Books in the A Puffin Book series

'The masterwork of a great genius' William Makepeace ThackerayA novel of intense emotional power, heightened atmosphere and fierce intelligence, Jane Eyre dazzled and shocked readers with its passionate depiction of a woman's search for equality and freedom on her own terms. Its heroine Jane endures loneliness and cruelty in the home of her heartless aunt and the cold charity of Lowood School. Her natural independence and spirit prove necessary when she takes a position as governess at Thornfield Hall. But when she finds love with her sardonic employer, Rochester, the discovery of a shameful secret forces her to make a terrible choice. Edited with an Introduction and notes by STEVIE DAVIES

The story of everyday life in the big, happy Ruggles family who live in the small town of Otwell. Father is a dustman and Mother a washerwoman. Then there's all the children - practical Lily Rose, clever Kate, mischievous twins James and John, followed by Jo, who loves films, little Peg and finally baby William. A truly classic book awarded the Carnegie Medal as the best children's book of 1937.

Clive Kings wonderful classic, Stig of the Dump, is now available to download, read by the brilliant Tony Robinson. Barney is a solitary little boy, given to wandering off by himself. One day he is lying on the edge of a disused chalk-pit when it gives way and he lands in a sort of cave. Here he meets somebody with a lot of shaggy hair and two bright black eyes wearing a rabbit skin and speaking in grunts. He names him Stig. Of course nobody believes Barney when he tells his family all about Stig, but for Barney cave-man Stig is totally real. They become great friends, learning each others ways and embarking on a series of unforgettable adventures. Cover illustration by Edward Ardizzone

Small and insignificant Bastian Balthazar Bux is nobody's idea of a hero, least of all his own. Through the pages of an old book he discovers a mysterious world of enchantment - but a world that is falling into decay. The great task of making things well again falls on Bastian.

Twelve-year-old Karana escapes death at the hands of treacherous hunters, only to find herself totally alone on a harsh desolate island. How she survives in the face of all sorts of dangers makes gripping and inspiring reading.Based on a true story.

Into this breathtaking trilogy is woven the true spirit of the Vikings, who great thirst for travelling the seas took them on incredible voyages in defiance of icy waters, terrible hardships and bloodthirsty resistance.It is AD 780. Viking's Dawn sees a young Norse boy, Harald Sigurdson, set sail for the Hebrides in the longship 'Nameless'. The goal: to plunder the helpless coastal villages of Britain.Just five years later, undeterred by his first desperate journey, the dauntless warrior puts to sea once again, in The Road to Miklagard - this time lured by the news of a fabulous hoard of treasure. After a lifetime struggling with the bitter waves, Harald embarks on his last voyage in Viking's Sunset, this time not for gain but to seek vengeance on a blood enemy.

The moving and very real story of two teenagers and an unplanned pregnancy. It is told from two viewpoints - that of Helen as she writes her thoughts in a series of letters to the unborn baby, the Dear Nobody of the title, and of Chris as he reads the letters and relives events as Helen is in labour.

My Family and Other Animals is the bewitching account of a rare and magical childhood on the island of Corfu by treasured British conservationist Gerald Durrell. It is also the first book in Durrell's Corfu Trilogy, which inspired ITV's television series The Durrells. Escaping the ills of the British climate, the Durrell family - acne-ridden Margo, gun-toting Leslie, bookworm Lawrence and budding naturalist Gerry, along with their long-suffering mother and Roger the dog - take off for the island of Corfu.But the Durrells find that, reluctantly, they must share their various villas with a menagerie of local fauna - among them scorpions, geckos, toads, bats and butterflies.Recounted with immense humour and charm My Family and Other Animals is a wonderful account of a rare, magical childhood.'Durrell has an uncanny knack of discovering human as well as animal eccentricities' Sunday Telegraph'A bewitching book' Sunday Times

The very funny stories of Clever Polly and the stupid wolf, gathered together in one volume, including Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf, Polly and the Wolf Again, Tales of Polly and the Hungry Wolf and More Stories of Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf.Drawing occasionally on well-known fairy tales, and skilfully blending fantasy and reality, these stories are bursting with humour, originality and charm. And Polly, not scared at all, outwits the wolf on each and every occasion!

Gobbolino has one white paw and blue eyes and isn't wicked at all, so his mother doesn't like him. He escapes to look for a kitchen home but is distrusted everywhere he goes and blamed for mysterious happenings, such as the farmer's milk turning sour and the orphanage children's gruel turning into chocolate.

