Six quirky dramas from in and around a northern market stall“If you want owt - go down the market... They sell everything from pins to pearl earrings, from peaches to pig's trotters, from tripe to tiramisu. See the hanging, marbled haunches of beef down Butchers' Row. Smell the flowers, a fragrant dream. Taste the fresh silvery fish motorwayed down from the North Sea.”Some would say the Market is the last authentic part of the city centre. This nor...

A BBC radio full-cast dramatisation of Ian Serraillier’s classic wartime story.When the Germans march into Poland in 1941, the Balickis’ happy family life is shattered. With their parents taken away by Nazis, Ruth, Edek and Bronia are forced to fend for themselves in the dangerous, war-ravaged city of Warsaw.When Edek is captured too, the girls are desperate. Then they meet orphaned street urchin Jan, who carries with him a talisman of hope: a silver sword ...

Wicked wolves and a grim governess threaten Bonnie and her cousin Sylvia when Bonnie's parents leave Willoughby Chase for a sea voyage. Left in the care of the cruel Miss Slighcarp, the girls can hardly believe what is happening to their once happy home. The servants are dismissed, the furniture is sold, and Bonnie and Sylvia are sent to a prison-like orphan school. It seems as if the endless hours of drudgery will never cease.With the help of Simon the gooseboy and his flock, they...

Flavia, Jonathan, Nubia and Lupus–the four friends from The Thieves of Ostia–sail to the Bay of Naples to spend the summer with Flavia’s uncle, who lives near Pompeii. There they uncover a riddle that may lead them to great treasure.Meanwhile, tremors shake the ground, animals behave strangely, and people dream of impending doom. One of the worst natural disasters of all time is about to happen: the eruption of Mount Vesuvius!This second in a series of Roman myster...

Peter England, Una Stubbs and Crawford Logan star in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Philippa Pearce’s enchanting time-slip tale.When his brother catches measles, Tom is sent away to stay with his Aunt Gwen and Uncle Alan, and is thoroughly fed up about it. What a boring summer it’s going to be! But tedium turns to adventure when, lying in bed one night, he hears the old grandfather clock in the hall strike thirteen. What can it mean? As Tom creeps downstairs and opens ...

The place is Ostia, the port of Rome. Flavia Gemina, a Roman sea captain's daughter, is about to embark on a thrilling adventure. Set in a graveyard, marketplace, and courtyards of a Roman city, this fast-paced mystery paints a vivid picture of the life in ancient times.When the dogs on Flavia's street start dying, she is determined to find out who is killing them--and why. Her investigation leads her to three extraordinary people: Jonathan, her new neighbor; Nubia, an African slav...

Penguin presents, the downloadable audiobook edition of Goodnight Mr Tom, read by Patrick Malahide.Young Willie Beech is evacuated to the country as Britain stands on the brink of WW2. A sad, deprived child, he slowly begins to flourish under the care of old Tom Oakley - but his new-found happiness is shattered by a summons from his mother back in London...Winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Award.

The unforgettable tale of an orphan in Victorian London, based on the boy whose plight inspired Dr Barnardo to found his famous children’s homes.When his mother dies, Jim Jarvis is left all alone in London. He is sent to the workhouse but quickly escapes, choosing a hard life on the streets of the city over the confines of the workhouse walls.Struggling to survive, Jim finally finds some friends… only to be snatched away and made to work for the remorselessly cruel Grimy Ni...

Clive King's 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 Bar...

A heartwarming tale of courage and warmth, set against the backdrop of the second world war, about a cat who survives against the odds."Something's up. Something big too, very big. At school, in the village, whoever you meet, it's all anyone talks about. It's like a sudden curse has come down on us all. It makes me wonder if we'll ever see the sun again."It's 1943, and Lily Tregenze lives on a farm, in the idyllic seaside village of Slapton. Apart from her father being away...

A desert-island adventure, and a subtle observation of friendship, trust and humanity.Winner of The Children’s Book Award.Superbly read by DEREK JACOBI.When Michael is washed up on an island in the Pacific after falling from his parents’ yacht, he struggles to survive on his own. He can’t find food and he can’t find water, and as Michael and his dog curl up to sleep, he knows they cannot last long.But he soon realises there is someone close by, someone who i...

**“Roald Dahl sometimes shared a tonal kinship with Ogden Nash, and he could demonstrate a verbal inventiveness nearly Seussian…[His] stories work better in audio than in print.” –The New York TimesWhere did Roald Dahl get all of his wonderful ideas for stories?**From his own life, of course! As full of excitement and the unexpected as his world-famous, best-selling books, Roald Dahl's tales of his own childhood are completely fascinating and fiendishly funny. Did ...