Most Popular Books by Kate Saunders

A beautiful and heartbreaking novel from an award-winning author about a girl who gets swept up into an adventure involving forgotten toys, perfect for fans of Lauren Wolk and Kelly Barnhill. "A delicate, funny, poignant exploration of grief, love and memory that has the welcoming warmth of an instant classic."--The Guardian Emily and her sister, Holly, were as close as sisters could be. They did everything together. But Holly died three months ago, and Emily''s world is shattered. Amid a sea of changes--her best friend is acting distant, she''s just started at a new school, and she''s been cast as the lead in the school play--Emily is surprised to find that she misses Holly''s teddy bear, Bluey, almost as much as she misses Holly herself. But Bluey was buried with Holly, and there''s no getting either of them back. Then one night, Emily dreams of talking toys, who tell her they have come from the toy world with a message from Bluey. Emily is convinced she can be reunited with him. But there''s something strange about the barrier between the toy world and the real world. Not just strange, but dangerous--magic is spilling out, and it''s wreaking havoc on Emily''s world. Now she must decide whether finding Bluey is worth risking the lives of those she loves. "Deeply moving and highly imaginative."--The Daily Mail "Written from the heart and can''t fail to make yours sing."--The Times, Book of the Week "One of the wittiest books of the year."--The Sunday Times "Suffused with longing and dappled with humor, this novel explores the limits of grief and the lasting power of storytelling."--Wall Street Journal "From whimsical comicality to impending danger...a standalone title, in which the topic of loss is dealt with deftly. For readers willing to let their imagination soar, this fantasy may be just what they are looking for, especially if they have experienced grief."--School Library Journal "An imaginative, magical story ideal for kids experiencing loss."--Kirkus Reviews "Wise in the ways of loss as Emily discovers that the route through grief lies not in escaping to Smockeroon but in engaging with the hard world, in the passage of time, in friendship, memory, and, above all, storytelling."--The Horn Book, Starred Review "A refreshing take on the classic theme of toys coming to life, with the residents of Smockeroon amusingly sassy and self involved. There is still plenty of warmth...while the magical elements cushion the heftier themes...A pleasing blend of sentiment and humor."--Bulletin "Saunders combines the hard reality of loss and the soft comfort of fantasy surprisingly well, offering unexpected humor in Smockeroon as well as sharp insights into human characters."--Booklist

The Marrying Game opens on Christmas Eve, with four sisters at home worrying about money. The setting is present-day England, and the girls'' father, an eccentric aristocrat, has just died, leaving the Hasty family so impoverished that they are about to lose their splendid but crumbling house. So the two oldest sisters--Rufa, tall, elegant, and too serious for her own good; and Nancy, a gorgeous, irreverent redhead who relishes her work as a part-time barmaid in the local pub--decide that the way to redeem the family fortunes is to marry money. Surely it can''t be that hard to find two very rich men and make the men fall in love with them. Thus begins a gloriously modern story that makes us genuinely care about the whole Hasty family. As Rufa and Nancy set out to blaze a trail through London society, they find that nothing in The Marrying Game turns out quite the way they''ve planned.

Mrs. Laetitia Rodd, aged fifty-two, is the widow of an archdeacon. Living in Hampstead with her confidante and landlady, Mrs. Bentley, who once let rooms to John Keats, Laetitia makes her living as a highly discreet private investigator. Her brother, Frederick Tyson, is a criminal barrister living in the neighboring village of Highgate with his wife and ten children. Frederick finds the cases, and Laetitia solves them using her arch intelligence, her iron discretion, and her immaculate cover as an unsuspecting widow. When Frederick brings to her attention a case involving the son of the well-respected, highly connected Sir James Calderstone, Laetitia sets off for Lincolnshire to take up a position as the family''s new governess--quickly making herself indispensable.But the seemingly simple case--looking into young Charles Calderstone''s “inappropriate” love interest--soon takes a rather unpleasant turn. And as the family''s secrets begin to unfold, Laetitia discovers the Calderstones have more to hide than most. Dickensian in its scope and characters, The Secrets of Wishtide brings nineteenth century society vividly to life and illuminates the effect of Victorian morality on women''s lives. Introducing an irresistible new detective, the first book in the Laetitia Rodd Mystery series will enthrall and delight.

