{"product_id":"the-winter-sleepwalker-and-other-stories-9780241730928","title":"The Winter Sleepwalker and Other Stories","description":"Rediscover the A Puffin Book series and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this wonderful new edition of \u003ci\u003eThe Winter Sleepwalker and Other Stories\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJoin master storyteller Joan Aiken and illustrator extraordinaire Quentin Blake for eight original and wildly imaginative modern fairy tales. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom Martian dinosaurs and eight-legged horses to a girl cursed to turn into a pink snake on Sundays, these weird and wonderful short stories weave folktale, fantasy and modernity into something entirely unexpected. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTold with Aiken's distinctive wit and brought to life by Blake's marvellously atmospheric illustrations, these surreal, sublime and endlessly enjoyable tales are perfect for reading alone or together.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJoan Aiken was born in Sussex in 1924. She was the daughter of the American poet, Conrad Aiken; her sister, Jane Aiken Hodge, is also a novelist. Before joining the 'family business' herself, Joan had a variety of jobs, including working for the BBC, the United Nations Information Centre and then as features editor for a short story magazine. Her first children's novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Kingdom of the Cave, \u003c\/i\u003e was published in 1960. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eJoan Aiken wrote over a hundred books for young readers and adults and is recognized as one of the classic authors of the twentieth century. Amanda Craig, writing in \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e, said, 'She was a consummate story-teller, one that each generation discovers anew.' Her best-known books are those in the James III saga, of which \u003ci\u003eThe Wolves of Willoughby Chase \u003c\/i\u003ewas the first title, published in 1962 and awarded the Lewis Carroll prize. Both that and \u003ci\u003eBlack Hearts in Battersea \u003c\/i\u003ehave been filmed. Her books are internationally acclaimed and she received the Edgar Allan Poe Award in the United States as well as the Guardian Award for Fiction in this country for \u003ci\u003eThe Whispering Mountain\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eJoan Aiken was decorated with an MBE for her services to children's books. She died in 2004.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eQuentin Blake has illustrated more than three hundred books and was Roald Dahl's favourite illustrator. In 1980 he won the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal. In 1999 he became the first ever Children's Laureate and in 2013 he was knighted for services to illustration.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Puffin Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51720990884114,"sku":"9780241730928","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_e5b60aa0-2dec-4ff3-9de8-2d873aa6f66c.jpg?v=1762944951","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-winter-sleepwalker-and-other-stories-9780241730928","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}