Search results for ""author kevin crossley-holland""

In this wonderful collection of very short stories from award-winning author, Kevin Crossley-Holland, none of the stories is more than two pages long, and some are much shorter. There are stories about ghosts, supermarkets, animals, adventures, and all kinds of things to inspire every short story writer.

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Award-winning author, Kevin Crossley-Holland, follows the success of Short, with Short Too!, an inspirational collection for short story writers where even the longest story is very short. A wonderful mix of the best short stories. Some are old, some are new, some are scary, some are funny, but all the stories in this book will make you think. There's Tarvaa and the terrible plague, a bagful of butterflies, ghostly tales from the beyond the grave, and the short life of Barbara the Lamb Who Froze to Death. Baa! Brr! Ahh!

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“Norse Myths […] will delight both the newcomer and the Norse aficionado." - The Guardian"A book to be treasured for generations” - Daily MailThe gods of the Vikings come to life as never before in this extraordinary illustrated anthology by Carnegie Medal-winning author Kevin Crossley-Holland and artist Jeffrey Alan Love. These dramatic, enthralling and atmospheric tales are based on the Scandinavian myth cycle – one of the greatest and most culturally significant stories in the world – and tell of Odin with his one eye, Thor with his mighty hammer and Loki, the red-haired, shape-shifting trickster. In this stunning collection of myths, the strange world of ancient magic, giants, dwarfs and monsters is unforgettably imagined.

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The ninety-six Anglo-Saxon riddles in the eleventh-century "Exeter Book" are poems of great charm, zest, and subtlety. Ranging from natural phenomena (such as icebergs and storms at sea) to animal and bird life, from the Christian concept of the creation to prosaic domestic objects (such as a rake and a pair of bellows), and from weaponry to the peaceful pursuits of music and writing, they are full of sharp observation, earthy humour and, above all, a sense of wonder. The main text of this volume contains Kevin Crossley-Holland's newly-revised translations of seventy-five fascinating and discursive riddles - all those not very badly damaged or impenetrably obscure - while a further sixteen are translated in the notes. These translations are very widely anthologised in Britain and the USA. Sir Arthur Bliss and William Mathias set some of them to music, Ralph Steadman has illustrated them and Michael Fairfax has incorporated them in his Riddle Sculpture.

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Kevin Crossley-Holland’s name will be familiar to readers of all ages for his historical novels, his re-telling of the Norse myths and his many volumes of poetry. Previously published by the late Enitharmon Press, he is a very welcome newcomer to Arc with his twelfth collection – his first for six years – inspired by the “heavenly squelch” of his own north Norfolk where “the word on the tip of your tongue may be sacramental”. As Ronald Blythe puts it: “His language has been honed by the Norfolk and Suffolk climate itself, and has the polish of split flint.”

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'Burning ice, biting flame; that is how life began'The extraordinary Scandinavian myth cycle is one of the most enduring, exciting, dramatic and compelling of the world's great stories. The Penguin Book of the Norse Myths compellingly retells these stories for the modern reader, taking us from the creation of the world through the building of Asgard's Wall to the final end in Ragnarok. You'll discover how Thor got his hammer and how Odin lost his eye, the terrible price of binding the wolf Fenrir and why Loki the trickster can never be trusted. The Norse myths are as thrilling to read as they are of vast cultural and historical importance. In this gripping book Kevin Crossley-Holland brings alive the passion, cruelty and heroism of these unforgettable stories.

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Medieval life meets Arthurian magic in a novel that transcends boundaries of time and age, appealing to children of 9+ and older readers alike. This second book in the trilogy from the winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and the Smarties Prize bronze award is a timeless novel, stunningly reissued for a new generation. Arthur de Caldicot arrives at Holt to be squire to Lord Stephen and accompany him on crusade. It is an exciting and bewildering time for him as he finds a warhorse, is fitted with armour and improves his fighting skills. And meanwhile these events are reflected in his seeing stone, in stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.Packed with incident, wonderful characters, and fascinating historical detail, and interwoven with brilliant retellings of Arthurian legends, this is a glorious follow-up to THE SEEING STONE.

