Pittipat's Saucer of Moon
(illustrated by Maria Nilsson)
Pittipat knows that the moon is a saucer of cream and his brothers and sisters mean to drink it all up. So the brave little cat sets off to find them, sailing over giant waves and climbing the starry sky until he is face-to-face with the big dark night!
Published 2013, Hodder Children's Books
Reviews
"Evoking a Maurice Sendak-like dreamscape this night-time rhyme is packed with clever language and definitely deserves to be read aloud... lovely and magical."
- Books for Keeps
"Highly recommended for Geraldine McCaughrean's lilting prose and Maria Nilsson's dreamy pictures."
- The Times
"McCaughrean is a magical writer - she delights in rhythm and rhyme and creates delightful tales for even the youngest of children."
- Manchester Evening News
The Nativity Story
(illustrated by Sophy Williams)
A sumptuous take on the classic story, this retelling of the first Christmas features enduring prose and opulent, stylish illustrations. Perfect for reading at home by the fire, it is also an ideal format for reading aloud to groups. Beautifully presented with a foil-effect dust jacket, this is a Christmas treasure for all ages.
Published 2009 Lion Hudson
Reviews
"Vibrant...this [is] an excellent introduction to the Christmas story."
--Trying to Go Green blog
"Geraldine McCaughrean's breathtakingly evocative prose brings new life to the familiar stories. This beautiful book with enduring prose and stylish illustrations is a wonderful family keepsake and a delight to read alone or aloud in homes, schools and churches."
--- Lion Children’s Books
"With McCaughrean's smoothly colloquial retelling of Jesus' birth, this is an eye-catching choice."
--Publishers Weekly
Fig's Giant
(illustrated by Jago
Fig is beach-combing one day when she notices two brown towers sticking up like gravestones from the sand. But they aren't gravestones. They are shoes. Giant shoes - with giant feet inside them
Published 2006, Oxford University Press
Reviews
"McCaughrean writes brilliantly; her vibrant characters come across as more real than real."
– - The Independent
"An extraordinary adventure story beautifully told and creatively illustrated, wonderful for reading aloud and very suitable for emerging independent readers."
- School Librarian
Father and Son
(illustrated by Fabian Negrin)
Long after the star had set, after the angels had roosted, after the shepherds had hurried back to their sheep, there was one person still awake in a dark stable, watching over a sleeping child
Published 2006, Hodder
Reviews
"Father and Son is the best yet. It captures the sense of wonderment every time a father looks at his child."
-The Children’s Bookshop
"This is a clever and beautifully told version of the biblical story, which really makes you think. Fabian Negrin's magical, dreamlike illustrations of angels sleeping under the twinkling stars and exotic birds flying through pale coloured skies, are reminiscent in places of Chagall. A truly wonderful picture book which deserves a place as a work of art."
-Carousel
Bright Penny
(illustrated by Paul Howard)
Bill, Bob and Penny are determined to win a bet with their Pa so they must find a way to fill the barn completely by spending just one penny...
Published 2002, Puffin (Viking Kestrel, US)
Reviews
"Another humdinger of a text for children"
-TES Teacher
"...conjured up well...drawling dialogue and idiomatic narration"
- School Librarian
How the Reindeer Got Their Antlers
(illustrated by Heather Holland)
The reindeer think they look ugly with their knobbly antlers and so hide themselves away in the cold, frozen North - away from the stares and laughter of the other animals. Then, one winter day, Father Christmas needs help to pull his heavy sleigh. Of all the animals in the world, only the shy reindeer step forward. In return, Father Christmas gives them a very special, magical gift, the gift of flight on Christmas Eve.
Published 2005, Orchard Books
Reviews
"A good story can never be retold often enough, particularly not when the author is Geraldine McCaughrean."
-Sunday Telegraph
"A pleasant holiday pourquoi story by the indefatigable McCaughrean, this makes a nice addition to the solstice canon."
