The three Hardcastle children agreed obediently with all the people who told them, practically every day of their lives, what a lovely home it was that they were being given, and when they saw the pony they knew they ought to be feeling enthusiastic about that too.The Hardcastles' grandmother has a mission in life: all her grandchildren must beat the children of her best friend, Lady Pinkney, in every area of their lives. Charlotte must marry better than Primrose; Priscill...

Mrs Allibone was just like a horse: one of the nastier kinds of horse ...Jane and Adam are twins. They are on their way to stay with their Uncle William, whom they have never met. Their father has married again, and their step-mother and the twins do not see eye-to-eye. Uncle William lives in a house of chaos, though his beloved bull lives a life of luxury, and his twin horses don't do so badly. Mrs Allibone is involved with the Pony Club, which will be just the ticket, she thinks,...

They must all remember that they were in the public eye all the time, and that each member of the family had a part to play which might never be relaxed even at home.Arabella and James are the Merry children: their parents make their living on television, telling other parents how to bring up their children, with their own beautifully behaved offspring as an example. Everything they do is a photo opportunity. But Arabella and James long to be normal; for people who like th...

The classic story from Roald Dahl, about an exceptional young girl with extraordinary powers. Adapted into a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical and a Netflix film!Matilda is a sweet, exceptional young girl, but her parents think she's just a nuisance. She expects school to be different but there she has to face Miss Trunchbull, a menacing, kid-hating headmistress. When Matilda is attacked by the Trunchbull she suddenly discovers she has a remarkable power with whi...

When Christina is sent to live in the grand country house, Flambards, she doesn't know what to expect. Once there, she meets two young men, Mark and Will, trying to cope with their bad-tempered father. She also discovers a passion for horse-riding and a love for life in the country. As time goes by Christina begins to embrace her new life and all the social engagements that it involves, but with both brothers vying for her attention Christina knows it's just a matter of time before she has...

The classic story from Roald Dahl, about an exceptional young girl with extraordinary powers. Adapted into a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical and a Netflix film!Matilda is a sweet, exceptional young girl, but her parents think she's just a nuisance. She expects school to be different but there she has to face Miss Trunchbull, a menacing, kid-hating headmistress. When Matilda is attacked by the Trunchbull she suddenly discovers she has a remarkable power with whi...

Ursula Dubosarsky is the Australian Children's Laureate for 2020 - 2021There were only eleven of them, like eleven sisters all the same age in a large family. Because it was such a very small class, they had a very small classroom, which was perched at the very top of the school - up four flights of stairs, up in the high sky, like a colony of little birds nesting on a cliff. 'Today, girls,' said Miss Renshaw, 'we shall go out into the beautiful Gardens and think about death.'

Independent, wry, and unstoppable, Jill and her ponies have been loved for generations.Jill Crewe and her mother have moved to Chatton. Jill has nothing to do, as school hasn't started, but there is a pony down the road, and Jill makes friends with him. She longs to buy him, but money is tight. And then ... Jill is able to to buy Black Boy. It's a dream come true, but Jill very soon finds out there's a lot more to owning a pony than she realised. And she doesn't know how to do any ...

Jill is sunk in gloom. All her plans have been utterly ruined. She cannot ride at Chatton Show because she has hurt her wrist swinging the hen bucket. But although she has to miss the show, Jill doesn't remain downcast for long, because the summer holidays stretch before her and her friends. They'll help organise the fete at Blossom Hall, for a start. Then Dinah Dean appears: a neglected child who is desperate to ride, and who produces some very conflicted emotions in Jill. Jill's conscien...

Jill has been dreaming of getting another pony, and here she is, with her prospective new pony in front of her. There's just one problem. Jill doesn't like Rapide, and Rapide doesn't like her. Despite this, Jill buys him, but she immediately regrets it. How Jill gets over her dislike of Rapide, and how she and her friends save Mrs Darcy's riding school, make this a classic of pony literature.

The Jill series is one of the classics of pony fiction. In this second book, disaster has hit Jill's plans. No pony-filled summer for her: her mother is going to America, and so Jill must go and stay with her defiantly un-horsy cousin, Cecilia. Cecilia's idea of a good summer pursuit is pressing flowers. It's not Jill's. But there is hope on the horizon, when Jill meets a family who are desperate to find a way they can keep their pony. Jill suggests they all get together and start their ow...

In "Rain in the Doorway," Thorne Smith crafts a whimsical and satirical exploration of the human experience through a blend of fantasy and humor. The novel deftly intertwines the supernatural with contemporary life, portraying the life of a protagonist who grapples with love, ambition, and existential musings. Smith's distinctive literary style, characterized by lighthearted prose and sharp wit, reflects the artistic experimentation of the 1920s, making this work emblematic of the era's bu...