All those things that matter-friendship, love, trust, happiness, and sacrifice-seem to matter all the more at Christmas time. In this wonderful illustrated anthology for older children such themes are considered through thirty stories, both old and new, to present a wide-ranging view of Christmas and its celebrations.

The winter landscape at Christmas, the story of the Nativity, the celebrations of the season, and the coming of the New Year-these are explored through more than 120 poems, both old and new. Included in this wonderful illustrated collection are poems by Ted Hughes, John Betjeman, W.H. Auden, Thomas Hardy, Michael Rosen, and many more.

This collection evokes the magic and joy of the Christmas celebrations, both religious and secular. It is a storybook that will surprise and delight all young children at Christmas.

Selected by Robin Hanbury-Tenison, whom the Sunday Times called the 'greatest explorer of the last twenty years', this is a comprehensive anthology of the writings of explorers through the ages, now fully revised and updated. The ultimate in travel writing, these are the words of those who changed the world through their pioneering search for new lands, new peoples, and new experiences. Divided into geographical sections, the book takes us to Asia with Vasco da Gama, Francis Younghusband, and Wilfred Thesiger, to the Americas with John Cabot, Sir Francis Drake, and Alexander Von Humboldt, to Africa with Dr David Livingstone and Mary Kingsley, to the Pacific with Ferdinand Magellan and James Cook, and to the Poles with Robert Peary and Wally Herbert. Driven by a desire to discover that transcends all other considerations, the vivid writings of these extraordinary people reveal what makes them go beyond the possible and earn the right to be known as explorers.

A late-flowering poet who was the imaginative voice of the chronically ignored and a witty sceptic of conventional thinking.

Charles Dickens is probably the greatest novelist England ever produced. His innate comic genius and shrewd depictions of Victorian life - along with his memorable characters - have made him beloved by readers the world over. In Dickens' books live some of the most repugnant villains in literature, as well as some of the most likeable (and unlikely) heroes.

A little polar bear, Miki, wanders away while his mother is diving for fish. He sees a dot in the snow and rushes towards it. Readers discover that the dot is a little girl. But Miki has never seen a human before and the little girl has never seen a polar bear. They discover more about eachother as they play in the snow but then the perils of the polar landscape impel Miki to take the little girl home before undertaking the long journey to find his own mother. Although one is a polar bear and one is a little girl, Miki and Dot share a common experience: they are both separated from their mothers when they meet. Their bond of friendship gives them the strength to support each other during the course of a day that will last with them both forever. This is amoving and poignant story set in a changing and challenging polar landscape, perfect for the Christmas season. It wraps up important themes about empathy, kindness, and courage. The story is both simply told and affecting. The gorgeous snowscapes, full of real atmosphere, are created withprintmaking techniques by debut illustrator Fiona Woodcock.

When your family gets together at Christmastime, this book will prove to be the most treasured gift, bringing together children and parents, young and old. All the great stories of the holidays, along with some wonderful surprises, are waiting to be read aloud around the tree. This superb treasury of 30 seasonal tales, 10 of which were specially commissioned for this collection, brings together all the traditional Christmas characters and customs that children of all ages know and love -- Grandfather Frost, Mr. Pickwick, the Snowman, carol-singing, and the birth of Jesus. Some of the stories -- by authors such as Charles Dickens, Shirley Jackson, and Sue Townsend -- will be familiar to young readers and their parents. Others -- by modern writers including Robert Swindells, Philippa Pearche, and Sue Townsend -- will quickly become newly-discovered favorites.

Christmas has always been a time for telling stories, and this collection draws on that tradition to create a wonderful mixture of stories for the festive season. It includes stories about presents and surprises; about family quarrels and loneliness; about both happy and sad times - and, of course, about ghosts. It all adds up to a thought provoking and absorbing collection which brings together stories about all the different faces of Christmas, and what it means to us.