelling with his debut novel Mountwood School for Ghosts which is based on an original idea by Eva Ibbotson.
Shortlisted for the 2012 Guardian children's fiction prize and One of Julia Eccleshare’s Stand-out Children’s Book of the Year 2012. July 2012 Book of the Month. Award-winning Eva Ibbotson’s charming fantasy about the rescue of an entertaining family group of Yeti and their transportation from the Himalayan Mountains to England in a frozen food lorry is touching, tender and very funny. It also carries a strong message about the need for humans to leave nature alone and especially to protect the survival of all kinds of endangered species – real and imaginary! The manuscript of The Abominables was discovered among Eva Ibbotson's papers by her son after her death aged 85 in 2010. It's an early novel written well over 10 years ago that was never submitted for publication. However, it contains all the trademark qualities that made Eva's subsequent books including Journey to the River Sea and One Dog and his Boy so successful; comedy, loveable and eccentric characters, perfectly-crafted plotting, and inspiring themes of tolerance, kindness to animals, and the defeat of cruelty. Sharon Rentta, who drew the superb dog characters for One Dog and his Boy has illustrated it. It's a wonderful story and a classic in the making. Other titles from Julia Eccleshare's Stand-out Books for 2012 include... This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen Goldilocks by Allan Ahlberg Bullet Boys by Ally Kennen Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater A Hen in the Wardrobe by Wendy Meddour
Shortlisted for the Galaxy Children's Book of the Year Award 2011. | Award winning Eva Ibbotson’s poignant and beautiful last book celebrates a boy’s passion for a dog. All Hal has ever wanted is a dog but his parents refuse to contemplate the idea. A dog would mess up their beautiful house and disturb their busy routine. When they discover East Pets, they hire Hal a dog for a weekend thinking that will do the trick. But they don’t know Hal! Hal takes matters into his own hands. Soon Hal and all the dogs he has released from Easy Pets are out on the road – with a price on their head. How Hal makes his escape is both thrilling and moving as it marks his growth from sadness to great happiness. ***Eva's son, Toby Ibbotson, is now continuing the tradition of storytelling with his debut novel Mountwood School for Ghosts which is based on an original idea by Eva Ibbotson.
August 2013 Guest Editor, Lauren St John "To me, Eva Ibbotsen is a genius. You can pick up any of her books – The Dragonfly Pool and One Boy and His Dog are also fantastic – and be guaranteed a good read. Journey to the River Sea is about orphaned London schoolgirl, Maia, who, accompanied by her strict but kind governess, is sent to live with her ghastly relatives in South America. Unlike her nature-phobic relatives, Maia loves her exotic, colourful new world. This is a journey of the spirit as well as the globe and the way Maia unfurls like a flower with each new adventure and encounter is one of the many reasons Journey to the River Sea is a classic. A warm, joyous book to be enjoyed by any generation." JOURNEY TO THE RIVER SEA won the Smarties Book Prize Gold Award, was runner-up for the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year and the Guardian Fiction Award, and was also shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal.
A Lovereading4kids 'Great Read' you may have missed 2011 selection. Shortlisted for the Galaxy Children's Book of the Year Award 2011 Award winning Eva Ibbotson’s poignant and beautiful last book celebrates a boy’s passion for a dog. All Hal has ever wanted is a dog but his parents refuse to contemplate the idea. A dog would mess up their beautiful house and disturb their busy routine. When they discover East Pets, they hire Hal a dog for a weekend thinking that will do the trick. But they don’t know Hal! Hal takes matters into his own hands. Soon Hal and all the dogs he has released from Easy Pets are out on the road – with a price on their head. How Hal makes his escape is both thrilling and moving as it marks his growth from sadness to great happiness.
Shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2010. Shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2010. A Richard and Judy Children's Book Club selection 2011 - Fluent Readers Irresistibly ridiculous, this is a wonderful and enchanting romp from a master storyteller. Every year at the Summer Meeting of Unusual Creatures the annual task is set. This year, the task is formidable! Ivo, an un-magical boy, a hag, a troll and a wizard all set about it with the greatest misgivings. The question is, once they have got their courage up, will they succeed? ***Eva's son, Toby Ibbotson, is now continuing the tradition of storytelling with his debut novel Mountwood School for Ghosts which is based on an original idea by Eva Ibbotson.
Shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2010. Shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2010. Irresistibly ridiculous, this is a wonderful and enchanting romp from a master storyteller. Every year at the Summer Meeting of Unusual Creatures the annual task is set. This year, the task is formidable! Ivo, an un-magical boy, a hag, a troll and a wizard all set about it with the greatest misgivings. The question is, once they have got their courage up, will they succeed?
