Peter Pan

One of the best-known stories in American culture, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has stirred the imagination of young and old alike for over 100 years. Best Actress nominee Anne Hathaway ( Rachel Getting Married, Alice in Wonderland), fresh from filming one of this year’s most anticipated films ( The Dark Knight Rises), lends her voice to this uniquely American fairy tale.

When Alice tumbles down, down, down a rabbit-hole one hot summer's afternoon in pursuit of a White Rabbit, she finds herself in Wonderland. And there begin the fantastical adventures that will see her experiencing extraordinary changes in size, swimming in a pool of her own tears, and attending the very maddest of tea parties.

Here is a timeless tale of waterside Britain that has been loved by generations of children and acclaimed as a classic. The story of Mole, Ratty, Badger, and Toad, and their escapades, whether messing about on the river or poop-pooping in Toad's shiny new car, cannot fail to enchant.

Since its publication in 1952, Charlotte's Web has become one of America's best-loved children's books. For fifty years, this timeless tale of how a little girl named Fern, with the help of a friendly spider, saved her pig Wilbur from the usual fate of nice fat little pigs has continued to warm the hearts of readers everywhere. Now this classic, a 1953 Newbery Honor book, comes to life in a delightful unabridged recording, read lovingly by the author himself.

When the East Wind blows Mary Poppins into the home of the Banks children, their lives go topsy-turvy and are changed forever. More than 80 years since we first met Mary Poppins, this original, classic story is still charming listeners and transporting new fans into the mysterious world of everyone’s favourite magical nanny.

Farthing Wood is being bulldozed and a drought means the animals no longer have anywhere to live or drink. Fox, Badger, Toad, Tawny Owl, Mole and the other animals band together and leave their ancestral home and set off to move to a far-away nature reserve. Their journey is full of adventure and fraught with disasters: a fire, a storm, a treacherous river crossing and a hunt. The animals must unite in adversity and in doing so they learn about each other’s habits and limitations.

When Peter Pan flies into the night nursery of Wendy, John, and Michael Darling, he takes them on the journey, and the adventure, of a lifetime. Mermaids, wolves, and Indians weave their spell in the magical Never Never Land, where also lurks the wicked Captain Hook. Toyah Willcox stars as Peter Pan, with Ron Moody as Captain Hook, Roy Hudd as Smee, and June Whitfield as Mrs. Darling in this spectacular BBC Radio 4 dramatisation, with stunning sound effects and specially composed music.

Belle wants more out of life than the small provincial town of Villeneuve can offer. There she stands out from the crowd with her unique point of view, her strong-willed independence, and her love of books. She longs for travel and adventure, for a life as exciting as the stories she reads. But when Belle's beloved father is taken prisoner by a beast in an enchanted castle, her path is forever changed. Risking her freedom and her future, she takes her father's place, secretly vowing to escape. 

Penguin presents for the first time the complete, unabridged audio edition of Mary Norton's The Borrowers. The Borrowers live in the secret places of quiet old houses: behind the mantelpiece, inside the harpsichord, under the kitchen clock. They own nothing, borrow everything and think that human beings were invented just to do the dirty work. Arrietty's father, Pod, was an expert Borrower.

C.S. Lewis’s acclaimed and universally loved novels spring to life in these spellbinding full-cast BBC dramatisations. Anyone who’s visited Narnia wants to go back again, and these radio dramas make for a hugely entertaining first-time or return journey, with a cast including Bernard Cribbins, Maurice Denham, Richard Griffiths, Martin Jarvis, Sylvester McCoy, John Sessions, Fiona Shaw and Timothy Spall.

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.

Written after The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe but designed by C.S. Lewis to be read first, this enchanting prequel, with its story of time travel, sorcery, and magic rings, is essential reading for anyone who wants to learn the backstory to the biggest movie release of the year. Hurled back in time to the birth of a new world, two young friends get caught in the epic struggle between Aslan and his nemesis the White Witch.

This classic tale of a handsome, spirited horse, Black Beauty has been a children's favourite for over 100 years. Sewell tells the story of Beauty's life from a young foal through to a working horse.

"A bear on Paddington Station?" said Mrs Brown in amazement. "Don't be silly - there can't be." The Browns first met Paddington on a railway station - Paddington station, in fact. He had travelled all the way from Darkest Peru with only a jar of marmalade, a suitcase and his hat. The Browns soon found that Paddington was a very unusual bear.