These stories contain a wealth of wonderful characters and ideas, all with the colorful, dreamlike quality of the very best fairy tales. Illustrations.

    While vacationing with relatives in Auckland, twins Theo and Rachel discover that they are endowed with special powers to oppose mysterious giant creatures that are determined to destroy the world.

    He has an old trumpet that goes rooty-toot -And two lovely sisters who play on the flute -But Mr Magnolia has only one boot.In this wittily rhyming picture book, Mr Magnolia has a full and happy life except for one serious omission - a boot. But one day, he receives a mysterious parcel, and at last Mr Magnolia can splash in the puddles with everyone else!

    Whether it's trying to arrange a marriage for his sister or taking a job as a boot boy as step one in his grand plan to run away, Just William manages to cause chaos wherever he goes.

    Fairy tales have never been more revolting!

    He was black too. And that is how the trouble began. Everything in Winnie's house is black - the carpet, the chairs, the bed and the sheets, the pictures on the walls, and even the bathtub! And of course her cat, Wilbur, is black too - all except for his bright-green eyes. Whenever poor Wilbur closes his eyes and tries to take a catnap, Winnie stumbles right over him. Or accidentally sits on top of him. Until one day, when Winnie gets a brilliant idea. What if Wilbur were a different color?

    From small beginnings, it grows rapidly, enjoying all sorts of exciting adventures and mishaps.

    All is uneventful until they meet Scarface Claw, the toughest tom in town, and run for home. The story is told by a brilliant, cumulative rhyming text and terrific pictures.

    All 26 of the Reverend W. Awdry's classic stories are here in one beautiful gift volume, with an introduction by the author himself. Illustrated in full color.

    He's found a monster in the back garden, but his mom and dad are just too busy to notice. So Bernard tries to befriend the monster. . . and that doesn't go quite to plan.

    The father is a dustman and the mother a washerwoman, but because they are poor the children find even greater opportunities for adventure in their ordinary lives.

    It takes them to all sorts of magical places, from the giant's castle where they rescue Chinky the Pixie, to the amazing party at Magician Greatheart's castle.

    Then, from every side, from under leaves and from behind rocks, creatures began to appear.To begin with, all the creatures were rather alike - they had no idea what they were going to become. Some wanted to become lions, so they practised being lions. But other creatures - including the whale, the elephant, the cat and the donkey - came about in different ways.There are eleven animal stories in this collection for younger children to enjoy. They are particularly suitable for reading aloud and Ted Hughes himself read them to his own children when they were young.Ted Hughes' classic text is accompanied by the beautiful illustrations of Jackie Morris to bring a lyrical and witty version of the creation myths.

    In a brilliant picture book debut, Lauren Child's witty text and jazzy illustrations capture the wonderful wacky chaos of a large extended family from the hilarious vantage point of one of its youngest members.

    Carrie and Nick are billeted in Wales with old Mr Evans, who is so mean and cold, and his timid mouse of a sister, Lou, who suddenly starts having secrets. Their friend Albert is luckier, living in Druid's Bottom with warm-hearted Hepzibah Green and the strange Mister Johnny, who can talk to animals but not to human beings. Carrie and Nick visit him there whenever they can for Hepzibah makes life exciting and enticing with her stories and delicious cooking. Gradually they begin to feel more at ease in their war-time home, but then, in trying to heal the rift between Mr Evans and his estranged sister, and save Druid's Bottom, Carrie does a terrible thing which is to haunt her for years to come. Carrie revisits Wales as an adult and tells the story to her own children.