After visiting his family in England, Felix is on his way back to Spain when he's shipwrecked off the coast of France. He is taken in by monks to recover from his ordeal--but it soon becomes clear to him that he is actually being held prisoner. Felix encounters an injured boy, Juan, on the grounds of the monastery and saves him from death. The two boys escape and continue on to Spain together--but a gang is pursuing Juan, and the journey is more dangerous than they imagined.

Now eighteen, Felix sets out across the mountains of Spain to rescue three children kidnapped by their father. Along the way, he hopes to see his true love, Juana, who has entered a convent. But his rescue party is being followed, and Felix fears he and the children are being led into a trap.

Young Arabel's life is changed forever when her father, a taxi driver, brings home an injured bird he finds in the street. This wacky raven eats everything in sight, answers the telephone by squawking "Nevermore " andcauses chaos wherever he goes--but Arabel loves her new feathered friend, whom she names Mortimer.

This is the first volume of Arabel and Mortimer's adventures, brightened with hilarious illustrations by Quentin Blake."

In addressing "the way to write for children," Joan Aiken starts at the beginning. Is writing a children's book as simple as it looks? Do you want to write for children or about them? Do you want to write a picture book for young children, a book for new readers, or a chapter book for preteens? Why is Beatrix Potter so beloved? E. Nesbit? A. A. Milne? Maurice Sendak?

After more than fifteen years as a writing shelf classic, The Way to Write for Children has been completely revised and updated. From analysis of what makes the best-loved children's books so successful, to where...