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Flambards by K. M. Peyton

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A welcome new edition of this much-loved children’s classic.

Christina is sent to live with her uncle in his country house, Flambards, and knows from the moment she arrives that she’ll never fit in. Her uncle is fierce and domineering and her cousin, Mark, is selfish-but despite all this, Christina discovers a passion for horse-riding and finds a true friend in Will. What Christina has yet to realize, though, is the important part she has to play in the future of this strange household . . . A welcome new edition of this exciting story which will appeal to old and new readers alike.

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Awesomely Austen: Jane Austen’s Persuasion Illustrated and Retold by Narinder Dhami ill. Eglantine Ceulemans

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One of several Jane Austen books that have been given a makeover for a young audience, using various authors (Narinder Dhami in this instance) and a single illustrator to provide a uniform look. I really like the way Ceulemans has provided character illustrations at the start of the novel and occasional scene illustrations that have an authentic period feel whilst at the same time possessing a contemporary cartoon humour.

Illustrated and retold editions are also available for: Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park and Emma. 

Waterstones

North Child by Edith Pattou

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Publishes 31 October 2019.

Originally published in 2003 (and in the UK in 2006) thisis  book, based on a Norwegian fairytale,  now available for a new generation to enjoy.  Seamlessly shifting point-of-view with each chapter, North Child’s narrative of a girl and a bear’s wintry quest is spellbinding.     

While writing North Child, the author became an expert in mapmaking, seamanship, Scandinavian languages, Norse mythology and the Arctic.

Cover art is by Claire Lefevre
follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clairelefevre_illustrator/

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The Secret of Platform 13: 25th Anniversary Illustrated Edition by Eva Ibbotson ill.Beatriz Castro

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ACHUKA #BookOfTheDay Wed 16 Oct 2019

Rediscover the magical secrets at King’s Cross station in a 25th anniversary illustrated edition of Eva Ibbotson’s classic, The Secret of Platform 13.

Discover more of the magical world with Sibeal Pounder’s exciting adventure sequel, Beyond Platform 13, based on characters from Eva’s original.

Follow the illustrator on Instagram: https://instagram.com/beatrizcastroillustradora

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The Lady From Philadelphia, The Peterkin Papers by Lucretia P. Hale

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This volume (from NYRB Kids) collects together nine years of Lucretia P. Hale’s comedic vignettes.

Considered a classic of American children’s literature and a masterpiece of deadpan drollery.

Lucretia Hale (1820-1900) wrote widely for the American magazine market. The Peterkins are a Bostonian family of quite Bostonian  devoted to self-improvement and aspirations. The sketches humorously portray a variety of difficulties arising from their naïveté. Each time the family is rescued from disaster by the common sense of the Lady from Philadelphia.

Good for dipping into.

Waterstones

Fantastic Toys, A Catalog by Monika Beisner

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Illustrated with lush, detailed drawings and accompanied by droll, lightly absurd imitations of marketing copy, each of Beisner’s toys will have children and adults inspired to imagine eccentric creations of their own.

In September 2014, the American poet and writer Matthea Harvey, born in Germany in 1973 but raised in England, named Beisner’s Fantastic Toys as the earliest inspiration for her own artistic development. Asked which book to read to understand Harvey’s lyrical work, she answered: “Fantastic Toys, by Monika Beisner. A book I read over and over again as a child. It features such wonders as a heated sheep toboggan and winged jumping boots. Four years ago, I discovered the reason we had that magical book – my mother had gone to elementary school with Monika. For me, it was as if she’d gone to school with Marilyn Monroe and never mentioned it.”

Published in the New York Review Children’s Collection.

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