Bloomsbury presents The Book of Hopes by Katherine Rundell, read by Stephen Fry, Katherine Rundell, Helena Bonham Carter and Ben Bailey Smith.

Shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year

In difficult times, what children really need is hope. And in that spirit, bestselling author Katherine Rundell emailed some of the children's writers whose work she loved most:

'I asked them to write something very short, fiction or non-fiction, that would make the children reading it feel like possibility-ists: something that would make them laugh or wonder or snort or smile. The response was magnificent, which shouldn’t have surprised me, because children’s writers are professional hunters of hope … I hope that the imagination can be a place of shelter for children and that The Book of Hopes might be useful in that, even if only a little.'

This collection, packed with short stories and poems from the very best children’s authors, aims to provide just that. Within its pages you'll find animal friends from insects to elephants, high-flying grandmas, a homesick sprite, the tooth fairy, and even extra-terrestrial life.

There are 133 contributions from authors, including Anthony Horowitz, Axel Scheffler, Catherine Johnson, Jacqueline Wilson, Katherine Rundell, Lauren Child, Michael Morpurgo and Onjali Q. Raúf. A donation from the sale of each book will go to NHS Charities Together, in gratitude for the incredible efforts of all those who worked in hospitals over the quarantine period.

'An anthology on the theme of hope … it includes a rich range of poetry, stories and non-fiction' – Sunday Times, 'Stories to charm on endless days'

Proceeds from this book will be donated to NHS Charities Together. In respect of UK sales, this will be £2.10 and in respect of sales in other territories this will be 16% of net receipts (at least 62p).
NHS Charities Together is a charity registered in England and Wales (registered charity no. 1186569). C 2020 Katherine Rundell P 2020 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC