The Puffin Book of Christmas Stories is essential Christmas-time reading including classics from all eras. A new collection of Christmas stories, from traditional to real life, humour and most importantly, plenty of the magic of Christmas. Writers range from Charles Dickens to Gillian Cross and Malorie Blackman.Wendy Cooling, a former teacher and Head of the Children's Book Foundation (now Book Trust), works as a freelance book consultant, reviewer and editor. She recently put together the successful millennium collection, CENTURIES OF STORIES. Wendy livesin Hertfordshire.

Specially commissioned short stories, by prize-winning authors, on the theme of Mirrors.READERSHIP: 10 – 14 A collection of new , specially commissioned short stories by some of the finest authors of children’s books today: Anne Fine, Berlie Doherty, Leslie Howarth, Mary Arrigan, Gaye Hicilmaz, Jeremy Strong, Malorie Blackman, Elizabeth Laird , Melvin Burgess, Celia Rees, Kate Thompson, Paul Stewart, Vivian French, Alan Durant, Annie Dalton in range of genres – humour, horror, fantasy, traditional, realism and romance. The collection is aimed at good readers between 10 and 14, and the strength of the stories combined with the excellence of their authors will be certainly be welcomed by teachers, librarians and parents. Edited by Wendy Cooling, a well-known and highly respected figure in the world of education and children’s books and the editor of Centuries of Stories.

Ten prize-winning authors each with a brand new story based on their own schooldays. Bernard Ashley, Malorie Blackman, Berlie Doherty, Paul Jennings, Margaret Mahy, Michael Morpurgo, Jenny Nimmo, Michael Rosen, Jeremy Strong and Robert Swindells. Brand new stories based on each author’s own schooldays – sometimes funny, often poignant, always riveting. Written in each author’s unique style and based on something that is common to every child in the country – SCHOOL. Authors as below: PAUL JENNINGSMICHAEL MORPURGOJEREMY STRONGBERNARD ASHLEYROBERT SWINDELLSMALORIE BLACKMANBERLIE DOHERTYJENNY NIMMOMARGARET MAHYMICHAEL ROSEN Stories of running away from school; getting the strap for punishments; vindictive teachers; boys who tell porky-pies; the shy girl who could only talk through her puppet; getting expelled [almost]; being an evacuee; original ways of getting out of being in the school play, as well as meeting one’s own true love at school! Stories that contemporary schoolchildren...