Showing results by author "Philippa Pearce" in All Categories

When his brother catches measles, Tom is sent away for the summer to stay with his uncle and aunt and is thoroughly fed up about it. What a boring summer it's going to be. But then, lying in bed one night, he hears the old grandfather clock in the hall strike the very strange hour of 13 o'clock. What can it mean? As Tom creeps downstairs and opens the door, he finds out...a magical garden, a new playmate, and the adventure of a lifetime.

Kate Tranter is fatherless - or is she? The evidence of the tombstone she finds in the churchyard seems conclusive. And yet... The tombstone disappears and Kate is left with a mystery about which her family either knows nothing or will tell nothing. Her search for the truth leads her to Sattin Shore: and the way to Sattin Shore turns out to be a way into the past. Her two elder brothers, her grandmother, her new friend Anna and her missing father all have a part to play in Kate’s search to fit the jigsaw pieces of past and present to find a new picture for the future.

For months, Ben Blewitt has been thinking about dogs. So he is very disappointed when, for his birthday, he receives not a dog, but a picture of a dog. But Ben's imagination soon gets to work, and then the strange adventures begin.

One day old Mr. Franklin asks Bet to go out to the field and read aloud from a book about earthworms. Why? Who is listening? Soon, Bet becomes the most trusted friend of her listener, who turns out to be a bewitched mole.

When Bet is first asked to go into the meadow to read aloud - apparently to no one - she wonders why. To her surprise, her audience is a little mole. But no ordinary mole. This is a mole who can speak, is over 300 years old, and has an incredible tale to tell. So begins an enchanting tale of deep secrets, extraordinary magic, and beautiful friendship between Bet and the Little Gentleman in Black Velvet.

Each of these 11 stories lures the unsuspecting reader into the ghostly world of the supernatural. Who has not been afraid of something? These gripping stories explore the possibilities – hair-raising, spine-chilling, blood-curdling. Here’s something for everyone who enjoys a good scare.Ghosts range from an evil kitchen boy with a recipe for death to a tiresome invalid at the top of an apple tree. There’s Old Nick himself in one story, and a tale of second sight, and even a ghost story especially for dog-lovers!

‘The rope hung from top to bottom of his dream. The rope hung softly, saying nothing, doing nothing. Then the rope began to swing very softly, very gently... towards him.’The need to face your fears; the comedy of family life; the pressure of others’ expectations… Intense experiences of childhood are vividly brought to life in these eight atmospheric tales.A gripping collection of short stories from award-winning author Philippa Pearce.

A mysterious stranger called Mr. Finder offers to help Till find his dog, and they interview various witnesses, including a heron, a mole, a riddling cat – and Miss Mousey, whose sketch of a peaceful riverbank offers a vital clue. The quest to find Bess is full of magic, but Till begins to mistrust his supposed ally Mr Finder until at last he realises the truth, and they track down the real culprit - a finder who likes to keep what he finds.