Christmas Ideas: Children's Gift Books

Greatest Magical Stories by Michael Morpurgo - £14.99 

Award-winning children's writer and former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo has collected his greatest magical stories from all around the world and put them in one place. Here! From tiny heroes to talking frogs, and meddling fairies to mysterious sea creatures, this is a timeless collection to treasure forever. Beautiful colour illustrations bring the magical text to life.

There are lots of stories to choose from, including The Frog Prince, Sleeping Beauty, and a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk written by Michael Morpurgo. So whether you're looking for a quick read or a longer story to lose yourself in, something to read alone or a tale to share, there's a great magical story within for everyone to find. A sumptuous gift edition for young readers to treasure.

Harry Potter - A History of Magic : The Book of the Exhibition - £30 

Harry Potter: A History of Magic is the official book of the exhibition, a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration between Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling and the brilliant

curators of the British Library. It promises to take readers on a fascinating journey through the subjects studied at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - from Alchemy and Potions classes through to Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures.

Each chapter showcases a treasure trove of artefacts from the British Library and other collections around the world, beside exclusive manuscripts, sketches and illustrations from the Harry Potter archive. There's also a specially commissioned essay for each subject area by an expert, writer or cultural commentator, inspired by the contents of the exhibition.  

Absorbing, insightful and unexpected contributions from Steve Backshall, the Reverend Richard Coles, Owen Davies, Julia Eccleshare, Roger Highfield, Steve Kloves, Lucy Mangan, Anna Pavord and Tim Peake, who offer a personal perspective on their magical theme. Readers will be able to pore over ancient spell books, amazing illuminated scrolls that reveal the secret of the Elixir of Life, vials of dragon's blood, mandrake roots, painted centaurs and a genuine witch's broomstick, in a book that shows J.K.

Rowling's magical inventions alongside their cultural and historical forebears. This is the ultimate gift for Harry Potter fans, curious minds, big imaginations, bibliophiles and readers around the world who missed out on the chance to see the exhibition in person.

Beauty and the Beast by  Katie Haworth - £14.99 

When a merchant steals a rose from the garden of a terrifying beast, his daughter, Beauty, agrees to go to the beast's palace to save her father's life. The classic tale of Beauty and the Beast is retold here in a magnificent 'pop-up' format. 

Each page has three layers of paper, cut to give the impression of a 3D scene.  A triumph of paper engineering with wonderful illustrations by Dinara Mirtalipova. 

Dinosaurium by Lily Murray - £20

Welcome to the museum that is always open to explore... Step inside the pages of this beautiful book to discover galleries of dinosaurs, expertly curated to bring you the experience of a fascinating exhibition from the comfort of your own home.Dinosaurium features a wide range of dinosaurs from the most-loved Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus Rex to lesser-known species such as Coelophysis and Tsintaosaurus. 

With stunning artwork from Chris Wormell (known for the cover of H is for Hawk and his picture books including George and the Dragon) and informative text with input from experts in palaeontology, Dinosaurium is the perfect gift for anyone with an interest in this fascinating field.Welcome to the Museum is a series of beautifully illustrated, stunningly curated, informative books for all ages.

From Animalium and Botanicum to Historium and Dinosaurium there is a book for everyone to discover and explore.

Untold Story of Father Christmas by Alison Battle & Mike Battle - £12.99

Have you ever wondered where Father Christmas came from? And how he ended up with a factory at the North Pole full of elves to help him make toys? A beautifully illustrated and timeless story about how a toymaker and his wife became Mother and Father Christmas for children all over the world.

The Snow Queen : A Pop-Up Adaption of a Classic Fairytale - £19.99

This new holiday book features amazing paper engineering and pop-ups from the same paper engineer that developed the best-selling "Snowflakes" title. This unique pop-up interpretation of a beloved Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale is destined to be another classic to be enjoyed for years by the entire family. 

Search and Find A Christmas Carol - £12.99 

Discover the world of Charles Dickens with Search & Find A Christmas Carol. The popular, magical story is retold in beautifully illustrated search & find pages where you can find the characters on the busy pages and follow them through the story. Each page is full of characters to find and details to spot in the busy scenes, such as Scrooge in his counting house, the arrival of Jacob Marley's ghost, the Fezziwig Christmas party and the Cratchit family at home on Christmas Day and many more.

Beautiful illustrations are accompanied by abridged text, perfect for sharing with little ones and introducing them to Charles Dickens' stories. 

One Christmas Wish by Katherine Rundell - £14.99 

It's Christmas Eve and Theo - left at home with a babysitter - sees an odd-looking star out of his window and decides to make a wish.  He wishes that he had some friends to keep him company.  Moments later, the Christmas decorations begin to disentangle themselves from the tree behind him, ready to wreak a little havoc.....