Romance and intrigue make this lyrical historical adventure an unputdownable read! When a British millionaire sets out to buy a secluded fairy tale castle set high up on a rock above a beautiful lake he finds that its heiress is missing. Meanwhile, the heiress herself is enjoying a secret life working backstage at the Viennese opera. Can the two lives be kept separate forever? Evocative descriptions of the contrasts between the two worlds provide a vivid background for a romp of a read. Click here to view other novels by the wonderfully talented Eva Ibbotson. Lovereading4kids comment: It’s wonderful to see a new edition of a wonderfully evocative novel that was first published back in the early 1980s and has now been given a new cover look for a new generation. Set in the 1920s Tessa is a beautiful young girl who takes on a new identity. As a princess she’s empty and bereft and so disappears to Vienna and works backstage in the theatre. Her secret safely hidden until one day her life collides with a handsome man. In escaping her inheritance with this man she finds her destiny.
A wonderful, magical adventure spins out of a school story with a difference. Tally doesn’t want to leave her father and her aunts and go away to boarding school. But Delderton Hall is a very special school with interesting staff and pupils and loads of scope for imagination and creativity. Tally organises a trip to the Kingdom of Bergania where she befriends the prince and soon finds herself swept up in a thrilling and dangerous adventure. The Lovereading comment: Be prepared to be swept away on a truly great war-time adventure by one of the greatest children’s authors of our time. Meet Tally, who is sent away because of the war to the depths of Devon to an anything but ordinary boarding school. In fact, it’s such an extraordinary place that anything can happen and it does. In fact way more than she bargained for – survival and friendship are tested to the absolute limit and beyond. This is a modern classic in the making with all the hallmarks of prize winner written all over it.
A wonderful, magical adventure spins out of a school story with a difference. Tally doesn’t want to leave her father and her aunts and go away to boarding school. But Delderton Hall is a very special school with interesting staff and pupils and loads of scope for imagination and creativity. Tally organises a trip to the Kingdom of Bergania where she befriends the prince and soon finds herself swept up in a thrilling and dangerous adventure. The Lovereading comment: Be prepared to be swept away on a truly great war-time adventure by one of the greatest children’s authors of our time. Meet Tally, who is sent away because of the war to the depths of Devon to an anything but ordinary boarding school. In fact, it’s such an extraordinary place that anything can happen and it does. In fact way more than she bargained for – survival and friendship are tested to the absolute limit and beyond. This is a modern classic in the making with all the hallmarks of prize winner written all over it.
Eva Ibbotson is so clever at capturing moments in history and weaving a story around them and her characters too are so real you feel you can reach out and touch them. Here in A Song for Summer is absolutely no exception. A growing friendship leads to romance but at what price. Can good deliver over evil when it involves Hitler’s Reich and can the relationship survive?
Eva Ibbotson is one of those rare authors that really delivers believable and utterly captivating characters. Her setting is a castle that is quite fantastical, with some incredibly funny ghosts. And yet readers are drawn in in such a way as to make them feel completely at home and part of the interplay between good and evil. A rollercoaster of a read.
Chosen by Anne Fine. A charming and magical adventure story that is full of wisdom, warmth and understanding. Orphaned Maia is sent off to stay with her relatives far, far away in the heart of the Amazon jungle. She’s excited by the prospect of living such an inspiring place but soon finds that life with her twin cousins Gwendolyn and Beatrice is torture. How Maia escapes and thrives with the help of her redoubtable governess is a glorious drama against a magical background. JOURNEY TO THE RIVER SEA won the Smarties Book Prize Gold Award, was runner-up for the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year and the Guardian Fiction Award, and was also shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. Perfect for Reluctant Readers as well as keen readers. To view other titles we think are suitable for reluctant readers please click here.
A favourite of November 2010 Guest Editor Jonathan Stroud: "Arriman the Awful, master of black magic and great Wizard of the North, needs an heir. And that means he has to get married. Trouble is, wicked wizards have to marry witches – most of whom are better known for their warts and snaggleteeth than their ravishing beauty. Reluctantly, Arriman organises a competition to find the most powerful witch… and all kinds of treachery, double-dealing and disasters unfold. I’ve always adored Eva Ibbotson’s books, mainly because they are hugely funny, but also because she is superb at creating likeable and unexpected characters, such as the amiable Cyclops servant who wears an eye-patch on his forehead above his single eye, just so he doesn’t startle anyone. The book is also surprisingly dark: underneath the humour there’s lots of satisfyingly nasty and ghoulish goings on. Perfect for anybody who likes fantasy, comedy, horror or mystery… in short – perfect for everyone!"
A special 15th anniversary edition of this award-winning classic adventure from Eva Ibbotson in which orphaned Maia travels from England to the Amazon with her governess.
