A beautiful new edition of Joan Aiken's captivating collection of much-loved modern fairytales, now reissued with Jan Pienkowski's original and iconic silhouette illustrations.

His distinctive style evokes the fairy tales' mix of surrealism and exoticism; apparently, he played a tape recording of the fairy tales as he drew. ... This was the first cover to feature Pienkowski's enchanting silhouette style. The black title lettering picks up on the silhouette and stands out against the multicoloured backdrop that captures a sense of 1960s experimentalism. Financial Times 20080524 One of the best possible books to give to a child, made even more magical by the exquisite silhouette pictures of the Polish artist Jan Pienkowski. Amazon.co.uk

Joan Aiken was born on 4 September 1924 in Rye, East Sussex and produced one of her best-loved works, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, in 1962, the first in her highly acclaimed series, the 'Wolves Chronicles'. Many classics followed, and Joan was awarded the MBE for services to Children's Literature in 1999. Much loved as a writer of astonishing imagination for adults and children alike, she died on 4 January 2004 at the age of seventy-nine. Jan Pienkowski was born in Warsaw in 1936. After creating his first book at the age of eight, Jan went on to excel in his chosen field of design, working in such diverse areas as television, theatre and greetings cards. Published in 1968, A Necklace of Raindrops was the first of several wonderful collaborations between Jan and Joan Aiken - and it was also the very first book Jan illustrated. He has since twice won the Kate Greenaway Medal for Illustration, and has created many instantly recognizable classics.