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 there's 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.

About the Author

Eleanor Farjeon (1881-1965) is regarded as one of this country's 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 children's 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."

Reviews
"Elsie Piddock Skips in Her Sleep is one of the great Eleanor Farjeon's loveliest stories, and Charlotte Voake's beautiful ink and watercolour illustrations capture all its magic. [...] As lovely to read aloud as it is to look at, and with a timeless message about the strength of communities, this is an absolute delight." * LoveReading Andrea Reece *



Book Information
ISBN 9781406373257
Author Charlotte Voake
Format Paperback
Page Count 96
Imprint Walker Books Ltd
Publisher Walker Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 180g
Dimensions(mm) 180mm * 123mm * 10mm