-Booklist
My Grandmother's Clock
(illustrated by Stephen Lambert)
Can you tell the time without a clock? Grandma says you can. She knows there are so many other ways to tell the time... Grandmother has a clock, of course, but she doesn’t use it to tell time. “I have so many other clocks,” she says. A heartbeat, the blink of an eye, reading the newspaper, the length of shadows, the smell of baking, birdsong, birthdays, the moon. . .
Published 2002, HarperCollins
Reviews
"Wonderful tale to share, discuss and remember..."
-The Bookseller
"McCaughrean sees with a poet’s eye, and her book is as classic an address on this subject for those of 6+ as Tom’s Midnight Garden is for older readers. The dreamy, luminous illustrations by Stephen Lambert make this one of the most stimulating and attractive picture books of the year."
- The Independent
"Geraldine McCaughrean has produced an inspired picturebook... this book is both useful and moving."
- The Sunday Times
Grandma Chickenlegs
(illustrated by Moira Kemp)
Tatia knows she should follow her mother's advice and stay away from Grandma Chickenlegs. But when her stepmother orders her to visit the old witch, how can Tatia refuse? She sets out, armed only with a clean hankerchief, a sweet nature and her dear doll Drooga.
Published 2001 Corgi
Reviews
"A good story can never be retold often enough, particularly when the author is Geraldine McCaughrean."
- Sunday Telegraph
"For those that like their fairy tales dark and exciting, Grandma Chickenlegs...is the answer. A beautifully illustrated retelling of the classic Baba Yaga story."
- London Parents' Guide
"The poetry of the text is perfectly in tune with colourful pictures."
- The Guardian
The Nutcracker
(illustrated by Nicki Palin)
For Christmas, Clara is given beautiful new ballet shoes and a special nutcracker doll. The nutcracker comes alive, turns into a handsome prince, and the marvellous adventures begin.
Published 1999, Oxford University Press
Reviews
"An enchanting re-telling..."
- Oxford Mail
The Nutcracker
(illustrated by Kristina Swarner)
A beautiful retelling of the story of Marie, who is given a special nutcracker doll for Christmas. The nutcracker comes alive, turns into a handsome prince, and the marvellous adventures begin. Turn the pages and watch as each enchanting scene springs to life in this lavishly illustrated Christmas gift book.
Published 2012, Walker
Reviews
"This is a lovely book to have and to hold. Five stars."
- Amazon
Beauty and the Beast
(illustrated by Gary Blythe)
Gregor picks one perfect rose from the gardens of the Beast's palace for his youngest daughter, Beauty. But for the theft of the rose Gregor has to pay a high price: he must give up his beloved daughter and send her to live with the grotesque Beast.
Published 1999, Doubleday
Reviews
"A visual feast...loaded with drama...a graphic interpretation for our times."
- Times Educational Supplement
"In this stylish and rather stunning version of the tale Geraldine McCaughrean has managed to turn back time to present a simple story which perfectly captures the true essence of the mystery and romance of young Beauty and her unlikely hero....Gary Blythe's striking oil paintings add a depth and lustre to the retelling of this classic tale...with a clever blend of darkness and light which so perfectly complements the richness of McCaughrean's text."
- Amazon
Never Let Go
(illustrated by Jason Cockroft)
On the eve of his wedding Tamlin is stolen away by the Fairy Queen. Tamlin's brave love, Janet, determines to win him back - but first she must find him. Then she must never let him go, come what may, or Tamlin will be gone forever.
Published 1998, Hodder
Reviews
"This picture book will bring a shiver to your spine."
- Books for Kids
Wenceslas
(illustrated by Christian Birmingham)
Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the Feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay round about,
Deep and crisp and even . . .
A beautiful telling of the age-old carol of Good King Wenceslas and his page, who set out on a bitter winter night to deliver the spirit of Christmas.
Published 2007, Corgi
Reviews
"An enthralling retelling of the story of King Wenceslas and his page, who set out on a bitter winter's day to deliver the spirit of Christmas."