For the 90th anniversary of Winnie-the-Pooh, a sequel featuring new stories and a new character from the Hundred Acre Wood. Now a New York Times Bestseller. The Trustees of the Pooh Properties have commissioned four authors to write in the timeless style of A.A. Milne to create a quartet of charming new adventures for Winnie-the-Pooh, Christopher Robin, and their friends. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall: take a trip back to the Hundred Acre Wood with a collection of tales sure to delight year-round. One story finds Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet on a quest to discover the "Sauce of the Nile" (they suspect it''s apple). And in another, all the animals rally around poor Eeyore when he thinks he sees another donkey eyeing his clover. The winter story features a new penguin character, based on a stuffed toy owned by Christopher Robin Milne himself. Readers of all ages will love rediscovering old friends and making new ones in this essential new volume of Pooh stories. The book feature beautiful color artwork in the style of Ernest H. Shepard by Mark Burgess.

Tom is in shock. He''s just discovered that his dad is an escaped fairy on the run. And that he must trust his life to three dangerous fairy godmothers he''s never met. Two of them are hardened criminals, and one falls out of the window when she tries to fly . . . Will their mad magic be enough to help Tom rescue his dad from the clutches of some killer fairies?

A vividly drawn contemporary fairy tale—full of invention, adventure, and wonderfully colorful characters.

Celebrate The Best Bear in all the World with this 100th Anniversary hardback edition of the official sequel to the beloved classic children''s stories by A.A.Milne. ‘There you are,’ said Pooh to Piglet, ‘didn’t I say all along there was nothing to worry about?''

"Reminiscent of Road Dahl''s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory . . . a great read-aloud." --Booklist Welcome to the most magical house in London. The family of eleven-year-old twins Oz and Lily have inherited it, together with the mysterious shop downstairs. Long ago, the shop''s famous chocolate-makers, who also happen to be Oz and Lily''s great uncles, were clever sorcerers. Now evil villians are hunting for the secret of their greatest recipe. The terrifying powers of this magic chocolate have the ability to destroy the world. Soon, Oz and Lily are swept into a thrilling battle, helped by an invisible cat, a talking rat, and the ghost of an elephant. It''s up to them to stop the villians and keep the magical chocolate recipe out of harm''s way. Their family and the world depends on it.

M. C. Beaton meets Miss Marple in the second book in the Laetitia Rodd Mysteries, which sees Kate Saunders''s Victorian detective on the hunt for a missing Oxford academic. In 1851, private detective Laetitia Rodd is enjoying a well-earned holiday when she gets an urgent request for her services. Mrs. Rodd''s neighbor Jacob Welland is a reclusive, rich gentleman dying of consumption, and he wants Mrs. Rodd to find his brother, who has been missing for fifteen years. Joshua Welland was a scholar at Oxford, brilliant, eccentric, and desperately poor when he disappeared from the university. Friends claim to have seen him since, in gypsy camps and wandering around the countryside. But the last sighting was ten years before—when Joshua claimed to be learning great secrets from the gypsies that would one day astound the whole world. Mrs. Rodd travels to Oxford and begins to search for the wandering scholar. But as she investigates, Mrs. Rodd discovers something dark—and extremely dangerous—lurking in the beautiful English countryside. For readers of James Runcie, Alexander McCall Smith, and M. C. Beaton, Laetitia Rodd and the Mystery of the Wandering Scholar is a delightful new mystery about Victorian England and an indomitable female detective.

For fans of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Oz and Lily’s magical chocolate-filled adventure continues in the sequel to The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop. In the wrong hands, chocolate can be very dangerous indeed. . . . Oz and Lily have a top-secret mission. Alba the witch has gotten her hands on a magical chocolate phoenix and is plotting to use it for some serious evil. With the help of an army of rats and an unreliable talking cat, the children must pursue her not only across London but through time itself. This might be their toughest adventure yet. Praise for The Curse of the Chocolate Phoenix “Saunders weaves the supernatural with the ordinary with ease. Readers who enjoyed The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop will not be disappointed.”—Booklist “Clearly, Saunders has honed her deft and breezy comic style while affectionately channeling mild echoes of Harry Potter and The Hobbit....It’s official: more magical chocolate equals even more perceptive and magical fun for all.”—Kirkus Reviews “Saunders’s imagination is out in full force. Hand this to readers who love adventure, fantasy, and Mission Impossible–type adventure.”—SLJ

