Children's Fantasy - Moomins & Wolves

When I first started buying books as a student at University, I had very little spare cash with which to do so. Somehow I managed to buy a few paperbacks a week from my meagre allowance. Children's books were the cheapest - you could get 4 books for $2.00 - and in many cases were more interesting, story wise. Naturally I was drawn to the more fantastic books in the range.

Tove Jansson's Moomin books were of course among those I purchased.

Here's a selection of covers of the Puffin books editions, with cover art by Tove Jansson.

Another children's book author whose books I keenly looked forward to right up to her death in 2004, was Joan Aiken. Her alternate history series which began with Wolves of Willoughby Chase were a particular favourite, though all her children's adventure stories are first class. She was a wonderful writer, her stories being marvellously eccentric.

I am missing the second book, Black Hearts in Battersea, in the "Wolves" sequence but I have all the rest. The Puffin books editions are all illustrated by Pat Marriott as are the Red Fox editions.

Cold Shoulder Road has cover art by none other than Edward Gorey.

The last two books in series (alas) are Midwinter Nightingale and The Witch of Clatteringshaws are both US editions, published by Dell and Delacorte Press.

Next - Lloyd Alexander and Susan Cooper