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Medieval life meets Arthurian magic in a novel that transcends boundaries of time and age, appealing to children of 9+ and older readers alike. The winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and the Smarties Prize bronze award in 2001, this timeless novel is stunningly reissued for a new generation. The year is 1199, the place the Welsh Marches. Young Arthur de Caldicot is given a magical shining stone in which his legendary namesake is revealed. In 100 short chapters that brilliantly evoke life in a medieval manor, stories of the boy King Arthur begin to echo - and anticipate - the secrets and mysteries that emerge in his own life . . ."As bright and as vivid as the pictures in a Book of Hours. Deep scholarship, high imagination, and great gifts of storytelling have gone into this; I was spellbound." - Philip Pullman, The Guardian

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Step into the Anglo-Saxon world of King Alfred the Great in a lyrical retelling from a Carnegie Medal-winning author and Kate Greenaway Medal-winning former Children''s Laureate.Alfred the Great is one of the most iconic rulers in British history and the only one to be known as Great. Not only did he mount a fierce resistance against Viking invaders, he was also a keen scholar and collector of stories. He welcomed travellers with a tale to his court, which brings in the intrepid sailor Wulfstan. Wulfstan dazzles Alfred''s court with a story of shipwrecks, horse-racing and a ruler buried in ice.Kevin Crossley-Holland has translated Wulfstan''s thrilling tale from the Anglo-Saxon into a rhythmic prose poem with lavish artwork by Chris Riddell.

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A collection of essays, reviews, lectures and articles spanning the career of Kevin Crossley-Holland, highlighting his position as the pre-eminent English writer of Myth and legend.

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Beowulf, The Battle of Maldon, The Dream of the Rood, The Wanderer, and The Seafarer are among the greatest surviving Anglo-Saxon poems. They, and many other treasures, are included in The Anglo-Saxon World: chronicles, laws and letters, charters and charms, and above all superb poems. Here is a word picture of a people who came to these islands as pagans and yet within two hundred years had become Christians, to such effect that England was the centre of missionary endeavour and, for a time, the heart of European civilization. Kevin Crossley-Holland places poems and prose in context with his skilful interpretation of the Anglo-Saxon world; his translations have been widely acclaimed, and of Beowulf the poet Charles Causley has written, 'the poem has at last found its translator'. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

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Medieval life meets Arthurian magic in a novel that transcends boundaries of time and age, appealing to children of 9+ and older readers alike. The final book in the trilogy from the winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and the Smarties Prize bronze award is a timeless novel.It is 1202, and thousands of knights and footsoldiers are mustering in Venice for the Fourth Crusade. Among them is young Arthur de Caldicot, whose experiences in the crusades opened his eyes to the realities of war. Looking into his seeing stone for guidance, he realises that the exploits of King Arthur and his knights, like those of the crusaders, are as grim as they are glorious.War, romance, murder, family quarrels, power and politics combine in a marvellous ending to a trilogy that has utterly captivated its readers.

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This is a book of meetings. A mother meets her baby. A man steps into his childhood. An old man encounters Godfather Death. And in the persona of Harald Hardrada, a passionate man wrestles with his fantasies, and north meets south. Many of Kevin Crossley-Holland's beautifully wrought, often moving poems inhabit the crossing-places between actuality, memory and imagination; and invoking Orpheus and Atargatis, Pierre de Ronsard and Beethoven, they journey from Hades to a hellish warzone, and from the high Alps and to the creeks and saltmarshes of north Norfolk.

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From the winner of the Guardian Children's Prize, comes a story of Medieval times, told from an entirely new perspective. Gatty the village girl - steadfast, forthright, innocent and wise - has never been further than her own village. But when she is is picked by Lady Gwyneth of Ewloe to join her band of pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem, Gatty's previously sheltered life changes forever. A joyful, heartrending, triumphant novel that creates a magnificently vivid and realistic picture of life and times in 1202, shown through the eyes of a young girl.Shortlisted for the 2008 Carnegie Medal, this is a companion novel to the Arthur trilogy (The Seeing Stone, At the Crossing Places, King of the Middle March).

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The definitive collection of British and Irish folktales from master storyteller and poet Kevin Crossley-Holland.Rich and strange, these eerie and magical folktales from across Britain and Ireland have been passed down from generation to generation, and are gathered together in a definitive new collection from the master storyteller and winner of the Carnegie Medal, Kevin Crossley-Holland. Dark and funny, lyrical and earthy, these fifty stories are part of an important and enduring historical tradition that dates back hundreds of years. Described by Neil Gaiman as the "master", Crossley-Holland's unforgettable retellings will capture the imagination of readers young and old alike.