Reading the three stories in this excellent collection reminds one again of what an extremely fine author Eva Ibbotson was, how beautifully she wrote, and how bold she was in her storytelling. All three stories are set in Vienna, where Ibbotson grew up, as preparations for Christmas take place. Christmas in Vienna sounds wonderful, but these preparations are not without tension and even trauma for the principal characters involved. Fortunately, each Christmas, when it finally arrives, is happy and joyful, if in a totally unexpected way. Vicky, whose story comes first, is described as one ‘in whom the flame of imagination burnt with an almost dangerous brightness’ and the same can surely be said of Eva Ibbotson. Funny, surprising, and serious too, these are very special stories indeed. ~ Andrea Reece
With a beautiful cover illustration by Alex T. Smith, creator of the Claude series, Not Just A Witch is a wonderfully spooky young fiction title from the award-winning author of Journey to the River Sea, Eva Ibbotson. 'I want you to change the next wicked person you see into a tiger,' demanded Lionel. 'A very large tiger.' Heckie is not just a witch - she's an animal witch, who wants to make the world a better place by transforming evil people into harmless animals, using her incredible Toe of Transformation and her awesome Knuckle of Power. But when slimy Lionel Knapsack charms Heckie, her magic begins to take a darker direction. Her friends, including a cheese wizard and a boy called Daniel, must come to the rescue . . .
With beautiful cover illustration by Alex T. Smith, creator of the Claude series, Dial a Ghost is a wonderfully spooky young fiction title from the award-winning author of Journey to the River Sea, Eva Ibbotson. 'Get me some ghosts,' said Fulton Snodde-Brittle. 'Frightful and dangerous ghosts!' Fulton has gone to the Dial a Ghost agency with an evil plan. He wants to hire some truly terrifying ghosts to scare his nephew Oliver to death. The Shriekers are the most violent and sickening spectres the agency has, but a mix-up means the kind Wilkinson ghosts are sent in their place. Now Oliver has some spooky allies to help him outwit the wicked Snodde-Brittles . . .
With a beautiful cover illustration by Alex T. Smith, creator of the Claude series, The Haunting of Hiram is a wonderfully spooky young fiction title from the award-winning author of Journey to the River Sea, Eva Ibbotson. 'I will buy your castle,' declared Hiram C. Hopgood. 'But only if there are no ghosts!' Alex MacBuff can't afford to keep his beloved Castle Carra, and an American millionaire has made him an offer he can't refuse. The castle is shipped all the way to Texas, but its ghostly inhabitants, including Krok the Viking warrior and a hell-hound called Cyril, follow their home across the Atlantic. How can Alex stop them haunting Hiram and also save the millionaire's daughter from an evil ransom plot?
Shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2010. Shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2010. A Richard and Judy Children's Book Club selection 2011 - Fluent Readers Irresistibly ridiculous, this is a wonderful and enchanting romp from a master storyteller. Every year at the Summer Meeting of Unusual Creatures the annual task is set. This year, the task is formidable! Ivo, an un-magical boy, a hag, a troll and a wizard all set about it with the greatest misgivings. The question is, once they have got their courage up, will they succeed? ~ Julia Eccleshare ***Eva's son, Toby Ibbotson, is now continuing the tradition of storytelling with his debut novel Mountwood School for Ghosts which is based on an original idea by Eva Ibbotson.
With a beautiful cover illustration by Alex T. Smith, creator of the Claude series, The Great Ghost Rescue is a wonderfully spooky young fiction title from the award-winning author of Journey to the River Sea, Eva Ibbotson. 'Nobody knew what had gone wrong with Humphrey. Perhaps it was his ectoplasm . . .' Humphrey the Horrible sounds scary, but he's actually a very friendly skeleton, with twinkling eye sockets and jangling finger bones. Humphrey dreams of being ghastly, like his brother - a screaming skull - or terrifying, like his bloodsucking vampire-bat cousins. But when Humphrey discovers an evil plot to exorcise his family, he finally realizes you don't have to be spine-chillingly fearsome to be a hero.
Two enchanting stories from one of the world's best-loved children's writers. High on a Himalayan mountain, a young explorer is snatched from her tent by a gigantic, hairy monster. But she soon discovers that the yeti is a brave and noble beast - and he needs her help. Dog-crazy Hal longs for a dog and finally his parents let him choose one. But they don't tell him that Fleck is only on loan for the weekend. Can Hal and Fleck find a way to be together?
What is young Alex MacBuff to do? 'I will buy your castle,' declared Hiram C. Hopgood. 'But only if there are no ghosts!' Alex MacBuff can't afford to keep his beloved Castle Carra - and an American millionaire has made him an offer he can't refuse. But the castle is full of ghosts! There's Krok the hairy Viking warrior, mad Miss Spinks, a hell-hound called Cyril, and a vampire with no teeth. How can Alex stop them haunting Hiram?