Twelve-year-old Flora Fox would do anything not to go to Penrice Hall, the boarding school her parents are shipping her off to because of a family emergency. Penrice has horses and an Olympic-size swimming pool, but flashy facilities won''t change how Flora feels about being sent away and having to make new friends. On the train ride to Penrice, Flora awakens from a nap to find herself transported into the past—1935, to be exact. As Flora rises to the challenges of her strange new life, she finds that the joys and complications of growing up are the same no matter what the year. And that friends and family will always be there to lend a helping hand. Praise for Beswitched A Junior Library Guild Selection ★ “This absorbing novel…features a dimensional, delightful protagonist, whose personality and growth ring true....Along with the entertaining magical elements, the universal themes of self-discovery, and looking beyond appearances combine into a wholly engaging and enjoyable read.”—Booklist, Starred Review “Saunders offers a coming-of-age tale against the rich backdrop of full period detail . . . [It] will charm readers.”—Publishers Weekly “A ripping English boarding-school story with a perceptive heroine and time-travel twist guaranteed to appeal to modern schoolgirls.”—Kirkus Reviews

Kate is a thirty-something-year-old adventurer and single mother who sells her stateside business to go to Kathmandu, Nepal with her young son, Jack. Her intention is to adopt an orphaned toddler named Devi, a little girl she knows only from a photograph. The expedition ends up completely redirecting Kate''s moral compass and forcing her to find peace within chaos. Stand in the Traffic is the story of Kate''s year long journey through culture shock, paperwork delays, and revolution. As the days drift by, Kate struggles to connect with the stoic little girl whose charcoal eyes and visible scars betray her elusive past. In Stand in the Traffic, Kate''s fresh, engaging voice speaks to women''s issues, parenting, politics, and adventure travel. Readers will be captivated by Kate and her family. Unlike other adoption retrospectives, this is not the dry, drawn out account of bureaucracy and childlessness, but rather a heart-pounding journey to the land of rickshaw wallahs and orange-clad saddhus, incense laden temples, and sly street dogs. As the months unfold, Kate finds herself contentedly immersed in Devi''s vibrant culture, in spite of the revolution brewing just down the lane. Kate''s story of immersion in a foreign culture leads readers into an enchanted dreamscape.

"A young woman tries to help her childhood friends find suitable wives"--Publisher marketing.

In this incredible, heart-wrenching story reminiscent of E. Nesbit’s Five Children and It, Kate Saunders illustrates the power of war but the even greater power of family, and the love that carries us out of the darkness of despair into the light of hope. The sand fairy, also known as the Psammead, is merely a creature from stories Lamb and Edith have heard their older brothers and sisters tell . . . until he suddenly reappears. Lamb and Edith are pleased to have something to take their minds off the war, but this time the Psammead’s magic might have a serious purpose. Before their adventure ends, all will be changed, and the Lamb and Edith will have seen the Great War from every possible viewpoint—that of factory workers, soldiers and sailors, and nurses. But most of all, the war’s impact will be felt by those left behind, at the very heart of their family. Praise for Five Children on the Western Front Winner of the Costas Award for Children’s Fiction ★ “An irresistible read.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review “Skillful and deeply moving.” —The Guardian “A rewarding experience.”—Booklist “Saunders strikes a surprisingly successful balance between the mischievous magic of the sand fairy and the harsh realities of wartime England.” —The Bulletin “A dramatic, heartrending look at World War I’s far-reaching consequences for families and individuals.”—SLJ “An emotionally resonant, engaging story of personal growth (the siblings’) and moral education (the Psammead’s). With issues of social and gender inequality and a compassionate take on the ruins of war, it’s historically convincing, thought-provoking, and sensitive.”—The Horn Book Magazine

Cat discovers that the white stone her archaeologist father gave her DOES have amazing powers. Powers to defeat bullying Emily Baines. Powers to turn her into a cat! But the Blessed Sardine, the cats'' holy relic - has gone missing and now only one marmalade cat - called Cat - can help.

There''s trouble on the planet of Yule-1, the real home of Father Christmas... The Trubshaw family are flown back from Earth to help out! Once again Jake and Sadie are transported to a place where elves and reindeer are their friends and everything is about getting ready for Christmas, the best holiday of the year. Hysterically funny, wonderfully bonkers, it''s Christmas like you''ve never seen it before. With knock-out illustrations throughout from Super Star, Neal Layton.

Jingle bells, Jingle bells, smelly poo and bum! You can wait for Christmas but it''s never going to come! When a miniature reindeer named Percy falls down the chimney of the Trubshaws'' holiday cottage, the last thing they expect is to be whisked away to the distant planet of Yule-1 - the REAL home of Father Christmas, the elves, and his intrepid reindeer delivery teams. And what an amazing place it is - nobody minds being stuck there until the computer system has been mended. But the festive season is in danger! One rogue reindeer has teamed up with the evil Krampus to sabotage everything. Unless Percy and his new friends can track them down, there will be no Christmas this year - or EVER AGAIN! Illustrated in black and white by Neal Layton, this is destined to become a holiday favourite.