Showing results by author "Chris Riddell" in All Categories

Meet shy mermaid Atalanta Scrimshaw. She lives in the quiet backwater of Sleepy Cove, collects messages in bottles, rides seahorses and enjoys the hobby of ‘walking’ on the beach and visiting friends. Life is perfect until Atalanta learns of plans by developers Bristle & Splinter to transform Sleepy Cove into a luxury seaside golf resort. Realizing that this plan will destroy her home, she enlists the help of her friends, old and new, to try to stop it . . .

Meet Ottoline and her hairy, helpful friend, Mr. Munroe. Ottoline is off to the Alice B. Smith School for the Differently Gifted, but she is rather worried that she doesn't have a special gift. Mr. Munroe is more worried about the ghost who is said to haunt the school halls at night. Does Ottoline discover her hidden talent, and can they expose the spook?

A creative call to arms from the mind of Neil Gaiman. Art Matters will inspire its listeners to seize the day in the name of art. Be bold. Be rebellious. Choose art. It matters. Neil Gaiman once said that 'the world always seems brighter when you've just made something that wasn't there before'. This audiobook is the embodiment of that vision. Drawn together from speeches, poems and creative manifestos, Art Matters explores how reading, imagining and creating can change the world, and will be inspirational to young and old.

Young Twig lives in the Deepwoods, among the Woodtrolls, but he isn't one of them. In a brave attempt to find out where he belongs, Twig wanders into the mysterious, fascinating, and sometimes hazardous world beyond the Deepwoods. In his travels he encounters myriad peculiar creatures, like his wise guardian, the Caterbird; the Slaughterers, a peaceful race who butcher animals for their livelihood; and the vicious, bile-swilling Rotsucker.

Ottoline and Mr. Munroe do everything and go everywhere together. That is until the day Mr. Munroe mysteriously disappears, leaving a strange clue written in string.... Armed with her Amateur Roving Collectors' travel pass, Ottoline sets off on a journey over, under, and on top of the sea to find her hairy best friend - and bring him back home.

In Poems to Fall in Love With, Chris Riddell OBE, political cartoonist for the Observer, has selected his very favourite classic and modern poems about love. This gorgeous collection celebrates love in all its guises, from silent admiration through passion to tearful resignation. These poems speak of the universal experiences of the heart and are brought to life by Juliet Stevenson and David Rintoul. This collection features famous poems, old and new, and a few surprises. Classic verses sit alongside the modern to create the ultimate collection.

Ottoline is back in Ottoline and the Purple Fox, a brand-new adventure from Children's Laureate Chris Riddell. Ottoline and Mr Munroe love puzzles, clues and mysteries. One day they meet an enigmatic purple fox who offers to take them on a nighttime urban safari. The fox shows them all the hidden animals of the city, and Ottoline makes notes on them in her field notebook. Mr Munroe is making notes, too - on the anonymous poems he finds stuck to lampposts on their journey. Who is the secretive poet, and how can he and Ottoline help them mend their broken heart?

The exceptional talents behind some of the nation’s best-loved books - from The Gruffalo to The BFG, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt to the Charlie and Lola series - the Children’s Laureates are the perfect ambassadors for children’s literature. It’s been 20 wonderful years of the Laureateship and now all 10 former honourees have banded together to celebrate the only way they know how: through stories and poems.

Cade has never met his uncle, the infamous ‘descender’ Nate Quarter, who years ago committed heresy by lowering himself over the cliff-face of the Edge. But Nate has returned, and the Academy of Flight are looking for revenge against all of his supporters - including Cade. So now he has to run. With no money and nowhere else to go, Cade’s only option is to stow away aboard the Xanth Filatine - a mighty sky-ship bound for the city of Hive. But getting onto the ship is only the beginning of his troubles....

Cade Quarter is building a new life for himself in the wild of the Farrow Ridges, miles away from civilisation - and from the enemies who are seeking him. His lakeside home is idyllic, and he lives a peaceful existence with his prowlgrin, Rumblix, and Tug, the nameless one. But when his new home is threatened by villainous mire-pearlers, Cade and his friends must find a way to defend the land they love. The arrival of the ship Doombringer means Cade must leave the Farrow Ridges and compete in an ultimate challenge to bring aid to the Lakes.