A Puffin Book - stories that last a lifetime.Puffin Modern Classics are relaunched under a new logo: A Puffin Book. There are 20 titles to collect in the series, listed below, all with exciting new covers and child-friendly endnotes.TARKA THE OTTER is the classic story of an otter living in the Devonshire countryside which captures the feel of life in the wild as seen through the otter's own eyes. The story's atmosphere and detail make it easy to see why Tarka has become one of the best-loved creatures in world literature.Henry William Williamson was born in 1895 in Brockley, south-east London. The then semi-rural location provided easy access to the countryside, and he developed a deep love of nature throughout his childhood. He became a prolific author known for his natural and social history novels. He won the Hawthornden Prize for literatrure in 1928 for Tarka the Otter.

Sandleford Warren is in danger. Hazel's younger brother Fiver is convinced that a great evil is about to befall the land, but no one will listen. And why would they when it is Spring and the grass is fat and succulent?

A Puffin Book - stories that last a lifetime.Puffin Modern Classics are relaunched under a new logo: A Puffin Book. There are 20 titles to collect in the series, listed below, all with exciting new covers and fun-filled endnotes.Philippa Pearce's poignant story of a young boy who longs for a pet dog.In A DOG SO SMALL young Ben Blewitt is desperate for a dog. He's picked out the biggest and best dogs from the books in the library - and he just knows he's going to get one for his birthday. Ben is excited when the big day arrives, but he receives a picture of a dog instead of a real one! But the imagination can be a powerful thing, and when Ben puts his to work, his adventures really begin!Philippa Pearce grew up in a millhouse near Cambridge and read English and history at Girton College. She was a scriptwriter-producer for the BBC, a children's book editor and reviewer, a lecturer, a storyteller and freelance writer for radio and newspapers as well as writing some of the best-loved books of the 20th century. She won a Carnegie Medal for TOM'S MIDNIGHT GARDEN and a Whitbread Prize for THE BATTLE OF BUBBLE AND SQUEAK. She died in December, 2006.Also available in A Puffin Book: GOODNIGHT MISTER TOM and BACK HOME by Michelle Magorian CHARLOTTE'S WEB, STUART LITTLE and THE TRUMPET OF THE SWAN by E. B. White THE BORROWERS by Mary NortonSTIG OF THE DUMP by Clive KingROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY by Mildred D. TaylorA DOG SO SMALL by Philippa PearceGOBBOLINO by Ursula Moray WilliamsCARRIE'S WAR by Nina BawdenMRS FRISBY AND THE RATS OF NIMH by Richard C O'BrienA WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeleine L'EngleTHE CAY by Theodore TaylorTARKA THE OTTER by Henry WilliamsonWATERSHIP DOWN by Richard AdamsSMITH by Leon GarfieldTHE NEVERENDING STORY by Michael EndeANNIE by Thomas MeehanTHE FAMILY FROM ONE END STREET by Eve Garnett

Unlike other cygnets, Louis, the trumpeter swan, cannot utter a sound. But with the encouragement of his father, Louis sets out to overcome his problem. One way of doing this Louis decides, is to learn to read and write and so he sets off to Montana to find his friend Sam Beaver.

Lydia, Christopher and Natalie are used to domestic turmoil. Their parents' divorce has not made family life any easier in either home. The children bounce to and fro between their volatile mother, Miranda, and Daniel, their out-of-work actor father. Then Miranda advertises for a cleaning lady who will supervise the children after school - and Daniel gets the job, disguised as Madame Doubtfire. This is a bittersweet, touching and extremely funny book.

Sid, Peggy and Amy adore the two gerbils, Bubble and Squeak, but their mother detests them. A major family battle results, and it's clear life is never going to be quite the same again. But after a near fatal encounter between Bubble and Ginger the cat, Mrs Sparrow begins to see that life with a pair of gerbils might not be so bad after all.

There had always been otters in the stream running through Farthing Wood - and that had never been a problem for the other animals before but when there is a shortage of fish in the stream, the otters are forced to hunt on land. As the otters are taking away valuable prey, Lean Vixen has a plan to drive the otters out once and for all.

This is the story of 12 year-old Sade and her brother Femi who flee to Britain from Nigeria. Their father is a political journalist who refuses to stop criticising the military rulers in Nigeria. Their mother is killed and they are sent to London, with their father promising to follow. Abandoned at Victoria Station by the woman paid to bring them to England as her children, Sade and Femi find themselves alone in a new, often hostile, environment. Seen through the eyes of Sade, the novel explores what it means to be classified as 'illegal' and the difficulties which come with being a refugee.