Romance and intrigue make this lyrical historical adventure an unputdownable read! When a British millionaire sets out to buy a secluded fairy tale castle set high up on a rock above a beautiful lake he finds that its heiress is missing. Meanwhile, the heiress herself is enjoying a secret life working backstage at the Viennese opera. Can the two lives be kept separate forever? Evocative descriptions of the contrasts between the two worlds provide a vivid background for a romp of a read. ~ Julia Eccleshare Lovereading4kids comment: It’s wonderful to see a new edition of a wonderfully evocative novel that was first published back in the early 1980s and has now been given a new cover look for a new generation. Set in the 1920s Tessa is a beautiful young girl who takes on a new identity. As a princess she’s empty and bereft and so disappears to Vienna and works backstage in the theatre. Her secret safely hidden until one day her life collides with a handsome man. In escaping her inheritance with this man she finds her destiny.
This is a beguiling story of a young Russian countess who loses everything in her homeland but finds sanctuary in England as a house maid in an aristocratic household. The trappings of her childhood of privilege are a distant memory but then she falls in love (forbidden of course for she is a servant girl) with the young Earl of the family who is already spoken for, Anna must decide whether to risk losing everything or reveal her true identity in the hope of ensnaring the love of her life. As with all Eva's novels, the writing and characterisation is sublime.
Eva Ibbotson’s Journey to the River Sea is the book that for many will be the most memorable of all the books they read as a child. Like Journey to the River Sea, A Company of Swans is set in the Amazon jungle, and is another book to touch the heart. Oppressed by her mean-spirited father and aunt, teenager Harriet is finally driven to rebel and runs away with a troupe of Russian ballerinas, all the way to the city of Manaus. There she falls in love with another runaway, the handsome Rom. Of course the path of their love is far from straight, and Harriet’s nasty father is determined she won’t escape. A Cinderella story distinguished by Ibbotson’s humour, intelligence and gift for creating unusual but always believable characters this wonderful book is recommended for romantics of all ages. ~ Andrea Reece
Eva Ibbotson is so clever at capturing moments in history and weaving a story around them and her characters too are so real you feel you can reach out and touch them. Here in A Song for Summer is absolutely no exception. A growing friendship leads to romance but at what price. Can good deliver over evil when it involves Hitler’s Reich and can the relationship survive?
The story of this marvellous romance begins in Vienna, then moves to London – the gloomy, tense London of 1939 when the reception for refugees like Ruth and her family was meaner than we’d like to think. It’s a journey Ibbotson herself took, but Ruth’s story has all the elements of a fairy tale. To escape the Nazis she marries a family friend, paleontologist Quinton Somerville. When divorce proves harder to get than either of them imagined, fate throws them together and gives them time to fall in love. Ruth and Quint are delightful characters, as are the supporting cast of relations – passionate Viennese and reserved British. In all fairy stories there is always grief, but there’s also reward for being honest, faithful and good. Ruth gets her happy ending, and it will make readers’ hearts sing. ~ Andrea Reece
Arriman has decided to marry. His wife must be a witch of the darkest powers - To find the most fiendish, he holds a spell-casting competition. Glamorous Olympia performs the Symphony of Death and conjures up a thousand plague-bearing rats. The magic of gentle Belladonna, the white witch, goes hopelessly wrong. She produces perfumed flowers instead of snakes. Bats roost in her hair instead of becoming blood-sucking vampires. Belladonna longs to be an evil enchantress - but how?
Three children have been kidnapped by some mad aunts and panic is spreading. But Myrtle, Coral and Etta are far from killers - they need the children to help them in a caring mission. The secret island where they live is a sanctuary for wonderful creatures - mermaids, selkies, the boobrie bird, and even the Kraken. The kidnapped children love their magical life - but the Island of Monsters has become the target of some dangerous villians -
Eva Ibbotson is the author of numerous award winning novels for children including this, a new cover edition of one of her spookiest and most fantastical adventures in which three kidnapped children must save themselves and their new friends they meet on the bizarre island they are taken to. As with all Eva Ibbotson's novels for children, she draws the reader in through the strength of her storytelling and superb characterisation. ***Eva's son, Toby Ibbotson, is now continuing the tradition of storytelling with his debut novel Mountwood School for Ghosts which is based on an original idea by Eva Ibbotson.
Under Platform 13 at King's Cross Station there is a secret door that leads to a magical island . . . It appears only once every nine years. And when it opens, four mysterious figures step into the streets of London. A wizard, an ogre, a fey and a young hag have come to find the prince of their kingdom, stolen as a baby nine years before. But the prince has become a horrible rich boy called Raymond Trottle, who doesn't understand magic and is determined not to be rescued. Shortlisted for the Smarties Prize, The Secret of Platform 13 is an exciting magical adventure from Eva Ibbotson, the award-winning author of Journey to the River Sea. 'This kind of fun will never fail to delight' Philip Pullman
A favourite of November 2010 Guest Editor Jonathan Stroud: "Arriman the Awful, master of black magic and great Wizard of the North, needs an heir. And that means he has to get married. Trouble is, wicked wizards have to marry witches – most of whom are better known for their warts and snaggleteeth than their ravishing beauty. Reluctantly, Arriman organises a competition to find the most powerful witch… and all kinds of treachery, double-dealing and disasters unfold. I’ve always adored Eva Ibbotson’s books, mainly because they are hugely funny, but also because she is superb at creating likeable and unexpected characters, such as the amiable Cyclops servant who wears an eye-patch on his forehead above his single eye, just so he doesn’t startle anyone. The book is also surprisingly dark: underneath the humour there’s lots of satisfyingly nasty and ghoulish goings on. Perfect for anybody who likes fantasy, comedy, horror or mystery… in short – perfect for everyone!"
Eva Ibbotson is one of those rare authors that really delivers believable and utterly captivating characters. Her setting is a castle that is quite fantastical, with some incredibly funny ghosts. And yet readers are drawn in in such a way as to make them feel completely at home and part of the interplay between good and evil. A rollercoaster of a read. ***Eva's son, Toby Ibbotson, is now continuing the tradition of storytelling with his debut novel Mountwood School for Ghosts which is based on an original idea by Eva Ibbotson.
A wonderful, magical adventure spins out of a school story with a difference. Tally doesn’t want to leave her father and her aunts and go away to boarding school. But Delderton Hall is a very special school with interesting staff and pupils and loads of scope for imagination and creativity. Tally organises a trip to the Kingdom of Bergania where she befriends the prince and soon finds herself swept up in a thrilling and dangerous adventure. The Lovereading comment: Be prepared to be swept away on a truly great war-time adventure by one of the greatest children’s authors of our time. Meet Tally, who is sent away because of the war to the depths of Devon to an anything but ordinary boarding school. In fact, it’s such an extraordinary place that anything can happen and it does. In fact way more than she bargained for – survival and friendship are tested to the absolute limit and beyond. This is a modern classic in the making with all the hallmarks of prize winner written all over it.
A beautiful new cover edition of this enthralling adventure set in turn-of-the-century Vienna. From the author of the bestselling Journey to the River Sea. ***Eva's son, Toby Ibbotson, is now continuing the tradition of storytelling with his debut novel Mountwood School for Ghosts which is based on an original idea by Eva Ibbotson.
August 2013 Guest Editor, Lauren St John "To me, Eva Ibbotsen is a genius. You can pick up any of her books – The Dragonfly Pool and One Boy and His Dog are also fantastic – and be guaranteed a good read. Journey to the River Sea is about orphaned London schoolgirl, Maia, who, accompanied by her strict but kind governess, is sent to live with her ghastly relatives in South America. Unlike her nature-phobic relatives, Maia loves her exotic, colourful new world. This is a journey of the spirit as well as the globe and the way Maia unfurls like a flower with each new adventure and encounter is one of the many reasons Journey to the River Sea is a classic. A warm, joyous book to be enjoyed by any generation." JOURNEY TO THE RIVER SEA won the Smarties Book Prize Gold Award, was runner-up for the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year and the Guardian Fiction Award, and was also shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal.
Award-winning Eva Ibbotson’s charming fantasy about the rescue of an entertaining family group of Yeti and their transportation from the Himalayan Mountains to England in a frozen food lorry is touching, tender and very funny. It also carries a strong message about the need for humans to leave nature alone and especially to protect the survival of all kinds of endangered species – real and imaginary! This early novel, never submitted for publication, contains all the trademark qualities that made Eva's subsequent books so successful; comedy, loveable and eccentric characters, perfectly-crafted plotting, and inspiring themes of tolerance, kindness to animals, and the defeat of cruelty. ***Eva's son, Toby Ibbotson, is now continuing the tradition of storytelling with his debut novel Mountwood School for Ghosts which is based on an original idea by Eva Ibbotson.
Shortlisted for the 2012 Guardian children's fiction prize and One of Julia Eccleshare’s Stand-out Children’s Book of the Year 2012. July 2012 Book of the Month. Award-winning Eva Ibbotson’s charming fantasy about the rescue of an entertaining family group of Yeti and their transportation from the Himalayan Mountains to England in a frozen food lorry is touching, tender and very funny. It also carries a strong message about the need for humans to leave nature alone and especially to protect the survival of all kinds of endangered species – real and imaginary! The manuscript of The Abominables was discovered among Eva Ibbotson's papers by her son after her death aged 85 in 2010. It's an early novel written well over 10 years ago that was never submitted for publication. However, it contains all the trademark qualities that made Eva's subsequent books including Journey to the River Sea and One Dog and his Boy so successful; comedy, loveable and eccentric characters, perfectly-crafted plotting, and inspiring themes of tolerance, kindness to animals, and the defeat of cruelty. Sharon Rentta, who drew the superb dog characters for One Dog and his Boy has illustrated it. It's a wonderful story and a classic in the making. Other titles from Julia Eccleshare's Stand-out Books for 2012 include... This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen Goldilocks by Allan Ahlberg Bullet Boys by Ally Kennen Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater A Hen in the Wardrobe by Wendy Meddour
Are you brave enough to find out what happens when a spoilt girl is spiteful to a giant hungry worm? Can you bear to watch a (very silly) boy poke an angry sleeping sea-monster? Do you dare to discover why should you never, ever steal milk from a Frid?* Beware: Naughty children always get their just deserts . . . Eva Ibbotson's Let Sleeping Sea-Monsters Lie contains five delightfully funny cautionary tales, with a foreword by Julia Donaldson, author of The Gruffalo. *A dog-munching rock. Doesn't everyone know that?
