E. Nesbit

When Jerry, Jimmy and Kathleen are forced to spend their entire summer at school they don't imagine they will have a particularly interesting time. But that's before they stumble upon a mysterious castle set in beautiful, abandoned gardens. Could this really be an enchanted castle? Don't be a duffer, there's no such thing. But with the air thick with magic, the sun blazing down, and a maze hiding a sleeping girl at its centre, the holidays might just be looking up... 

I dare say you have often thought about what you would do if you were granted three wishes. The five children - Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane and their baby brother - had often talked about it but when they are faced with the grumpy sand-fairy they find it difficult to make up their minds. And that is just the beginning of their dilemmas. As they discover, there is nothing quite like a wish for getting you into terrible trouble.

Memories of a childhood in France and England.

It's startling enough to have a phoenix hatch in your house, but even more so when it reveals that you have a magic carpet on the floor. The vain and ancient bird accompanies the children on a series of adventures through time and space.

When Father is taken away unexpectedly, Roberta, Peter, Phyllis and their mother have to leave their comfortable life in London to go and live in a small cottage in the country. The children seek solace in the nearby railway station, and make friends with Perks the Porter and the Station Master himself. Each day, Roberta, Peter and Phyllis run down the field to the railway track and wave at the passing London train, sending their love to Father. Little do they know that the kindly old gentleman passenger who waves back holds the key to their father's disappearance.

Sequel to 'Five Children and It'. Another story about the ever-fascinating Psammead. Also contains The Foresaken Merman, a poem by Matthew Arnold.

The Bastable children (Dora, Oswald, Dicky, Alice, Noel and Horace Octavius) live in London with their widowed father. Too poor to attend school, the children are left to their own devices and they spend their days coming up with ingenious plans to restore their father's fortune.

The Bastable children, first met in The Treasure Seekers, are sent to stay in the countryside; is it large enough to contain their exuberant activities? They (and Pincher the dog) have every intention of being good…