Elsie Piddock Skips in Her Sleep

(Hardback)

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Description

Hop, skip and jump your way through this timeless tale of courage and community-spirit, with charming watercolour illustrations by Charlotte Voake.

Elsie Piddock is a born skipper. By the age of seven, news of her skipping talents has reached the fairies and they invite her to Mount Caburn for lessons. The High Skip, the Slow Skip, the Skip Double-Double, the Long Skip, the Strong Skip, the Skip Against Trouble Elsie Piddock learns them all, and soon theres not a mortal or fairy to touch her. Many, many years later, a greedy Lord buys Mount Caburn and threatens to build factories on its land. Can Elsie Piddock save the skipping ground for the next generation Sparkling with charm and a liberal sprinkling of fairy dust, Elsie Piddock's story is one to be cherished.

Reviews

Charlotte Voake has certainly worked her magic on this tale; the reader is gently introduced to Elsie and the fairies through her fine illustrations, alongside Eleanor Farjeon's lyrical tale. IBW Children's Book Guide, The Bookseller

Author Bio

Eleanor Farjeon (18811965) is regarded as one of this countrys finest writers of poems and stories for children. In 1956 she was awarded both the Carnegie Medal and the Hans Christian Andersen International Medal; her hymn Morning Has Broken is a favourite around the world. Eleanor lived for many years in a little village called Houghton. The children of the village used to gather outside her cottage to play their favourite skipping games, and one day Eleanor went and asked them to recite their rhymes for her. These rhymes, which have been passed down from generation to generation, can be found word-for-word in Elsie Piddock Skips in her Sleep.

Charlotte Voake is a distinguished and much-loved illustrator of childrens books. Her picture book Ginger was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal and won the Smarties Book Prize Gold Award. Charlotte visited Mount Caburn while preparing the illustrations for this book, and found it "an extraordinary place. I could well imagine Elsie Piddock skipping there with Andy-Spandy, Flea-Foot and Heels-o'-Lead. The atmosphere is magical."