Shortlisted for the Galaxy Children's Book of the Year Award 2011. | Award winning Eva Ibbotson’s poignant and beautiful last book celebrates a boy’s passion for a dog. All Hal has ever wanted is a dog but his parents refuse to contemplate the idea. A dog would mess up their beautiful house and disturb their busy routine. When they discover East Pets, they hire Hal a dog for a weekend thinking that will do the trick. But they don’t know Hal! Hal takes matters into his own hands. Soon Hal and all the dogs he has released from Easy Pets are out on the road – with a price on their head. How Hal makes his escape is both thrilling and moving as it marks his growth from sadness to great happiness. ***Eva's son, Toby Ibbotson, is now continuing the tradition of storytelling with his debut novel Mountwood School for Ghosts which is based on an original idea by Eva Ibbotson.
It is 1910 and Maia, tragically orphaned at 13, has been sent from England to start a new life with distant relatives in Manaus, hundreds of miles up the Amazon. She is accompanied by an eccentric and mysterious governess who has secret reasons of her own for making the journey. Both soon discover an exotic world bursting with new experiences in this highly colourful, joyous and award-winning adventure.
A Lovereading4kids 'Great Read' you may have missed 2011 selection. Shortlisted for the Galaxy Children's Book of the Year Award 2011 Award winning Eva Ibbotson’s poignant and beautiful last book celebrates a boy’s passion for a dog. All Hal has ever wanted is a dog but his parents refuse to contemplate the idea. A dog would mess up their beautiful house and disturb their busy routine. When they discover East Pets, they hire Hal a dog for a weekend thinking that will do the trick. But they don’t know Hal! Hal takes matters into his own hands. Soon Hal and all the dogs he has released from Easy Pets are out on the road – with a price on their head. How Hal makes his escape is both thrilling and moving as it marks his growth from sadness to great happiness.
Shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2010. Shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2010. A Richard and Judy Children's Book Club selection 2011 - Fluent Readers Irresistibly ridiculous, this is a wonderful and enchanting romp from a master storyteller. Every year at the Summer Meeting of Unusual Creatures the annual task is set. This year, the task is formidable! Ivo, an un-magical boy, a hag, a troll and a wizard all set about it with the greatest misgivings. The question is, once they have got their courage up, will they succeed? ***Eva's son, Toby Ibbotson, is now continuing the tradition of storytelling with his debut novel Mountwood School for Ghosts which is based on an original idea by Eva Ibbotson.
Shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2010. Shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2010. Irresistibly ridiculous, this is a wonderful and enchanting romp from a master storyteller. Every year at the Summer Meeting of Unusual Creatures the annual task is set. This year, the task is formidable! Ivo, an un-magical boy, a hag, a troll and a wizard all set about it with the greatest misgivings. The question is, once they have got their courage up, will they succeed?
Tally Hamilton is furious to hear she is being sent from London to a horrid, stuffy boarding school in the countryside. And all because of the stupid war. But Delderton Hall is a far more interesting place than Tally ever imagined, and an exciting school trip to the beautiful and luscious kingdom of Bergania whisks Tally into an unexpected adventure . . . will she be able to save her new friend, Prince Tamil, before it's too late?
Anna, a young countess, has lived in the glittering city of St Petersburg all her life in an ice-blue palace overlooking the River Neva. But when revolution tears Russia apart, her now-penniless family is forced to flee to England. Armed with an out-of-date book on housekeeping, Anna determines to become a housemaid and she finds work at the Earl of Westerholme's crumbling but magnificent mansion. The staff and the family are sure there is something not quite right about their new maid - but she soon wins them over with her warmth and dedication. Then the young Earl returns home from the war - and Anna falls hopelessly in love. But they can never be together: Rupert is engaged to the snobbish and awful Muriel - and anyway, Anna is only a servant. Or so everybody thinks . . .
