Classic Childrens Fiction

This is a story about REAL WITCHES. Real witches dress in ordinary clothes, have ordinary jobs and look very much like ordinary people. But they are far from ORDINARY. The Grand High Witch, leader of all the witches, has a plan to make each and every child disappear. That is, unless one boy and his grandmother can stop her.

Where did Roald Dahl get all of his wonderful ideas for stories? From his own life, of course! As full of excitement and the unexpected as his world-famous, best-selling books, Roald Dahl's tales of his own childhood are completely fascinating and fiendishly funny. Did you know that Roald Dahl nearly lost his nose in a car accident? Or that he was once a chocolate candy tester for Cadbury's? Have you heard about his involvement in the Great Mouse Plot of 1924? If not, you don’t yet know all there is to know about Roald Dahl.

A touch of computer keys, a blast of heat, and suddenly the Murry twins, Sandy and Dennys, are gasping in a shimmering desert land. If only the brothers had normal parents, not a scientist mother and a father who experiments with space and time travel. If only the Murry twins had noticed the note on the door of their mother's lab: Experiment In Progress. Please Keep Out. But it's too late for regrets.

Children will listen along swimmingly to Dr. Seuss's absurd and endearing fish.

William, Elizabeth, and their four sons - Fritz, Ernest, Jack, and Franz - are on a large ship when a terrible storm strikes. The ship's crew gets to safety on lifeboats, leaving behind the Swiss family. The family, now stranded on the partially destroyed ship, finds a small island. They pack up what materials are left on the boat, which includes guns and ammunition, livestock, some provisions, and even pieces of the ship.

For anyone who loves sailing and adventure, Arthur Ransome's classic Swallows and Amazons series stands alone. Originally published over a half-century ago, the 12 books are still eagerly enjoyed by children and adults alike - by all those captivated by the world of adventure and imagination. Such longevity is not only due to Ransome’s unparalleled gift of storytelling, but also his championing of qualities such as independence and initiative; virtues that appeal to every generation, whether young or old.

Mortimer will not be quiet and go to sleep. Not for his mother, or his father, or his seventeen sisters and brothers, not even for the police.

Tree-ear is an orphan boy in a 12th-century Korean potters’ village. When he accidentally breaks a pot, he must work for the master to pay for the damage by setting off on a difficult and dangerous journey that will change his life forever.

The irresistible Paddington Bear, who was found in Paddington station, returns in this reissued novel, with a brand-new cover design. 'Even Paddington can't come to much harm in half an hour,' said Mrs Brown optimistically. But who else other than Paddington could hang Mr Curry's lawnmower from a treetop or set Father Christmas' beard on fire?

When suburban Claudia Kincaid decides to run away, she knows she doesn't just want to run from somewhere she wants to run to somewhere--to a place that is comfortable, beautiful, and preferably elegant. She chooses the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Knowing that her younger brother, Jamie, has money and thus can help her with the serious cash flow problem she invites him along.

Dr. Brewer is doing a little plant testing in his basement. Nothing to worry about. Harmless, really. But Margaret and Casey Brewer are worried about their father. Especially when they...meet...some of the plants he is growing down there. Then they notice that their father is developing plantlike tendencies. In fact he is becoming distinctly weedy - and seedy. Is it just part of their father's "harmless" experiment? Or has the basement turned into another little shop of horrors?

When three poor soldiers found themselves unable to live on their meager pay, they decided to try to desert the army. The three men are forced to hide, trapped because the army is not moving on from the camp. While stuck in a ditch, the men encounter a dragon who offers to take them into his service for seven years. They layer find out the dark side of the deal, when the dragon tells them they will only be released if they can solve a riddle. One of the soldiers stumbles across the grandmother of the dragon....

The shoemaker can only afford the leather to make one more pair of shoes. He cuts the leather and lays it on his workbench - and the next morning, there are two perfectly-finished shoes! But who can have made them? A magical retelling of the classic tale, read by Tamsin Greig.

Baron Trump's Marvelous Underground Journey by Ingersoll Lockwood was published in 1893. The novel recounts the adventures of the German boy Wilhelm Heinrich Sebastian Von Troomp, who goes by the name "Baron Trump", and his dog Bulger, as they discover fantastic underground civilizations, offend the natives, escape from their involvements, and repeat this pattern until arriving back home at Castle Trump.

Pollyanna, an expert at her favorite "Glad Game" of always looking at the bright side in her numerous trials, is one of the most popular and enduring characters in all of children's literature. As Pollyanna arrives in Beldingsville to live with her strict and dutiful maiden aunt, she exclaims, "Oh, Aunt Polly, I don't know how to be glad enough that you let me come to live with you!"

Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy the dog find excitement and adventure wherever they go in Enid Blyton's most popular series. In book four, the Famous Five stay at the large old house at Smuggler's Top. They discover secret hiding places and underground tunnels, and one night they catch people signalling out to sea! Are there still smugglers at Smuggler's Top?

For anyone who loves sailing and adventure, Arthur Ransome's classic Swallows and Amazons series stands alone. Originally published over a half-century ago, the twelve books are still eagerly read by children and adults alike - by all those captivated by the world of adventure and imagination. Such longevity is not only due to Ransome's unparalleled gift of storytelling, but also his championing of qualities such as independence and initiative; virtues that appeal to every generation, whether young or old. Jibbooms and bobstays!

It all started with a birthday present that Omri didn't want: a small plastic Indian that was no use to him at all. But an old wooden cupboard and a special key brought his unusual toy to life, and strange and wonderful things began to happen.

Immediately following the success of Little Women, Louisa May Alcott sat down to write An-Old Fashioned Girl, expanding on the subject of rich versus poor that she explored in her first novel. It’s a story of a country mouse and a city mouse: 14-year-old Polly Milton travels to Boston for a stay with her friend Fanny Shaw. The wealthy Shaws’ way of life is foreign to Polly who tries to adapt but is quickly labeled “old-fashioned”. Fanny and her friends dress and behave as their elders do, flirting with boys and gossiping.

Journey to Oz, a faraway land of magic, mayhem, and danger in this fantastical trilogy by L. Frank Baum. The Library Congress calls this “America’s greatest and best-beloved homegrown fairytale,” and the stories will spark the imagination and wonder as you enter the wondrous Land of Oz. This collection includes The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the most well-known of the Oz stories; The Marvelous Land of Oz, following the adventures of a young boy named Tip exploring an Oz post-Dorothy; and Ozma of Oz, where Dorothy Gale is whisked away to a land called Ev.