Leon Garfield and Edward Blishen retells some of the most famous Greek myths in this classic of children's literature. This is the epic history of the Greek Gods told from their violent beginnings to the creation of man.

A Carnegie Medal Honor BookTwelve-year-old Smith is a denizen of the mean streets of eighteenth-century London, living hand to mouth by virtue of wit and pluck. One day he trails an old gentleman with a bulging pocket, deftly picks it, and as footsteps ring out from the alley by which he had planned to make his escape, finds himself in a tough spot. Taking refuge in a doorway, he sees two men emerge to murder the man who was his mark. They rifle the dead man's pockets and finding them empty, depart in a rage. Smith, terrified, flees the scene of the crime. What has he stolen that is worth the life of a man?Smith is a gripping, engrossing, and utterly diverting tale of high adventure related by a writer whose scintillating style is matched only by the dazzle of his plotting. In the words of Lloyd Alexander, "Garfield is unmatched for sheer exciting storytelling. The reader simply can't stop reading him."

Life in eighteenth-century London was hard and especially so for the city's apprentices. For seven long years they struggled for their livelihoods among the fetid houses and sinister quays of old London. But despite their hardships there was hope and even fun. This compelling story-cycle follows them round the year, through the dark, cold winter nights to midsummer in the city, The lamplighter, the pawnbroker, the midwife or the clockmaker, their stories interweave delightfully to paint a colourful picture of life in London 200 years ago.

How to introduce children to Shakespeare, not just to the stories behind the plays but to the richness of Shakespeare's language and the depth of his characters: That's the challenge that Leon Garfield, no slouch as a wordsmith himself, sets out to meet in his monumental and utterly absorbing Shakespeare Stories. Here twenty-one of the Bard's plays are refashioned into stories that are true to the wit, the humor, the wisdom, the sublime heights, the terrifying depths, and above all the poetry of their great originals. Throughout, Garfield skillfully weaves in Shakespeare's own words, accustoming young readers to language and lines that might at first seem forbiddingly unfamiliar. Leon Garfield's Shakespeare Stories is an essential distillation--a truly Shakespearean tribute to Shakespeare's genius and a delight for children and parents alike.

Mr Corbett is a cruel employer and his young apprentice Benjamin can't help but wish he were dead. So when a strange old man offers to make this wish come true, Benjamin finds it impossible to refuse. Sure enough, Mr Corbett meets an untimely death, but the tables turn on the terrified apprentice who finds himself cursed with the ghost of the man he hated most in the world . . .

'My father, that stern and upright man, was nothing but a swindler and a thief!' What is the matter with old Mr Jones? Endless footsteps and low groans can be heard from his room in the dead of night. Only his son William knows the a terrible secret: his father betrayed his business partner Mr Diamond, and swindled him out of a great fortune. William resolves to go to London, find Mr Diamond and make amends. But the murky big city, with its sinister characters and treacherous back streets, is no place for a boy of twelve. And Mr Diamond's own son is not the sort of person to forgive and forget. Danger and deceit lie waiting... Includes exclusive material: In the Backstory you can find out more about the wonderful author and learn some Cockney rhyming slang! Vintage Children’s Classics is a twenty-first century classics list aimed at 8-12 year olds and the adults in their lives.

This series of 7 stories are full of adventure, intrigue and suspense.

Harris and Bostock are best friends, but they are as different from one another as night and day. Harris thinks up harebrained schemes and Bostock gets in trouble for them. When Harris puts his baby sister Adelaide in the words to see if she will be adopted by a fox, little do they realize that they are starting a chain of events that will be remembered in their little seaside town as the Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris.

A New York Review Children's Collection Original The Complete Bostock and Harris combines two delightful, suspenseful, and madly funny tales of Harris and the not-so-bright Bostock, a rollicking best-friend duo who've been through thick and thin together in eighteenth-century Brighton.In the "The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris," the wily pair put their classics education to the test when they adopt the Spartan custom of exposing infants to the wild, leaving Harris's infant sister, Adelaide, to the elements. The boys hope a wolf will nourish and care for her, but their plan backfires in a riotous and clever turn of events.It is springtime in "The Night of the Comet," and in the days before Pigott's comet will pass over their town, Harris's and Bostock's thoughts turn to love. Bostock becomes enamored with Harris's sister Mary, while Harris falls in love with Captain Bostock's telescope. The two boys make a deal: Bostock will make off...