- Random House Books
"This parable of kindness and bravery is tenderly recreated by Britain's best reteller of stories."
- Glasgow Herald
"Wonderfully evocative"
- Norwich Evening News
"Beautiful illustrations . . . the language is rich with the balance of outside and inside, cold and warmth, locked rooms and wild blizzards . . . in McCaughrean's Wenceslas we have a memorable character"
- TES
Unicorns! Unicorns!
(illustrated by Sophie Windham)
A magical story set in the time of Noah and the Great Flood, explaining how the most fabulous beast was lost to the world.
Published 1999, Orchard Books
Reviews
"This book has so much to recommend it....writing is splendid and evocative."
- Child Education
"Despite its light appearance, there is a very deep message running through this book. When should we lose patience? When should the lives of two outweigh the lives of many? But more importantly, will we be rewarded for our good actions? This book is both a delight to look at and to read. McCaughrean's text is perfectly complimented by Windham's illustrations. A must for every child's library. "
--Jonathan Smith
Little Angel
(illustrated by Ian Beck)
A picture book for Christmas about how a little angel and a young shepherd become friends. Hand in hand they go to see the newborn king in Bethlehem and find their lives will never be the same again.
Published 1998, Orchard Books
Reviews
"A beautiful picture book for Christmas"
- Books for Keeps
"This is a magical story of the first Christmas, and also of bravery and friendship, in which Ian Beck's exquisitely coloured illustrations are the perfect complement to Geraldine McCaughrean's warm and imaginative text."
- Amazon
Shortlisted for the 1998 Kate Greenaway Award
Saint George and the Dragon
(illustrated by Nicki Palin)
The legend of St George, the Dragon-Slayer, recounting the story of how a vile dragon, fathered by Evil and born of Darkness, rose from a pool outside a tranquil town's gates, how it besieged and terrorised the town, and how an unknown horseman appeared and slew the horrible creature.
Published 2000, Oxford University Press (new edition)
Originally published 1989
Reviews
"...Breathtaking rendition ...eloquent and lyrical narrative."
- Doubleday Review
The Little Mermaid
(illustrated by Laura Barrett)
Hans Christian Andersen's entrancing tale of love, set between land and sea, is retold by renowned storyteller Geraldine McCaughrean and brought to life in magical silhouette artwork by illustrator Laura Barrett.
When she falls in love with a prince, the little mermaid persuades a sea witch to replace her tail with legs so she can live on land. But the price demanded by the wicked sea witch is great: the mermaid's beautiful voice . . .
Published 2019, Orchard Books
The Snow Queen
(illustrated by Laura Barrett)
Join Gerda on her epic journey to the mysterious, snowy lands of the frozen North. Meeting fairy-tale princesses, talking crows and wise old women with enchanted gardens, on her quest to rescue best friend Kai from the Snow Queen's icy palace.
Hans Christian Andersen's classic tale has enchanted children for over 150 years. Retold by Carnegie Medal-winning author Geraldine McCaughrean, with stunningly intricate silhouette illustrations, this is a must-have addition to any child's bookshelf.
Published 2019, Orchard Books
A Tale of Two Dragons
(illustrated by Peter Malone)
Two kingdoms, two dragons - which side will win, or will peace prevail?
The kingdoms of Arbor with its lush forests, and Pomosa rich with farmland, have no love between them, and the children have taken to sneaking across the borders to thieve. If only they would share their produce. But the Kings decide to fight, instead... with dragons. But what kind of future will that bring?
Written by multi-award-winning author Geraldine McCaughrean and with illustrations by renowned artist Peter Malone, this picture book with a classic feel is a perfect reflection of contemporary strife and conflict around the world.
Published 2022, Andersen Press
"This stunning picture book is one for every child… eloquent and lyrical" Sunday Times
"A gently satirical and gorgeously illustrated fable" New Statesman
"McCaughrean is one of the greatest living children's authors." The Bookseller