When wealthy widower Captain Ralph Crewe first enrolls his little daughter Sara in Miss Minchin’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies, she is set to become the school's show pupil. But tragedy soon strikes: Captain Crewe passes away after losing his fortune, and young Sara is quickly forced into servitude by the cruel Miss Minchin. To make it through her long days as a drudge, Sara imagines herself secretly a princess, and along the way learns to treasure true friends and the kindness of mysterious benefactors. 

Fans of L. M. Montgomery's Anne Shirley rejoice! Collected here are six of the original Anne Shirley books in the order they were published. This collection includes Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, Anne's House of Dreams, Rainbow Valley, and Rilla of Ingleside. Published between 1908 and 1921, these heartwarming tales of hidden hopes and cherished dreams will enchant fans and new listeners alike.

When Father is taken away unexpectedly, Roberta, Peter, Phyllis and their mother have to leave their comfortable life in London to go and live in a small cottage in the country. The children seek solace in the nearby railway station and make friends with Perks the Porter and the Station Master himself. Each day, Roberta, Peter and Phyllis run down the field to the railway track and wave at the passing London train, sending their love to Father. Little do they know that the kindly old gentleman passenger who waves back holds the key to their father's disappearance.

Mary Lennox starts her life as an unhappy victim of circumstance. After the loss of her parents, she moves to rural Yorkshire to live with a distant uncle where she resents the wildness of the countryside. At first, she struggles to find a place in this new existence. Although unsure about her surroundings and its occupants, through the gentle guidance of the maid she gradually becomes interested in the story of Mrs Craven, who apparently used to spend her time in a garden at the house, the key to which has vanished. 

Penguin presents the unabridged downloadable audiobook edition of Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild, read by Janet Streatfeild. 'I wonder...if other girls had to be one of us, which of us they'd choose to be?' Pauline longs to be an actress. Petrova is happiest playing with cars and engines. And if she could...Posy would dance all day! But when their benefactor Great-Uncle Matthew disappears, the Fossil girls share a future of a dazzling life onstage, where their dreams and fears will soon come true....

Benjy, Penny, Rory and Sheila are spending the holidays with their aunt and uncle at Cherry Tree Farm. They play with the animals and learn to feed them, roam the countryside and hunt for the mysterious Tammylan, who lives deep in the woods. Everywhere is teeming with adventure and the children are bound to get into mischief! This collections brings together some of Enid Blyton's earliest and most imaginative stories - 'The Children of Cherry Tree Farm' (1940) and two stories about the same children, 'The Children of Willow Farm' (1942) and 'More Adventures at Willow Farm' (1943). 

A vivid and affectionate portrait of the residents of an English country town in the mid-19th century, Cranford describes a community dominated by its independent and refined women, relating the adventures of Miss Matty and Miss Deborah, two middle-aged spinster sisters striving to live with dignity in reduced circumstances. Through a series of satirical vignettes, Gaskell sympathetically portrays changing small town customs and values in mid-Victorian England....

The Wombles is the first ever Wombles book and introduces the stern but kindly Great Uncle Bulgaria; Orinoco, who is particularly fond of his food and a subsequent 40 winks; general handyman extraordinaire Tobermory, who can turn almost anything that the Wombles retrieve from Wimbledon Common into something useful; Madame Cholet, who cooks the most delicious and natural foods to keep the Wombles happy and contented; and last but not least, Bungo, one of the youngest and cheekiest Wombles of all, who has much to learn and is due to venture out onto the Common on his own for the very first time.…

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.

One day Ceddie Errol is visited by a gruff lawyer at the tiny house he shares with his widowed mother, and his life is never to be the same: for waiting in England is Dorincourt Castle, where Ceddie is to reside as the sole living heir to the irascible, proud, and selfish Earl of Dorincourt. It will be up to this virtuous boy to capture and warm the Earl's heart and transform him into a doting grandfather and responsible landlord.

Hiccup was a truly extraordinary Viking Hero, Warrior chieftain,awesome sword-fighter and amateur naturalist. He was known throughout Vikingdom as 'the Dragon Whisperer' on account of his power over these terrifying beasts. But it wasn't always like that.

"I write this sitting at the kitchen sink" is the first line of a novel about love, sibling rivalry, and a bohemian existence in a crumbling castle in the middle of nowhere. Cassandra Mortmin's journal records her fadingly glamorous stepmother, her beautiful, wistful older sister, and the man to whom they owe both their isolation and poverty: Father. The author of one experimental novel, and a minor cause celebre, he has since suffered from writer's block and is determined to drag his family down with him.

Sixteen years have passed since Grace was locked up, at the age of 16, for the cold-blooded murders of her employer and his housekeeper/lover. Her alleged accomplice in the crimes, James McDermot, paid the extreme sentence of the law and was hanged on November 21, 1843. But some thought Grace was innocent, and her sentence has been commuted to life imprisonment. After a spell in the Lunatic Asylum she now claims to have no memory of the murders.

Mr Twit is a foul and smelly man with bits of cornflake and sardine in his beard. Mrs Twit is a horrible old hag with a glass eye. They've kept Muggle-Wump monkeys caged in the garden for far too long, and now the monkeys want to take their revenge.... 

When Lee and his daemon, Hester, land in the Arctic town of Novy Odense, they quickly become embroiled in an out-and-out political brawl. So when Iorek offers to help, Lee is only too happy to accept. Together they take on a slippery politician, his monstrous gas-powered gun and a murderous gunfighter. And so begins a friendship that will continue throughout their lives.