Weekly ballet classes are Harriet Morton's only escape from her intolerably dull life. So when she is chosen to join a corps de ballet which is setting off on a tour of the Amazon, she leaps at the chance to run away for good. Performing in the grand opera houses is everything Harriet dreamed of, and falling in love with an aristocratic exile makes her new life complete. Swept away by it all, she is unaware that her father and intended fiance have begun to track her down. . .
A wonderful, magical adventure spins out of a school story with a difference. Tally doesn’t want to leave her father and her aunts and go away to boarding school. But Delderton Hall is a very special school with interesting staff and pupils and loads of scope for imagination and creativity. Tally organises a trip to the Kingdom of Bergania where she befriends the prince and soon finds herself swept up in a thrilling and dangerous adventure. The Lovereading comment: Be prepared to be swept away on a truly great war-time adventure by one of the greatest children’s authors of our time. Meet Tally, who is sent away because of the war to the depths of Devon to an anything but ordinary boarding school. In fact, it’s such an extraordinary place that anything can happen and it does. In fact way more than she bargained for – survival and friendship are tested to the absolute limit and beyond. This is a modern classic in the making with all the hallmarks of prize winner written all over it.
Under Platform13 at Kings Cross Station there is a secret door that leads to a magical island..... It appears only once every nine years. And when it opens, four mysterious figures step into the streets of London. A wizard, an ogre, a fey and a young hag have come to find the prince of their kingdom, stolen as a baby nine years before. But the prince has become a horrible rich boy called Raymond Trottle who doesn't understand magic and is determined not to be rescued. 'This kind of fun will never fail to delight.' Philip Pullman
Ruth lives in the beautiful city of Vienna and is wildly in love with Heini Radik, a brilliant young pianist. But her world is about to change forever. When Hitler's forces invade Ruth's family flees to London, but she is unable to get a passport. Quin, a young professor and friend of the family, visits Ruth and in an effort to bring her back to London, he offers a marriage of convenience. As Ruth throws herself into her London life, Quin begins to fall desperately in love with her. Things are further complicated by the arrival of Heini . . .
Anna, a young countess, has lived in the glittering city of St Petersburg all her life in an ice-blue palace overlooking the River Neva. But when revolution tears Russia apart, her now-penniless family is forced to flee to England. Armed with an out-of-date book on housekeeping, Anna determines to become a housemaid and she finds work at the Earl of Westerholme's crumbling but magnificent mansion. The staff and the family are sure there is something not quite right about their new maid - but she soon wins them over with her warmth and dedication. Then the young Earl returns home from the war - and Anna falls hopelessly in love. But they can never be together: Rupert is engaged to the snobbish and awful Muriel - and anyway, Anna is only a servant. Or so everybody thinks . . .
Eva Ibbotson is so clever at capturing moments in history and weaving a story around them and her characters too are so real you feel you can reach out and touch them. Here in A Song for Summer is absolutely no exception. A growing friendship leads to romance but at what price. Can good deliver over evil when it involves Hitler’s Reich and can the relationship survive?
Eva Ibbotson is one of those rare authors that really delivers believable and utterly captivating characters. Her setting is a castle that is quite fantastical, with some incredibly funny ghosts. And yet readers are drawn in in such a way as to make them feel completely at home and part of the interplay between good and evil. A rollercoaster of a read.
In 1896, in a pilgrim church in the Alps, an abandoned baby girl is found by a cook and a housemaid. They take her home, and Annika grows up in the servants' quarters of a house belonging to three eccentric Viennese professors. She is happy there but dreams of the day when her real mother will come to find her. And sure enough, one day a glamorous stranger arrives at the door. After years of guilt and searching, Annika's mother has come to claim her daughter, who is in fact a Prussian aristocrat and whose true home is a great castle. But at crumbling, spooky Spittal Annika discovers that all is not as it seems in the lives of her new-found family . . . Eva Ibbotson's hugely entertaining story is a timeless classic for readers young and old.
Annika never has a birthday - no one knows the date she was born. She celebrates her Found Day instead. For Annika was abandoned as a baby and found by a cook and a housemaid from Vienna. Her upbringing in the servants' quarters of the house of three eccentric professors means that at an early age she can bake and ice a three-tier cake, and polish parquet floors to perfection. One summer's evening a very old lady comes to stay with Annika's awful neighbours. The stories of her extraordinary life as a famous dancer are spellbinding. Especially the tale of the besotted Russian count who gave her the legendary emerald, the Star of Kazan. Then suddenly a glamorous stranger arrives at Annika's door. Her mother, after years of guilt and searching, has come to claim her. Annika is no servant but a Prussian aristocrat whose true home is a great castle. But at crumbling, spooky Spittal she discovers that all is not as it seems in the lives of her new-found family . . . Eva Ibbotson's hugely entertaining story is a timeless classic for listeners young and old . . .