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Harald Hardrada was the greatest warrior of his age. Wounded, aged 15, at Stiklestad (1030), the most savage battle ever fought on Norwegian soil, he went on to fight in Russia, Byzantium, Sicily, the Balkans, Asia Minor and Jerusalem. He returned to Norway in 1045 to contest and win the crown and was killed in the battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066. A man of ferocious energy, burning ambition, cunning, cruelty and vengefulness, and a man enormously attractive to women, Harald is a larger-than-life figure and one that has fascinated the poet Kevin Crossley-Holland. In this sequence of short poems, he assumes the persona of Harald during his formative years in Byzantium and writes about his engagement with warfare, leadership and love. Passionate, terse and often witty, these poems - revelations rather than narratives - contrast the glittering hard-edged northern world, still half in thrall to the old Norse gods, with the softer, more seductive south.

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Teenagers love horror, both in verse and in stories. This book will introduce them to the genre through a mixture of well-known and much loved texts as well as less familiar but equally eerie tales from the past, taking the theme in its broadest sense. Contents include some darker versions of traditional tales as well as material from classic texts and books in translation - Frankenstein, Dracula, Beowulf, Sir Gawain, some Shakespeare, Faust, Shelley, Keats, Walter de la Mare and Edgar Allen Poe.

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'For a long while Beowulf leaned on the blood-stained sword; his heart was pounding. A man with the strength of thirty! Slayer of Grendel and slayer of the sea-wolf! A hero without equal in this middle-world!' The story of Beowulf was written down as an epic poem in Anglo-Saxon England. It recounts the heroic struggles of one man against supernatural monsters. Kevin Crossley-Holland's retelling unleashes the excitement in this tale of the triumph of good over evil, while unforgettable illustrations from Charles Keeping capture every brooding moment and explosive episode. This new edition features rescanned artwork to capture the breath-taking detail of Keeping's illustrations and a striking new cover.

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The definitive collection of British and Irish folktales from master storyteller and poet Kevin Crossley-Holland.Rich and strange, these eerie and magical folktales from across Britain and Ireland have been passed down from generation to generation, and are gathered together in a definitive new collection from the master storyteller and winner of the Carnegie Medal, Kevin Crossley-Holland. Dark and funny, lyrical and earthy, these fifty stories are part of an important and enduring historical tradition that dates back hundreds of years. Described by Neil Gaiman as the "master", Crossley-Holland's unforgettable retellings will capture the imagination of readers young and old alike.

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The definitive retelling of the legends of King Arthur, from Carnegie Medal-winner Kevin Crossley-Holland and former Children's Laureate Chris Riddell.Be enthralled by the world of Arthurian legend in this lavishly illustrated, masterful retelling. From King Arthur’s childhood to his final battle, the timeless tales of the sword in the stone, the quests of the Knights of the Round Table and the wizardry of Merlin are woven together into a breathtaking feat of storytelling. An extraordinary collaboration between the world-renowned Kevin Crossley-Holland and the three-time Kate Greenaway Medal-winner Chris Riddell, this is a beautiful edition to be treasured by all ages.

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A delightful anthology of poems sent by many contemporary writers as Christmas cards. From Advent to the New Year, these poems encompass the nativity, the natural world, weather and time's passing, religious and secular celebrations at home and abroad. Wendy Cope welcomes the Christmas life into the house, Seamus Heaney remembers holly-gathering. Gillian Clarke cradles a newborn lamb, and Edwin Morgan tabulates a computer's Christmas card.... Here are eighty poems with a variety of Christmas messages - hopeful, cautionary, joyous, full of wonder.

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The extraordinary companion title to the critically-acclaimed Norse Myths: Tales of Odin, Thor and Loki, from a Carnegie Medal-winning author.Enter an ancient world of green glades and glaciers, where gods and goddesses spread their magic whilst rock-giants and mountain-trolls roam. This astonishing new collection of Norse tales from the award-winning Kevin Crossley-Holland – with Jeffrey Alan Love’s arresting illustrations – will enthral readers of all ages.

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