Best Selling Books by Russell Hoban

Acclaimed as one of the classics of 20th century children''s literature, The Mouse and His Child is a moving story about two clockwork mice thrown on a scrap heap who then have to begin a dangerous quest for a place to belong. It is adapted for the stage by Tamsin Oglesby and will be directed by Paul Hunter, Told By An Idiot''s Co-Artistic Director. The Mouse and His Child continues the Royal Shakespeare Company''s long tradition of creating new stage adaptations of much-loved childhood tales – including Beauty and the Beast, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, The Heart of Robin Hood, and Matilda The Musical, the RSC''s award-winning Roald Dahl adaptation, currently playing in the West End.

Frances is having a birthday party but who should she invite and what should she eat?

A brilliant, unique, and completely realized work of fiction, ""Riddley Walker""--first published in 1980--is set in a remote future in a post-nuclear holocaust England (Inland), where humanity has regressed to an iron-age, semi-literate state, represented by a language created especially by Hoban for the book.

After receiving a blow to the head from a bully at school and a mysterious puzzle from a melancholy magician, twelve-year-old Nick enters a strange and frightening reality that changes his life.

Frances is a fussy eater. In fact, the only thing she likes is bread and jam. She won''t touch her squishy soft-boiled egg. She trades away her chicken-salad sandwich at lunch. She turns up her nose at boring veal cutlets. Unless Mother can come up with a plan, Frances just might go on eating bread and jam forever!

Re-issued to coincide with the centenary of Messiaen''s birth, The Messiaen Companion was the first major study to appear after the composer''s death in April 1992. It was the first book to offer both a complete survey of Messiaen''s extraordinary achievements and a comprehensive guide to his music, also examining in detail the enduring inspiration which Messiaen derived from his religious faith and from his lifelong passion for ornithology and the natural world. The contributors, all of whom have made a special study of the composer, include two biographers of Messiaen and a number of the foremost interpreters of his music. Messiaen''s influential teaching is recalled in essays by three of his pupils (Pierre Boulez, George Benjamin, and Peter Hill), and the composer is also remembered in a remarkable and moving contribution from his widow and devoted musical companion, the pianist Yvonne Loriod.

Celebrate Christmas with the inspiration for the beloved Jim Henson film. In 1977, when Jim Henson debuted the now-classic film Emmet Otter''s Jug-Band Christmas, few knew it was based on a story written and illustrated by Russell and Lillian Hoban, creators of Bread and Jam for Frances and other treasured children''s books. With an enduring score by the great Paul Williams, the movie remains a holiday tradition in homes across North America. Here is the book that started it all, a beautiful gift edition that will thrill Muppets fans young and old. Inspired by the classic tale "The Gift of the Magi," the story begins in a poor country cottage, as Emmet Otter dreams of buying Ma a piano for Christmas, while Ma dreams of buying Emmet a guitar. When a village talent contest is announced, both imagine their dreams coming true. But what they don''t imagine finding is their real reward — the power of love, family, and hope in hard times. It is a story that reaches into a reader''s heart and reminds us all that fortune favors the brave. A Bank Street College of Education Best Children''s Book of the Year "[A] welcome reissue of the Hobans'' 1971 story . . . Colorful illustrations of the close-knit animal community contain plenty of warmth." —The Horn Book

Falling head over heels for the spirited Lola, who shares his musical tastes and complements him on every level, Max nevertheless pursues a secret second relationship when the unattainable high-school homecoming queen he loved years earlier reenters his life.

Because Tom''s aunt disapproves of his constant fooling around, she calls in Captain Najork to teach him a lesson. Tom, however, has a splendid idea!

On a day like any other, Kleinzeit gets fired. Hours later he finds himself in hospital with a pair of adventurous pyjamas and a recurring geometrical pain. Here he falls instantly in love with a beautiful night nurse called Sister. And together they are pitched headlong into a wild and flickering world of mystery ... Kleinzeit. In German that means ''hero''. Or ''smalltime''. It depends on whom you ask. ''Russell Hoban is our Ur-novelist, a maverick voice that is like no other'' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

New novel by prolific British novelist Russell Hoban

The Mole family learns about Christmas and builds a chimney so that Santa Claus will be able to visit them.

Roswell Clark wants a bat tattoo. His ideal bat image is on a bowl in the V&A Museum. There he encounters Sarah Varley, also compelled by the same bat. What does it mean? This novel combines much about art with new angles on Christ, crash-test dummies, antiques and pornography.

When Albert and his buddies have a "no girls" baseball game, Frances and her sister organize a "Best Friends Outing -- No Boys."

Frances foils Thelma''s plot to trick her out of a new china set. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

One of a reissued series about the Badger family. With a new baby in the house, Frances thinks that no one pays much attention to her any more. So she decides to run away, but not so far that she won''t be able to hear how much she''ll be missed - even by baby Gloria.

Frances finds it difficult to go to sleep with the strange noises and menacing shapes that seem to fill her room after dark.