Happy Birthday Bagpuss

Bagpuss is 40! Emily, Gabriel the Toad, Madeleine, Professor Yaffle and the mice are throwing him a party. First Emily sings her special song to wake him up... Bagpuss, dear Bagpuss, old fat furry catpuss Wake up and look at this thing that I bring. Wake up, be bright! Be golden and light! Bagpuss, oh hear what I sing! ...and at once the saggy old cloth cat is wide awake and full of life and the party is ready to start! Join in by making your own versions of Bagpuss’ presents: a cross-stitch sampler from Emily, a knitted Bagpuss, a lavender Madeleine, and some sugar mice. At the end of the day, go to sleep with a cuddly Bagpuss pyjama case. With original illustrations by creator Peter Firmin and step-by-step instructions for simple projects, this is the perfect way to celebrate the 40th birthday of Britain’s best-loved cat. Word count: 15,000

Everyone remembers fondly the world of Bagpuss - the most important, the most beautiful, the most magical saggy old cloth cat in the whole wide world. This little gift book is all about the fat furry cat-puss and his friends, with places for you to write all about you and your friends too.

Ivor the Engine, Noggin the Nog, Pingwings, Pogles Wood, Clangers, and Bagpuss - the iconic animations produced by the Canterbury-based Smallfilms studio between 1958 and 1984 - constitute a significant thread of British cultural history. The lasting appeal of the imagined worlds created by Smallfilms is evident in the highly-successful BBC reboot of Clangers (2015-present), which has introduced a whole new audience to the pink moon mice. As well as the shows likely to be famiilar to readers, this history expands the Smallfilms story to include those less well-known animated shows that nonetheless played an important part in the studio's history. Through extensive studio access, interviews with many key Smallfilms collaborators, press and audience analysis, Chris Pallant provides a comprehensive and definitive historical record of the studio's work. Beyond Bagpuss is illustrated with 100 images from the Smallfilms archive, including those that have not previously been published.

From the creator of the popular website Ask a Manager and New York’s work-advice columnist comes a witty, practical guide to 200 difficult professional conversations—featuring all-new advice! There’s a reason Alison Green has been called “the Dear Abby of the work world.” Ten years as a workplace-advice columnist have taught her that people avoid awkward conversations in the office because they simply don’t know what to say. Thankfully, Green does—and in this incredibly helpful book, she tackles the tough discussions you may need to have during your career. You’ll learn what to say when • coworkers push their work on you—then take credit for it • you accidentally trash-talk someone in an email then hit “reply all” • you’re being micromanaged—or not being managed at all • you catch a colleague in a lie • your boss seems unhappy with your work • your cubemate’s loud speakerphone is making you homicidal • you got drunk at the holiday party Praise for Ask a Manager “A must-read for anyone who works . . . [Alison Green’s] advice boils down to the idea that you should be professional (even when others are not) and that communicating in a straightforward manner with candor and kindness will get you far, no matter where you work.”—Booklist (starred review) “The author’s friendly, warm, no-nonsense writing is a pleasure to read, and her advice can be widely applied to relationships in all areas of readers’ lives. Ideal for anyone new to the job market or new to management, or anyone hoping to improve their work experience.”—Library Journal (starred review) “I am a huge fan of Alison Green’s Ask a Manager column. This book is even better. It teaches us how to deal with many of the most vexing big and little problems in our workplaces—and to do so with grace, confidence, and a sense of humor.”—Robert Sutton, Stanford professor and author of The No Asshole Rule and The Asshole Survival Guide “Ask a Manager is the ultimate playbook for navigating the traditional workforce in a diplomatic but firm way.”—Erin Lowry, author of Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together

Jez Stewart charts the course of this extraordinarily fertile area of British film from early experiments with stop-motion and the flourishing of animated drawings during WWI. He reveals how the rockier interwar period set the shape of the industry in enduring ways, and how creatives like Len Lye and Lotte Reiniger brought art to advertising and sponsored films, building a foundation for such distinctive talents as Bob Godfrey, Alison De Vere and George Dunning to unleash their independent visions in the age of commercial TV. Stewart highlights the integral role of women in the industry, the crucial boost delivered by the arrival of Channel 4, the emergence of online animation and much more. The book features 'close-up' analyses of key animators such as Lancelot Speed and Richard Williams, as well as more thematic takes on art, politics and music. It builds a framework for better appreciating Britain's landmark contributions to the art of animation, including Halas and Batchelor's Animal Farm (1954), Dunning's Yellow Submarine (1968) and the creations of Aardman Animations.

This is the autobiography of Oliver Postgate, the man who wrote, narrated and filmed Bagpuss, The Clangers, Ivor the Engine, Noggin the Nog and Pogle's Wood. The book begins with Postgate's childhood, then goes on to cover his years as a conscientious objector, farmer, inventor, actor and stage manager before looking at the period, beginning in the late 1950s, when he created children's films. In more recent years he has become an advocate of solar power and an opponent of nuclear weapons. This is a humourous account of a colourful life.

Working from a barn in Kent, Postgate and Firmin produced some of the best-loved children's television of the 1960s and 1970s, including Bagpuss, The Clangers, Ivor The Engine and Noggin The Nog. This book presents the Smallfilms archive - the puppets and cut-outs from these series, along with insights into how they were made. It's a book full of pipe cleaners, cotton wool, wire and ping-pong balls, and celebrates the imagination and ingenuity of two artists who shaped the childhoods of a generation. Introduction by Jonny Trunk, Foreword by Stewart Lee: 'Jonny Trunk has taken the astonishingly thorough archive of Smallfilms... and presented it as one would a collection of artefacts in an exhibition detailing some much-admired 20th century art movement, like Fluxus or Dada. The Smallfilms' partnership's sacred relics repay his trust, and our repeated viewings.' Stewart Lee.

Tottie is a loving little wooden doll who lives with her family in a shoebox. The doll family is owned by two sisters, Emily and Charlotte, and they are very happy, except for one thing: they long for a proper home. To their delight, their wish comes true when Emily and Charlotte fix up a Victorian dolls' house - just for them. It's perfect. But then a new arrival starts to wreak havoc in the dolls' house. For Marchpane might be a wonderfully beautiful doll, but she is also terribly cruel. And she always gets her own way . . . First published in 1947, Rumer Godden's classic The Dolls' House has been delighting children for years, and this beautiful edition, illustrated by Jane Ray, will delight future generations for years to come.