Alf Proysen was born in Norway in 1914. The Mrs. Pepperpot books first appeared in the 1950's and were an immediate success. They have been loved by children ever since and have been translated into many different languages. Alf Proysen died in 1970.

Life is good for Buck in Santa Clara Valley, where he spends his days eating and sleeping in the golden sunshine. But one day a treacherous act of betrayal leads to his kidnap, and he is forced into a life of toil and danger. Dragged away to be a sledge dog in the harsh and freezing cold Yukon, Buck must fight for his survivial. Can he rise above his enemies and become the master of his realm once again?With an inspirational introduction by award-winning author Melvyn Burgess, The Call of the Wild is one of the twelve wonderful classic stories being relaunched in Puffin Classics in March 2008.

Stuart Little is no ordinary mouse. Born to a family of humans he lives in New York City with his parents, his older brother George and Snowball the cat. He's an adventurous and heroic little mouse. When his best friend, a beautiful little bird called Margalo disappears from her nest, Stuart is determined to track her down.

A feisty African-American girl - Cassie Logan - she grows up in Mississippi during the Great Depression and learns the shocking realities of racism. Cassie finds it difficult to understand why the farm means so much to her father.

A tense and compulsive survival story of a young boy and an old man adrift on the ocean, then marooned on a tiny, deserted island. It is also a fascinating study of the relationship between Phillip, white, American, and influenced by his mother's prejudices, and the black man upon whom Phillip's life depends.

Young Smith was a pickpocket - a very accomplished one. But one day his pick-pocketing was to lead him into a sinister and dangerous web of murder, intrigue and betrayal.

A Puffin Book - stories that last a lifetime.Puffin Modern Classics are relaunched under a new logo: A Puffin Book. There are 20 titles to collect in the series, listed below, all with exciting new covers and fun-filled endnotes.'Annie' began in 1924 as the heroine of a comic strip cartoon called LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE. Her adventures ran in newspapers in America for over 40 years before it was turned into a Broadway musical.It's 1933 and for as long as she can remember, 11 year old Annie has believed that her mother and father would come back to her New York City orphanage to get her. But mean Miss Hannigan the headmistress is making Annie's life a misery. So she runs away to find her parents - and along the way she rescues a friendly dog, meets millionaire Oliver Warbucks, and has a many scary and exciting adventures. Will kind-hearted Annie find a way to escape her hard-knock life?The author THOMAS MEEHAN is the playwright of the original Broadway play and he has expanded the story of the plucky little orphan in this classic American tale.Thomas Meehan was born in New York in 1929. He worked as a journalist for the New Yorker magazine and wrote comedy sketches for the satirical TV show, 'That Was the Week That Was'. He received a Tony Award for Annie in 1977, for The Producers in 2001 and in 2003 for the musical Hairspray. He currently lives in New York city and in Nantucket, Massachusetts.Also available in A Puffin Book: GOODNIGHT MISTER TOM and BACK HOME by Michelle Magorian CHARLOTTE'S WEB, STUART LITTLE and THE TRUMPET OF THE SWAN by E. B. White THE BORROWERS by Mary NortonSTIG OF THE DUMP by Clive KingROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY by Mildred D. TaylorA DOG SO SMALL by Philippa PearceGOBBOLINO by Ursula Moray WilliamsCARRIE'S WAR by Nina BawdenMRS FRISBY AND THE RATS OF NIMH by Richard C O'BrienA WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeleine L'EngleTHE CAY by Theodore TaylorTARKA THE OTTER by Henry WilliamsonWATERSHIP DOWN by Richard AdamsSMITH by Leon GarfieldTHE NEVERENDING STORY by Michael EndeANNIE by Thomas MeehanTHE FAMILY FROM ONE END STREET by Eve Garnett

The Village by the Sea is a survival story by the novelist Anita Desai. Set in a small fishing villlage near Bombay, Lila and Hari, aged 13 and 12, struggle to keep the family, including two young sisters, going when their mother is ill and their father usually the worse for drink. When Hari goes to Bombay to find work, Lila seems to be responsible for everything. Although the book paints a picture of extreme poverty, it demonstrates the strength of the family even in the most extreme circumstances and offers a powerful picture of another culture.Reissued in 'A Puffin Book' series of Puffin modern classics, The Village by the Sea continues to engage young readers of 8+.

Pauline, Petrova and Posy Fossil are sisters - with a difference. All three were adopted as babies by Great Uncle Matthew, an eccentric and rich explorer who then disappeared, leaving them in the care of his niece Sylvia. The girls grow up in comfort until their money begins to run out and nobody can find Great Uncle Matthew.