Most Popular Books by Philippa Pearce

Winner of the Carnegie Medal From beloved author Philippa Pearce, this sixtieth-anniversary edition is the perfect way to share this transcendent story of friendship with a new generation of readers. Philip Pullman, bestselling author of the His Dark Materials trilogy, called Tom’s Midnight Garden “A perfect book.” When Tom’s brother gets sick, he’s shipped off to spend what he’s sure will be a boring summer with his aunt and uncle in the country. But then Tom hears the old grandfather clock in the hall chime thirteen times, and he’s transported back to an old garden where he meets a young, lonely girl named Hatty. Tom returns to the garden every night to have adventures with Hatty, who mysteriously grows a little older with each visit. As the summer comes to an end, Tom realizes he wants to stay in the garden with Hatty forever. Winner of the Carnegie Medal, Tom’s Midnight Garden is a classic of children’s literature and a deeply satisfying time-travel mystery. This newly repackaged sixtieth-anniversary paperback is the perfect entrée for readers of all ages to the vivid world that The Guardian called “A modern classic.” Features new interior spot art by Jaime Zollars.

Familiar Here are stories of everyday life, as familiar as a piece of rope and ... as haunting as fear: Mike knows that he can''t swing over the river on the knotted rope, but with everyone watching him, he has to try. ... as haunting as a stranger: Who is the frightened-looking girl stealing plums from Nicky''s grandparents'' precious tree? ... as haunting as cruelty: How can Joe escape from his mean cousin Dicky during a family reunion?Haunting And here are stories with a supernatural twist, as haunting as the eerie whistling from the hill above Burnt House in the middle of the night and ... as familiar as guilt: A boy forgets the mysterious bottle his cousin loaned him, but when he sneaks out at night to retrieve it, the shadowy whistlers close in on him. ... as familiar as loneliness: A ghost who''s unbearably lonesome makes his neighbors suffer until a girl with a sense of the absurd shows him how things could be different. ... as familiar as love: The ghost of a boy comes back to save his father from dying in a ferocious storm. Peopled with vivid, unforgettable characters, this collection of thirty-seven stories is by turns mysterious, humorous, strange, and sad, but it is always familiar, always haunting, and always surprising.

Two English boys, David and Adam, spend the summer canoeing on the River Say and, with just an old riddle for a clue, try to find a treasure hidden along its banks by one of Adam''s ancestors.

One day old Mr. Franklin asks Bet to go out to the field and read aloud from a book about earthworms. Why? Who is listening? Soon, Bet becomes the most trusted friend of her listener, who turns out to be a bewitched mole. At first she and the mole simply sit together in their field, reading, talking, sharing hopes and fears. But soon Bet is helping the Little Gentleman unravel his long and legendary past -- a past that includes the death of a king and a pouch of magic herbs. Bet begins to believe the mole''s powers are stronger than he knows. She thinks he can even shift her size and take her exploring in his tunnels if he tries. Nothing is impossible. When the mole finally reveals his deepest wish, Bet knows she can help him. But will it change everything?

What is it like to be a fly on the wall in our neighbours'' houses? With these eight gently humorous stories, Philippa Pearce lifts the lid from the neighbours'' houses and shows us the lives within.

Ben longed for a dog. His grandfather had promised him a dog for his birthday, but the promise was kept in an unusual way.

Clopinet, lame son of Normandy peasants in the late 18th century, escapes from his apprenticeship to a cruel tailor, and lives a Robinson Crusoe life on the wild cliffs. His affinity with the seabirds and his careful observation of them lead to him becoming a famous ornithologist.

For saving the life of one of the green people, Jack is blessed with the love and knowledge of a squirrel-wife.

When a tombstone with her father''s name suddenly disappears from the graveyard, Kate, an English school girl, witnesses the unraveling of a mystery surrounding the death of her father.

Set before the first First World War, this book tells the story of Tom, Laura, Hugh, and Margaret, whose home is the great house, Charlecote, set in the Warwickshire countryside. Despite their privileged background, the children are not always happy - their parents are stern and Tom is sent away to boarding school. But when the holidays come, everything changes and the four of them have many adventures together in the vast grounds of the house. BLOriginally published in 1968, this is a welcome reissue of a book which ''movingly shows the close bond between the "upper class" children and servants in a great house, when both feared and suffered the hand of authority.'' (20th Century Children''s Writers)

A boy who loses his dog meets a mysterious stranger and has a surprising adventure in an enchanting tale from a stellar author-illustrator team. When Till’s beloved dog slips its leash on their daily romp, the boy goes to bed in despair. But he wakes to meet Mr. Finder, an odd little man from his dream, who offers to help him retrieve the frisky pup. Together Till and Finder question some likely witnesses: a heron, a mole, a riddling cat, and two obliging old ladies, Miss Gammer and Miss Mousy. But Finder is a peculiar figure, given to disappearing suddenly, and Till starts to wonder: Can he be trusted? Part detective story, part fairy tale, A Finder’s Magic has mystery, darkness and light, and all the emotional truth that is a hallmark of Philippa Pearce’s writing.

Sid, Peggy and Amy adore the two gerbils, Bubble and Squeak, but their mother detests them. A major family battle results, and it''s clear life is never going to be quite the same again. But after a near fatal encounter between Bubble and Ginger the cat, Mrs Sparrow begins to see that life with 2 gerbils might not be so bad after all.

When the zoo is unable to keep a miniature elephant, Emily and her parents make a home for it and its monkey friend in their lovely meadow with a river running by.

Amy is going on her own to stay with her grandmother for three nights and takes her three best things. As each night passes, she feels dreadfully homesick but then she remembers her three best things. One by one they magically come to life and transport her back home where she can see everything is well. But on the third night her house is deserted and Amy is distraught and unconsolable. However, she soon learns it is because her mother was missing her so much that she has come to visit - and there she is to reassure and comfort Amy.

This literacy programme for juniors offers fiction, poetry and non-fiction reading and writing materials for shared, guided and group reading and writing, and teaching materials. "Comets" should capture the imagination of more able pupils, and software integrates ICT with literacy teaching.

Mrs Cockle is taken on an amazing adventure when her unhappy cat runs away from her London home, but when she finds him again they share a happy new life by the sea.

Celebrating 65 years of one of the most popular children''s stories ever written, this anniversary edition of Philippa Pearce''s best-loved classic will enchant readers everywhere. When Tom is sent to stay at his aunt and uncle''s house for the summer, he resigns himself to endless weeks of boredom. Lying awake at night, he hears the old grandfather clock downstairs strike . . . eleven . . . twelve . . . thirteen . . . Thirteen! How strange! When Tom gets up to investigate, he discovers a magical garden. A garden that everyone told him doesn''t exist. A garden that only he can enter . . . In this enchanted thirteenth hour, the garden comes alive-but Tom is never sure whether the children he meets there are real or ghosts . . . This magical story is one of the best-loved children''s books of all time.

While playing in the river, two cousins discover a live mussel and decide to keep it as a pet.

Drawings augment the suggestion of menace in familiar things conveyed in ten intriguing, original tales about supernatural occurrences

Philippa Pearce takes ordinary incidents and objects of everyday life and invests them with a power that overwhelms, threatens and disturbs.

This book contains six eventful read-aloud stories about a lively little boy called Tod. Tod receives some special parcels, joins a desperate search, has a visitor, goes exploring, makes a birthday present and is fascinated by an enormous orange