The cold and wet weather has invaded. Now come the days of taking shelter with something booky with the heating turned up or swathed in a duvet chrysalis. Here are some of the books I like to revisit in autumn and winter.
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner
“When Colin and Susan are pursued by eerie creatures across Alderley Edge, they are saved by the Wizard. He takes them into the caves of Fundindelve, where he watches over the enchanted sleep of one hundred and forty knights.
But the heart of the magic that binds them – Firefrost, also known as the Weirdstone of Brisingamen – has been lost. The Wizard has been searching for the stone for more than 100 years, but the forces of evil are closing in, determined to possess and destroy its special power.
Colin and Susan realise at last that they are the key to the Weirdstone’s return. But how can two children defeat the Morrigan and her deadly brood?”
The Dark is Rising (series) by Susan Cooper
“Will Stanton’s ordinary life is shattered with the dreadful revelation that the Dark–the source of all evil–is rising in its last and greatest bid to control the world. He finds that he is no ordinary boy, but the last-born of the Old Ones, immortals dedicated to keeping mankind free from the Dark. Soon Will is swept up in the great battle, along with his ageless master, Merriman; the three mortal Drew children with their own vital part to play; and a strange boy named Bran. These six servants of the Light fight fear and death in a quest through time and space interwoven with the most ancient myths of the islands of Britain–searching for the weapon that will ultimately vanquish the Dark. This thrilling hardcover collection includes:
Over Sea, Under Stone
The Dark Is Rising
Greenwitch
The Grey King
Silver on the Tree.”
North Child by Edith Pattou
“Rose is an unsusual child, a North Child. For Rose was born facing north, and the old stories say she is destined to travel far from home on a dangerous journey. Making a pact with an enormous white bear, Rose travels on his back to a mysterious castle that holds a dark enchantment, a darker temptation, and the key to her true destiny.
A spellbinding adventure to curl up with on long winter nights.“
This is a retelling of the fairy tale “East of the Sun and West of the Moon” with elements of Beauty and the Beast.
Northern Lights by Philip Pullman
“Without this child, we shall all die.”
Lyra Belacqua and her animal daemon live half-wild and carefree among scholars of Jordan College, Oxford.
The destiny that awaits her will take her to the frozen lands of the Arctic, where witch-clans reign and ice-bears fight.
Her extraordinary journey will have immeasurable consequences far beyond her own world…“
My Swordhand is Singing by Marcus Sedgwick
“In the bitter cold of an unrelenting winter, Tomas and his son, Peter, arrive in Chust. Despite the villagers’ lack of hospitality, they settle there as woodcutters. But there are many things Peter does not understand. Why does Tomas dig a channel of fast-flowing waters around their hut so they live on an isolated island? Why does Tomas carry a long battered box everywhere they go – and refuse to tell Peter of its contents?
When a band of gypsies comes to the village, Peter’s drab existence is turned upside down. He is infatuated by the beautiful gypsy princess, Sofia, and intoxicated by her community’s love of life. He even becomes drawn into their deadly quest – for these travellers are Vampire Slayers, and Chust is a community to which the dead return to wreak revenge on the living.“
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C S Lewis
“Four adventurous siblings – Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie – step through a wardrobe door and into the land of Narnia, a land frozen in eternal winter and enslaved by the power of the White Witch. But when almost all hope is lost, the return of the Great Lion, Aslan, signals a great change … and a great sacrifice.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the second book in C. S. Lewis’s classic fantasy series, which has been drawing readers of all ages into a magical land with unforgettable characters for over sixty years. This is a stand-alone read, but if you would like to explore more of the Narnian realm, pick up The Horse and His Boy, the third book in The Chronicles of Narnia.“
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
‘Once upon a time, there was a boy who lost his mother . . .’
As twelve-year-old David takes refuge from his grief in the myths and fairytales so beloved of his dead mother, he finds the real world and the fantasy world begin to blend. That is when bad things start to happen. That is when the Crooked Man comes. And David is violently propelled into a land populated by heroes, wolves and monsters in his quest to find the legendary Book of Lost Things.
Nightwalks 