It is 1910 - Maia, orphaned at 13, travels from England to start a new life with distant relatives in Manaus, hundreds of miles up the Amazon. She is very unhappy with her exceptionally bizarre new family but befriends Finn, a mysterious English boy who lives with the local Indians and shares her passion for the jungle. Then Finn's past life catches up with him and they are forced to flee far upriver in a canoe, pursued by an assortment of brilliantly eccentric characters that only Eva Ibbotson could invent.
Chosen by Anne Fine. A charming and magical adventure story that is full of wisdom, warmth and understanding. Orphaned Maia is sent off to stay with her relatives far, far away in the heart of the Amazon jungle. She’s excited by the prospect of living such an inspiring place but soon finds that life with her twin cousins Gwendolyn and Beatrice is torture. How Maia escapes and thrives with the help of her redoubtable governess is a glorious drama against a magical background. JOURNEY TO THE RIVER SEA won the Smarties Book Prize Gold Award, was runner-up for the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year and the Guardian Fiction Award, and was also shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. Perfect for Reluctant Readers as well as keen readers. To view other titles we think are suitable for reluctant readers please click here.
'I will buy your castle,' declared Hiram C. Hopgood. 'But only if there are no ghosts!' Alex MacBuff can't afford to keep his beloved Castle Carra, and an American millionaire has made him an offer he can't refuse. The castle is shipped all the way to Texas, but its ghostly inhabitants, including Krok the Viking warrior and a hell-hound called Cyril, follow their home across the Atlantic. How can Alex stop them haunting Hiram and also save the millionaire's daughter from an evil ransom plot? The Haunting of Hiram is a wonderfully spooky young-fiction title from the award-winning author of Journey to the River Sea, Eva Ibbotson. 'Funny, gripping, charming and completely irresistible' Amanda Craig 'Eva Ibbotson weaves a magic like no other' Michael Morpurgo
'Get me some ghosts,' said Fulton Snodde-Brittle. 'Frightful and dangerous ghosts!' Fulton has gone to the Dial a Ghost agency with an evil plan. He wants to hire some truly terrifying ghosts to scare his nephew Oliver to death. The Shriekers are the most violent and sickening sceptres the agency has, but a mix-up means the kind Wilkinson ghosts are sent in their place. Now Oliver has some spooky allies to help him outwit the wicked Snodde-Brittles . . . Dial a Ghost is a wonderfully spooky young-fiction title from the award-winning author of Journey to the River Sea, Eva Ibbotson. 'You'll love this chain-rattling, blood-oozingly hilarious story' Daily Telegraph
Arriman the Awful, feared Wizard of the North, has decided to marry. But his wife must be a witch of the darkest powers . . . A sorcery competition is held to discover which witch is the most potent and fiendish, and glamorous Madame Olympia conjures up a thousand plague-bearing rats! Belladonna, the white witch, desperately wants to be a wicked enchantress, but her magic produces flowers instead of snakes. How can she become more devilish than all the other witches? 'Eva Ibbotson weaves a magic like no other. Once enchanted, always enchanted.' Michael Morpurgo
'I want you to change the next wicked person you see into a tiger,' demanded Lionel. 'A very large tiger' Heckie is not just a witch - she's an animal witch, who wants to make the world a better place by transforming evil people into harmless animals, using her incredible Toe of Transformation and her awesome Knuckle of Power. But when slimy Lionel Knapsack charms Heckie, her magic begins to take a darker direction. Her friends, including a cheese wizard and a boy called Daniel, must come to the rescue . . . With beautiful cover illustration by Alex T. Smith, creator of the Claude series, Not Just A Witch is a wonderfully spooky young-fiction title from the award-winning author of Journey to the River Sea, Eva Ibbotson. 'Eva Ibbotson has assumed the mantle of Roald Dahl.' School Librarian
Under Platform 13 at Kings Cross Station is hidden a quite remarkable secret. Every nine years a doorway opens to an amazing, fantastical island. Nine years ago, the island's baby prince was stolen on the streets of London. Now a rescue party, led by a wizard and an ogre, must find him and bring him back. But the kind prince has become a spoilt rich boy, who doesn't believe in magic and doesn't want to go home. Can they rescue him before time runs out - and the doorway disappears for ever? `This kind of fun will never fail to delight' Philip Pullman
`We must kidnap some children,' announced Aunt Etta. `Young, strong ones. It will be dangerous, but it must be done.' Three children are stolen and taken to a bizarre island, which is home to some extraordinary creatures - including mermaids, selkies and the legendary kraken. The island is the base for a very mysterious mission. But the magical adventure is cut short, when the island is suddenly under siege. Can they save themselves and their new friends? `Funny, gripping, charming and completely irresistible' Amanda Craig
Sometimes a snooty princess needs teaching a lesson. A hungry, hairy worm should do the trick! And anyone who dares to annoy the Frid Monster is just looking for trouble.
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