Every family has its secrets, but it was a huge surprise to the three young Forbeses, fresh from a country vicarage, to discover that their grandmother was a famous actress. Sent to live with her in bombed-out, wartime London, they soon discovered that they were expected to follow in the family footsteps - to the footlights! As an actress herself, Noel Streatfeild was familiar with all the details of the backstage world of the theatre. She has created an authentic, perceptive and vivid picture of theatrical life - from stage school to auditions and performances.

Margaret Thursday was named after the day she was found on the church steps as a baby. But she isn’t really an orphan – each year a bag of gold coins is left at the church for her keep. When the money suddenly stops, her guardians have no choice but to send her away to an orphanage. The orphanage is worse than they could have imagined. Vowing to protect her new friends, Peter and Horatio, Margaret plans their daring escape...but she’ll have to outwit Matron at every turn.

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....

In this captivating collection of stories by the author of Ballet Shoes, there are auditions on stage and antics on ice, trips to the pantomime, holiday adventures and laughter shared with family and friends. Charming, heartwarming and funny, this collection will bring joy to listeners of all ages. Originally written in the 1940s-'60s for annuals, magazines and the radio, these stories have never been collected before.

On a beautiful spring day, Julia Harburn sat on a seat in Kensington Gardens enjoying the sunshine. She was wearing a white frock and a large straw hat with a sapphire-blue ribbon which exactly matched her eyes - a strange coincidence, as it turned out, for the blue sapphire was to have a far-reaching influence upon her life. So far, her life had been somewhat dull and circumscribed; but quite suddenly her horizons were enlarged. She began to make new friends.

The tangled destinies of an unusual family are played out against the backdrop of the English countryside where two pretty sisters and a beautiful widow take centre stage in a drama of dangerous flirtation and backstairs gossip. Esther Musgrave, an attractive widow, has her hands full trying to keep her energetic family together – and on speaking terms! Her three daughters, prickly Delia, sensible Meg and carefree Rose, mean everything to her, especially since the death of her husband, Charles.

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Heidi by Johanna Spyri, read by Gemma Whelan. Little Heidi goes to live with her grandfather in his lonely hut high in the Alps, and she quickly learns to love her new life. But her strict aunt decides to send her away again to live in the town. Heidi cannot bear being away from the mountains and is determined to return to the happiness of life with her grandfather.

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. 

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.

Welcome to Malory Towers, where there's more to life than lessons! In book 1 of Enid Blyton's best-loved boarding school series, Darrell Rivers is thrilled to start her first term at boarding school. She soon makes friends - and mischief! Another new girl, Gwendoline, is beginning to get on everyone's nerves. Will Darrell be able to keep her fiery temper under control? 

When Pollyanna was published in 1913, it became an overnight success. It immediately sold over a million copies as young and old alike fell in love with the little freckled orphan girl and her spirited optimism. Many of Beldingsville’s citizens are ill, misguided, and even despairing. The sparkling, ingenuous 11-year-old who descends upon them with her "glad game" gives them renewed hope and changes their lives forever. Then unexpected tragedy strikes, and Pollyanna can no longer find the silver lining in any cloud.

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Back Home written and read by Michelle Magorian. Back Home tells the story of Rusty, returning to England after being evacuated to America for five years in the Second World War. After five happy years in America, Rusty must return to England: the place she used to call home. But it doesn't fell like home. Rusty's mother is like a stranger, her little brother doesn't know her, and why does the food taste so bad? Rusty just can't get used to the rigid rules and rationing and her strict new boarding school.

In all the years that Elinora Gassbeek has been matron of the Little Tulip Orphanage, not once have the Rules for Baby Abandonment been broken. Until the autumn of 1886, when five babies are left in outrageous circumstances: one in a tin toolbox, one in a coal bucket, one in a picnic hamper, one in a wheat sack and finally, one in a coffin-shaped basket. 

Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennigton-Jones can't wait to start boarding school. When she arrives at Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale Academy for Proper Young Ladies, the adventure begins...only not quite as Alice-Miranda expects. The minute she sets foot on the school's manicured grounds, she senses that something is wrong: Miss Grimm, the headmistress, is nowhere to be seen; the gardens have no flowers; and a mysterious stranger seems to be hiding out on the premises.

One the twins is simply not having it. St Clare's is beneath them, and they're determined to cause a stir. But life at St Clare's is not as easy as they thought. They have several surprises and arguments before they admit their troubles are of their own making and settle down to make friends. Expect mischief at St Clare's!