Eva Ibbotson's hugely entertaining The Star of Kazan is a timeless classic for readers young and old. In 1896, in a pilgrim church in the Alps, an abandoned baby girl is found by a cook and a housemaid. They take her home, and Annika grows up in the servants' quarters of a house belonging to three eccentric Viennese professors. She is happy there, but dreams of the day when her real mother will come to find her. And sure enough, one day a glamorous stranger arrives at the door. After years of guilt and searching, Annika's mother has come to claim her daughter, who is in fact a Prussian aristocrat whose true home is a great castle. But at crumbling, spooky Spittal, Annika discovers that all is not as it seems in the lives of her new-found family . . .

The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson is an enchanting tale of friendship and determination during the Second World War, from the author of The Star of Kazan. Tally Hamilton is furious to hear she is being sent from London to a horrid, stuffy boarding school in the countryside. And all because of the stupid war. But Delderton Hall is a far more interesting place than Tally ever imagined, and an exciting school trip to the beautiful and luscious kingdom of Bergania whisks Tally into an unexpected adventure . . . will she be able to save her new friend, Prince Karil, before it's too late?

Elia Kazan was the twentieth century’s most celebrated director of both stage and screen, and this monumental, revelatory book shows us the master at work. Kazan’s list of Broadway and Hollywood successes—A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, On the Waterfront, to name a few—is a testament to his profound impact on the art of directing. This remarkable book, drawn from his notebooks, letters, interviews, and autobiography, reveals Kazan’s method: how he uncovered the “spine,” or core, of each script; how he analyzed each piece in terms of his own experience; and how he determined the specifics of his production. And in the final section, “The Pleasures of Directing”—written during Kazan’s final years—he becomes a wise old pro offering advice and insight for budding artists, writers, actors, and directors.

Under Platform 13 at King's Cross Station there is a secret door that leads to a magical island . . . It appears only once every nine years. And when it opens, four mysterious figures step into the streets of London. A wizard, an ogre, a fey and a young hag have come to find the prince of their kingdom, stolen as a baby nine years before. But the prince has become a horrible rich boy called Raymond Trottle, who doesn't understand magic and is determined not to be rescued. Shortlisted for the Smarties Prize, The Secret of Platform 13 is an exciting magical adventure from Eva Ibbotson, the award-winning author of Journey to the River Sea. 'This kind of fun will never fail to delight' Philip Pullman

The adventures of a boy warrior, the only survivor of a nomadic tribe that was wiped out by a mysterious water demon, searching for his childhood companion on a desert planet.

Which Witch? is a brilliantly witty tale of magic and marriage by Eva Ibbotson, shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. 'Find me a witch!' cried Arriman the Awful, feared Wizard of the North. Arriman has decided to marry. His wife must be a witch of the darkest powers – but which witch will she be? To find the most fiendish, he holds a spell-casting competition. Glamorous Madame Olympia performs the terrifying Symphony of Death and conjures up a thousand plague-bearing rats. The magic of gentle Belladonna, the white witch, goes hopelessly wrong. She produces perfumed flowers instead of snakes. And bats roost in her golden hair instead of becoming blood-sucking vampires. Poor Belladonna longs to be an evil enchantress – but how? 'This kind of fun will never fail to delight' - Philip Pullman.

All Hal ever wanted was a dog - but a dog would damage the expensive carpets in his parents' glamorous home, and they refuse to consider one. That's until they discover Easy Pets, a dog-rental agency. Fleck the terrier arrives on Hal's birthday, and Hal is overjoyed. But when Hal discovers to his horror that his dog is to be returned, he runs away... along with a bunch of pedigree hounds, all joyfully escaping from Easy Pets! Soon Hal and his dogs - including Otto the wise St Bernard, and the fierce and excitable Pekinese Li-Chee - are being chased across the country by ruthless pursuers. Helped by a travelling circus and some orphanage children, can they race to freedom? Written in the timeless tradition of 101 Dalmations, this is a tail-wagging grand adventure that every dog-lover will adore. Praise for Eva Ibbotson: "Readers of classic children's fiction will be familiar with the bliss that steals over one when a new Eva Ibbotson novel is published." Amanda Craig, The Times "Eva Ibbotson weaves a magic like no other. Once enchanted, always enchanted." Michael Morpurgo "This kind of fun will never fail to delight." Philip Pullman