Welcome to Absurdia: a strange and wonderful land where nothing is quite what it seems. Trees are birds, umbrellas are trees, and the sky is thick with snoring fish. Join one small boy as he tumbles out of bed into a crazy dreamland of wardrobe monsters, dragons - and amazing adventure. With a story to enchant the youngest reader, as well as music and sound effects that will make you giggle, whatever your age, this is an extraordinary achievement and one to savour.

Fleeing from the ruins of New Undertown, Rook Barkwater and his colleagues - the librarian knights, Felix Lodd and his banderbear friends - must lead the escaping population to a new life in the Free Glades. But perils aplenty are ahead for the crowd - not to mention some goblins with plans of their own. A dramatic and exciting conclusion to the Rook Barkwater sequence that takes the reader on a thrilling journey across the Edgeworld.

A stunning and timely creative call-to-arms combining four extraordinary written pieces by Neil Gaiman. Drawn from Gaiman’s trove of published speeches, poems, and creative manifestos, Art Matters is an embodiment of this remarkable multimedia artist’s vision - an exploration of how reading, imagining, and creating can transform the world and our lives.

The Guardians of Magic disappeared ten years ago, leaving the Kingdom of Thrynne in the icy grip of a powerful sorceress. Most people have fled in desperate search of warmer lands, escaping the Ice Monsters that roam the streets. Meanwhile, young Tiggy Thistle lives hidden and safe with a kindly Badger until the day she meets one of the crafty Stiltskin brothers and she has to run from her happy home. So begins Tiggy's quest to find Zam, Phoebe and Bathsheba—the only people, she believes, who can save Thrynne from the curse of endless winter.

The Kingdom of Thrynne is a place where fairy tales don’t behave, and magic can be found in unexpected places. But magic brings danger to Zam, Phoebe and Bathsheba, because it is forbidden. Now, the future of magic itself is under threat from powerful enemies: those who fear it and, worse, those who want to use it for their own ends. What can three ordinary children do to protect it?

Little Green Raincape is on her way to Rapunzel's party, deep in the wild woods. The way is long and dark, but Green is a smart girl. Smart enough to turn down apples offered by kindly old ladies, smart enough to turn down travel advice from helpful wolves, and above all, smart enough to solve a wealth of classic fairy tale problems - not least mend a lovelorn beast's broken heart. Once Upon a Wild Wood is a richly imagined story packed full of familiar fairy tale characters as you've never seen them before.

Cade Quarter has spent the last few years of his life running from an enemy he’s never even met - the ruthless and power-hungry High Professor of Flight, Quove Lentis. But Quove’s deadly agenda has finally caught up with Cade, and now he must leave his home and flee once more, this time to the legendary floating city of New Sanctaphrax. But even reuniting with his uncle, Nate Quarter, isn’t the end of Cade’s troubles - and now, more than ever, he must find the courage to defy his enemies, unite his friends and unlock the secrets of descending.

Barnaby Grimes is a tick-tock lad, running errands in his city, day and night, and high-stacking around the rooftops in search of new mysteries to solve. A fantastic romp through a Dickensian-style city, with a wonderful new hero in the guise of Barnaby.

Those who guard us speak of us, in whispers as...'the Immortals.'' Nate Quarter is a lowly lamplighter in the phraxmines of the Eastern Woods.Until treachery forces him to flee for his life - to the mighty city of Great Glade. But these are turbulent times. In far-off Hive - the spectacular city founded by the goblin tribes - the clan leaders are preparing for war. And out beyond the dread Nightwoods, in the fabled gardens of Riverrise, a one-eyed waif jealously guards the life-giving waters of the mystical Riverrise spring.

If his inventions go wrong, Wendel just throws them away and starts again. So when Clunk, his robot assistant, fills the sock drawer with cups and saucers and makes tea in a Wellington boot, Wendel throws him on the scrap heap and makes himself a new assistant: the Wendelbot. But he gets more than he bargained for, and soon Wendel finds himself on the scrap heap. Can he win back his workshop from the mighty Wendelbot? Let the robot battle commence!