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Rediscover Puffin Classics – The world’s favourite stories

Twenty Puffin Classics are gloriously returning to our bookshelves thanks to Penguin Children’s Books, in a stunning new series with striking new covers by contemporary illustrators and up-and-coming designers.

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Via Creative Boom submission. All images courtesy of Penguin and Puffin Classics

Via Creative Boom submission. All images courtesy of Penguin and Puffin Classics

From Treasure Island and Heidi to The Secret Garden and The Wizard of Oz, these books have been firm favourites of children across the generations and their striking new jackets will ensure they remain popular for many years to come.

Speaking about how they approached these timeless favourites, Penguin's designer Anna Morrison said: "This was the project all book designers dream of – re-jacketing the most well-known and best-loved stories in the world, the Puffin Classics. We knew we wanted the series to have a sparkling new approach that was timeless and would appeal to children and older readers alike. As each novel has such a different story to tell, it meant that every cover needed to convey that individuality while still feeling part of a collection.

"To tie them all together, we created a new look, especially for the Puffin Classics. Each cover fits into a ‘grid’. Across the bottom of each cover is a colourful band with a central semi-circle to house the Puffin logo. While at the top of the books, the author’s name is written in a classic font. Once this was decided, the fun part began – we could look for illustrators."

Andrew Bannecker illustrated the stunning The Secret Garden and A Little Princess covers, creating everything digitally. While the cover for Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales is entirely hand-painted by the amazing Kali Ciesemier. To take us to the wonderful Land of Oz, Penguin commissioned designer and illustrator Jim Tierney who also illustrated the majestic Black Beauty. Anne of Green Gables enjoys the extraordinary talents of Chris Silas Neal.

In addition, to mark the 150th anniversary of one of the world’s favourite stories, award-winning actress Sheridan Smith will be the voice of the new audiobook of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, publishing with Penguin Children’s Books this month – March 2015 – as part of the global Puffin Classics re-launch.

Illustrated book cover for Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales retold by Naomi Lewis, featuring a mermaid, sea creatures, soldiers and floral elements in teal, coral and cream tones
Book cover for The Odyssey retold by Geraldine McCaughrean, featuring a stormy sea with a red and white sailing ship surrounded by swirling waves, figures and mythical elements framed by green foliage
Book cover of The Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum, featuring bold green and red lettering against a dark blue background with an emerald city illustration and yellow radiant burst
Jules Verne's Journey to the Centre of the Earth Puffin Classics book cover with bold red lettering and an illustration of explorers descending into the Earth's interior against a turquoise sky background
Snow-covered coniferous forest with a frozen river winding through, and a wolf in the distance, illustrated cover for Jack London's The Call of the Wild
Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland book cover featuring Alice, the Cheshire Cat, White Rabbit and playing cards on a bright blue background
Puffin Classics cover for Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, featuring illustrated hands, silhouetted figures, writing implements, books and a cat amongst decorative vines on a mint green background
Book cover for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, featuring an illustration of a young boy with a paddle by a river against a blue-green background
Book cover for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, featuring a boy sitting by a white picket fence with a colouring pot beside him against a rural landscape background
Book cover for A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, featuring a girl in a green dress sitting by a window with starry night sky and a glowing candle
Johanna Spyri's Heidi book cover featuring a green Alpine valley with evergreen forests, snow-capped peaks, a small church, and a child with goats in a meadow
Book cover for Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie featuring green stylised lettering against a full moon with silhouetted figures flying and a cityscape below on a starry night sky
Book cover for Tales of the Greek Heroes by Roger Lancelyn Green, featuring illustrated serpents and flames surrounding the title on a dark purple background
Book cover for The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling featuring illustrated jungle animals including a black panther, bear, tiger and toucan among green foliage and colourful flowers
Through the Looking-Glass book cover by Lewis Carroll featuring whimsical black and white illustrations of Alice, the Cheshire Cat and chess pieces on a bright yellow background
The Secret Garden book cover by Frances Hodgson Burnett featuring a young girl in a white dress standing before a wooden arched door surrounded by tall plants and cacti against a dark brick wall
Black Stallion rears up across the turquoise cover of Anna Sewell's Black Beauty, with the title in large pink cursive lettering from the Puffin Classics collection
Anne of Green Gables book cover by L. M. Montgomery featuring a girl with a red hat walking through a flowery meadow beneath apple trees and birds
Puffin Classics cover of Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, featuring a cream skull with a cutlass and red fabric against a dark teal background
Heidi book cover by Johanna Spyri featuring green Alpine valleys, forested mountains, a small church and a girl with goats in an idyllic landscape
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