Faber and Faber Big Country Fair Jones Pip

From the funniest voice in young fiction today, the seventh in this irresistible series for young readers about imaginary friends in hilarious rhyming text and with adorable illustrations by Ella Okstad • ‘In a change to our scheduled • programme tonight, • I proudly present, • for your joy and delight . . .’ • (in the glare of the bulbs, Ava tipped her tall hat) • ‘AMAZING AVA! AAAAAAND • HER INVISIBLE CAT!’ • Ava and Squishy are going to see the circus, but when one of the acts doesn’t turn up they must perform in his place! • Another joyful, hilarious, instant classic of a tale for five year olds and upwards, stunningly illustrated by Ella Okstad

From the funniest voice in young fiction today, our first ever Squishy picture book sees Ava and her invisible cat go to Buckingham Palace to visit the Queen • A day out with Squishy could never be boring! • When Squishy and Ava go on a trip to London, they can’t resist the chance to explore the palace, but when they accidentally find the Queen, will she be able to see how wonderful Squishy is?

From the funniest voice in young fiction today, the fourth festive book in this irresistible series for young readers about imaginary friends in hilarious rhyming text and with adorable illustrations by Ella Okstad • Ava and Squishy are back and this time their adorable chaos hits Christmas preparations for Mum, Dad, baby Roo, the local Christmas fete and much, much more . . . In her letter to Santa, Ava only has one wish. Will she get what her heart desires on Christmas day? • Rising star Pip Jones continues to give her quirky twist to everyday experiences in this warm and humorous series. The jaunty rhyming text is perfect for reading aloud, and Ella Okstad’s gorgeous, distinctive illustrations will help more confident readers learn to read by themselves for the first time

From the funniest voice in young fiction today, the fifth in this irresistible series for young readers about imaginary friends in hilarious rhyming text and with adorable illustrations by Ella Okstad • Ava danced round her room, • Shouting: “Hip hip hooray! • It’s holiday time! • And we’re going today!” • Ava is excited to be going on holiday to the seaside. But with Squishy McFluff, the mischievous invisible cat coming along things are bound to get very, very silly • Rising star Pip Jones continues to give her quirky twist to everyday experiences in this warm and humorous series. The jaunty rhyming text is perfect for reading aloud, and Ella Okstad’s gorgeous, distinctive illustrations will help more confident readers learn to read by themselves for the first time

From the funniest voice in young fiction today, the second in an irresistible series for young readers about imaginary friends in hilarious rhyming text and with adorable illustrations by Ella Okstad • Can you see him? My kitten? He has eyes big and round • His miaow is so sweet (but it makes not a sound!) • Imagine him quick! Have you imagined enough? • Oh, good, you can see him! It’s Squishy McFluff! • When Mum drags Ava to the supermarket, her invisible cat Squishy McFluff can’t resist coming along, with hilarious, chaotic and surprising results! • Told in full colour throughout, this is the perfect stepping stone from picture books to older fiction

Scotland, 1863. In an attempt to escape her past, Bessy Buckley takes a job working as a maid in a big country house. But when Arabella, her beautiful mistress, asks her to undertake a series of bizarre tasks, Bessy begins to realise that she hasn’t quite landed on her feet. In one of the most acclaimed debuts of recent years, Jane Harris has created a heroine who will make you laugh and cry as she narrates this unforgettable story about secrets and suspicions and the redemptive power of love and friendship

Faber Stories, a landmark series of individual volumes, presents masters of the short story form at work in a range of genres and styles • ‘My only concern’, John McGahern once said, ‘is that I get the sentence right and describe my world clearly and deeply.’ • ‘The Country Funeral’ witnesses three brothers, John, Philly and Fonsie Ryan, as they travel west from Dublin to Gloria Bog – the heart of the territory where so many of McGahern’s stories take place – to attend the funeral of their uncle. Depicting the customs and rituals of the day, McGahern exquisitely traces how the brothers react to the area in unexpected and tender ways, and face their own feelings about the transience of life • Bringing together past, present and future in our ninetieth year, Faber Stories is a celebratory compendium of collectable work

Faber's bestselling hamster series is given a smart new livery, repositioning our favourite as a classic character, sitting alongside the likes of Winnie the Pooh and Wind in Willows • Jingle bells and dancing snowflakes, Christmas was coming and suddenly Humphrey's life as a classroom hamster became unsqueakably exciting! • The music teacher, Miss Lark, spent a lot of time preparing the class for the school show so there was plenty of fun-fun-fun. But Humphrey's classmates were also having some big-big-big problems

Faber Stories, a landmark series of individual volumes, presents masters of the short story form at work in a range of genres and styles • Between his second and third tours of duty, a soldier returns home • To his former home, that is, using an old key while the new tenant is at work. Is he re-entering his old life or borrowing someone else’s? Where is the line he will not cross? Each day is the same: he exists in a state of suspension, barely knowing how he passes the time – until someone else intrudes on the intruder • Adrian Tomine, graphic master of alienation and regret, expertly expands the form to express the unsaid and the unbearable in this unforgettable evocation of a post-traumatic life • Bringing together past, present and future in our ninetieth year, Faber Stories is a celebratory compendium of collectable work

Faber Stories, a landmark series of individual volumes, presents masters of the short story form at work in a range of genres and styles • ‘Be sure you don’t answer the door to anyone you don’t know.’ • A little Patricia Highsmith, a touch of Shirley Jackson: the long-neglected Celia Fremlin wrote short, sharp stories that threw women’s lives into shiver-inducing relief • In each of these twinned tales, a mother and daughter meet again, and an ordinary home becomes the setting for a return of the repressed • Bringing together past, present and future in our ninetieth year, Faber Stories is a celebratory compendium of collectable work

Faber Stories, a landmark series of individual volumes, presents masters of the short story form at work in a range of genres and styles • A chance encounter leads a man to spend the afternoon with an older woman, now a widow, who escaped him fifteen years earlier. Neither of them doubts that the day will end in disgust, but for one intimate moment each finds a way to overcome mortality • Written in 1969, before Milan Kundera was known to English-speaking readers, this story renders male and female characters painful equals, and prompted Philip Roth to admire its ‘detached Chekhovian tenderness’ • Bringing together past, present and future in our ninetieth year, Faber Stories is a celebratory compendium of collectable work

Faber Stories, a landmark series of individual volumes, presents masters of the short story form at work in a range of genres and styles • This heart is sore and sad. Crossed in love? • The manuscript of ‘Giacomo Joyce’, written in James Joyce’s best handwriting and folded between the covers of a school notebook, was discovered in Trieste. Most likely written in 1914, some of it served as a rehearsal for passages in Ulysses. Had Joyce meant to pillage it or publish it? Either way, this fragmented evocation of unrequited desire is, in the words of Joyce’s biographer Richard Ellmann, a work of ‘small, fragile, enduring perfection’ • With a new introduction by Colm Toibin • Bringing together past, present and future in our ninetieth year, Faber Stories is a celebratory compendium of collectable work