Rumer Godden

Rumer Godden's The Diddakoi won the 1972 Whitbread Children's Book Award. Everyone in Kizzy's town hates her because she's half-gypsy – a diddakoi. But Kizzy doesn't care. All she needs is Gran and her horse, Joe. But when Gran dies and their wagon burns down, Kizzy is all alone. No one wants to look after her and her beloved Joe might get sent to the knacker's yard. Can Kizzy survive in a hostile world – and save Joe?

It is Christmas Eve and, for the toys in Mr Blossom's shop, it is their last chance to be sold. Holly, a small doll dressed especially for Christmas, wishes hard for her own special child. But the day ends and Holly is left in the window. On Christmas morning a little lost orphan girl finds herself outside the toyshop. Ivy has never had a doll to love, but when she sees Holly, she knows at once that this doll is meant specially for her. But Ivy has no money, and the shop is closed . . . The Story of Holly and Ivy is a Christmas classic by Rumer Godden, beautifully illustrated by Christian Birmingham.

By the bestselling author of Black Narcissus and The Battle of the Villa Fiorita 'This is an absolutely heart-warming read, which will make you laugh, cry and love it' GUARDIAN 'Her craftsmanship is always sure' NEW YORK TIMES 'Godden's expert narration, her beguiling setting and her heartening celebration of love and happy endings' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 'Never forget, Charlotte, you were born to be a dancer . . . Never forget. Promise.' Before her ballet teacher died, Lottie promised Madame Holbein to be the dancer her mother never lived to become. Orphaned at birth, Lottie has been brought up by her aunt, and though she is loved, she is lonely. Then she finds Prince, a spaniel puppy, and discovers a love and loyalty that is boundless. When Lottie passes the tough audition for Queen's Chase, Her Majesty's Junior Ballet School, everybody is thrilled - except, surprisingly, Lottie. She will have to board at school, and what will happen to her beloved dog? To choose between the two is breaking her heart.

Tracy Quinn, daughter of a screen star and raised on film sets around the world, returns to her adored family home, a country house named China Court. Her grandmother's recent death has set in motion events that threaten Tracy's future and the very existence of China Court. As Tracy fights to save the old house, inhabited by five generations of Quinns, the ancestors who created it are evoked: profligate, faithless Jared; Eliza, the embittered spinster; and Ripsie, an outcast orphan who rose to become the powerful matriarch.

While the Grey family is visiting the battlefields of France, their mother becomes seriously ill. Their father is far away, busy with his work as an explorer. So thirteen year-old Cecil is left virtually alone with her brothers and sisters in a French chateau-hotel, owned by Mademoiselle Zizi. While Cecil watches from the sidelines, her beautiful older sister Joss falls in love with Eliot, the charming English gentleman who appoints himself the family's guardian. And while the greengages grow ripe and sweet in the sun, the sense of danger and mystery increases.

'Her prose is pure, delicate, and gently witty' NEW YORK TIMES '[Many] relish the delicacy of her writing for children' IRISH TIMES 'A sensitive exploration of a boy's triumph over the objections of his parents to his becoming a ballet dancer' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Doone Penny is a child with a gift - he was born to dance. But though others recognise his talent, there is little encouragement from his family. His mother preens over his pretty sister, Crystal, also a dancer, but fiercely competitive and vain. Doone's father would never allow a son of his to have ballet lessons and his brothers think he's a sissy. But Doone has passion and ambition beyond his years. He knows he can succeed, if only he is given the chance. If he can make it into Queen's Chase, Her Majesty's Junior Ballet School, he'll show them all . . .