The 8 books on this stack
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The Cautious Traveller's Guide to The Wastelands
Sarah Brooks · 2025
The breathtaking historical fantasy set onboard the Great Trans-Siberian Express 'Imagine a crossover between Murder on the Orient Express, Game of Thrones and Paradise Lost . . . Brooks has serious talent' SUNDAY TIMES 'I was completely transported by this book . . . I urge everybody to pick up a copy' STUART TURTON 'Breathtaking . . . Abounding with mysteries and marvels' SAMANTHA SHANNON 'Exceptional. Strange, addictive, immersive, it's a steampunk Piranesi meets His Dark Materials' JENNIE GODFREY 'Mysterious and clever and brilliant' NATASHA PULLEY It is said there is a price that every passenger must pay. A price beyond the cost of a ticket. It is the end of the nineteenth century and the world is awash with marvels. But there is nothing so marvellous as the Wastelands: a terrain of terrible miracles that lies between Beijing and Moscow. Nothing touches the Wastelands except the Great Trans-Siberian Express: an impenetrable train built to carry cargo across continents, but which now transports anyone who dares. Onto the platform steps a curious cast of characters: Marya, a grieving woman with a borrowed name; Weiwei, a famous child born on the train; and Henry Grey, a disgraced naturalist. But there are whispers that the train isn't safe. As secrets and stories begin to unravel, the passengers and crew must survive their journey together, even as something uncontrollable seems to be breaking in . . .
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My Side of the Mountain
Jean Craighead George · 1975
A NEWBERY HONOR BOOK • OVER 4 MILLION COPIES SOLD • The defining childhood classic about a boy finding his own way in the wilderness—a nostalgic book for readers young and old who have ever wanted to run away from home. “Should appeal to all rugged individualists who dream of escape to the forest.”—The New York Times Book Review “An extraordinary book… It will be read year after year.”—The Horn Book Twelve-year-old Sam Gribley is terribly unhappy living in his family’s crowded New York City apartment. One day—armed with just a penknife, a ball of red cord, forty dollars, some flint and steel, and the clothes on his back—he decides to run away to his grandfather’s abandoned farm in the Catskill Mountains, to live in the woods all by himself. There, Sam must rely on his own ingenuity and the resources of the great outdoors to survive, as he discovers a side of himself he never knew existed. Teeming with hope, adventure, and a deep search for identity, My Side of the Mountain is a timeless classic for readers of all ages who have ever wondered what it would be like to live off the land. American Library Association Notable Book • Hans Christian Andersen Award Honor Book • Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
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Greenglass House
Kate Milford · 2014
A rambling old smuggler's inn, a strange map, an attic packed with treasures, squabbling guests, theft, friendship, and an unusual haunting mark this smart mystery in the tradition of the Mysterious Benedict Society books. Illustrations.
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Moominland Midwinter
Tove Jansson · 1962
Meet the Moomins - all 8 magical adventures relaunched in a stunning new package. Celebrating 80 years since the first Moomin book was published! Rediscover the A Puffin Book series and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this magical edition of Moominland Midwinter complete with a charming new cover design. Moomins always sleep through the winter - or they did until the year Moomintroll woke up and found he couldn't go back to sleep again. All the clocks had stopped, there was nothing to eat and no one to talk to at home, so he went out - into the unknown. The valley was white and silent and very scary. But then Moomintroll spied some tracks in the snow. . . They seem to grow in wisdom and delight every time I read them - Philip Pullman
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The Hobbit
J.R.R. Tolkien · 1938
This is the story of how a Baggins had an adventure, and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected... ‘A flawless masterpiece’ The Times Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely travelling further than the pantry of his hobbit-hole in Bag End. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard, Gandalf, and a company of thirteen dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day, to whisk him away on a journey ‘there and back again’. They have a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon... The prelude to THE LORD OF THE RINGS, THE HOBBIT has sold many millions of copies since its publication in 1937, establishing itself as one of the most beloved and influential books of the twentieth century.
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The Wind in the Willows
Kenneth Grahame · 2003
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham has charmed children and adults for more than a hundred years. Sebastian Meschenmoser's lush and expressive watercolor and oil painting illustrations bring a fresh look to this unabridged and beloved classic about Rat, Mole, Toad, and Badger. Like the gurgling river in the Wild Wood itself, readers will be joyfully swept along to join the antics of these animal friends as they try to keep the irrepressible and fast car driving Toad out of trouble in one of the greatest tales of adventure and camaraderie ever told. Meschenmoser thrills readers with more than one hundred watercolor vignettes and twelve oil paintings capturing the emotions and essence of these lovable characters.
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Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries
Heather Fawcett · 2023
Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world's first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party -- or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people....
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Sabriel: The Old Kingdom 2
Garth Nix · 2001
Begin a new adventure: the second thrilling installment of Garth Nix's bestselling OLD KINGDOM fantasy series. Sabriel has spent most of her young life far away from the magical realm of the Old Kingdom, and the Dead that roam it. But all that changes when a creature from across the Wall arrives at her all-girls boarding school. The creature carries a message from her father, the Abhorsen - the magical protector of the realm whose task it is to bind and send back to Death those that won't stay Dead. Since the demise of the Royal Family the Dead have become stronger and more fearless, and now it seems their forces are threatening to overwhelm the Old Kingdom. Sabriel's father has been trapped in Death by a dangerous Free Magic creature. He urges her to return to her homeland, and to discover who or what is behind this uprising. Armed with her father's binding-bells and sword, she soon finds companions in Mogget, an ancient spirit bound into the body of a cat, and Touchstone, a young Charter Mage whom Sabriel frees from a long, magical imprisonment. As the three travel deep into the Old Kingdom, threats mount on all sides. And every step brings them closer to a battle that will pit them against the true forces of life and death - and bring Sabriel face-to-face with her own destiny. With over 1 million Old Kingdom books sold in the UK, this timeless fantasy series is perfect for readers of Philip Pullman. Praise for Garth Nix: 'Sabriel is a winner . . . a world with the same solidity and four-dimensional authority as our own, created with invention, clarity and intelligence' Philip Pullman, author of the His Dark Materials series 'One of the best worldbuilders in fantasy . . . I love the Old Kingdom series' Brandon Sanderson 'There is no joy like returning to the Old Kingdom . . . Nix sets the standard for fantasy' Leigh Bardugo 'One of the greatest living fantasy writers . . . I will never get enough of the Old Kingdom' Sarah J. Maas Bonus Content: The ebook edition is packed with bonus content like a "How I Write" essay and, for devices that support audio, 12 clips of an exclusive interview with Garth.