Written with generous helpings of warmth and humour, this is a story about treasuring the people and values that really matter at this time of year from master storyteller and bestselling children's author Katherine Rundell. Emily Sutton's breathtaking illustrations perfectly capture the magic of Christmas in stunning detail.

Christmas Ideas: Children's Activity Books

Super Structures by Ian Graham - £14.99

From the Ancient Pyramids to the Eiffel Tower, get ready to take a close-up look at man-made structures. Super Structures is a unique interactive book that not only traces the history but also explores the science behind these incredible engineering feats. In addition, the book is accompanied by a model kit to make the different types of constructions and then conduct tests to see how they work!

The Kit includes a 48-page paperback book, pegboard and sturdy, card pieces, plus plastic nuts, bolts and string to make 10 structures.

I'm a Unicorn Hairdresser, illustrated by Karen Wolcott - £7.99

The first title in a unique new novelty series that features lovely hair that the reader can style! Create different hairstyles for your princess customer on every page by using the glittery plastic comb and hairbands. Will it be plaits or bunches today? A step-by-step guide will show you how to create the looks. 

A must-have interactive hairdresser novelty book that all aspiring little stylists will want, beautifully illustrated by Karen Wolcott.

Pirates Magnified by David Long, Harry Bloom - £14.99

Ahoy shipmate! Grab your magnifying glass and seek out history's most notorious pirates in this swashbuckling search-and-find adventure, packed with over 200 things to spot! 

Explore the lives of 10 real pirates and learn about life on the high seas, whilst using the free magnifying glass to spot more than 200 pirate-themed items in each eye-boggling illustration. Kids will have fun using the magnifying glass to search whilst learning about real life pirates in this seafaring adventure!

Nadiya's Bake Me a Festive Story by Nadiya Hussain - £14.99

Join Great British Bake Off sensation Nadiya Hussain for scrumptious stories and

delicious bakes that the family can enjoy together at Christmas. Christmas is a time when families come together. 

This unique combination of storybook and cookbook, with all recipes and stories devised and written by Nadiya herself, brings families into the kitchen to share this special time of year through cooking and stories.

• Go on an adventure to the Snow Queen's palace, then make her treacle icecream
• Make and decorate cheesy-feet biscuits, then read the story about where all the odd socks go at Christmas time
• Meet some very confused elves in The Elves and the Chouxmaker, then bake your own lemon choux buns- 
• Read Nadiya's version of 'Twas The Night Before Christmas, then cook a scrumptious nut roast. 

Combining playful photography of Nadiya and her children with vibrant illustrations by Clair Rossiter, this glorious celebration of the joy of sharing food and stories is the perfect Christmas gift.

Books for Christmas 2016 - An England and a war lost, but secrets and treasures re-found - favourite history titles

It's been an era-defining year, no question. At times the bookshop has seemed - more than usual - a haven from the bewildering change that swept through the country and around the globe. One damn thing after another, indeed.

Whilst journalists write the 'first draft of history', next in line are those authors who take a slightly longer view. We place these books under 'History' and here are some of favourite picks from 2016.

Lost England: 1870-1930 - Philip Davies

During his time at English Heritage, architectural historian and trained urban planner Philip Davies spent seven years trawling through the estimated 9 million photographs that are in its archives. The result is a truly astonishing collection of 1500 images, in a 558 page book which we feel would be a wonderful gift to anyone interested in the dramatic changes that have taken place in the country over the past 150 years.

It records England's history as the longstanding practices of a largely rural economy shifted focus into towns and cities: astonishing photographs give the reader access to the streets, living and working spaces of the growing cities as well as the daily routines of rural life. Amongst the pages, you will find images from Abingdon (see the display in our window), as well as a flooded street from Hinksey in Oxford that shows times have not changed quite as much as we might think...

SAS: Rogue Heroes - The Authorized Wartime History - Ben Macintyre

We like to think of Ben Macintyre as 'one of our own', ever since our event with him a few years ago. Since then of course, he has gone on to become one of our most recognisable journalist, authors and television history presenters - and this new authorised history of the SAS may just be his magnum opus.

Ben was given unprecedented access to the secret SAS archives, and has produced this thrilling, at times almost-unbelievable, history of the SAS. Antony Beevor (who also features in this list, see below) describes it as 'impeccably researched, superbly told - by far the best book on the SAS in World War II'.

The story of a bored and eccentric young officer, David Stirling, who came up with a plan that was radical and entirely against the rules: a small undercover unit that would inflict mayhem behind enemy lines. Despite intense opposition, Winston Churchill personally gave Stirling permission to recruit the toughest, brightest and most ruthless soldiers he could find. So began the most celebrated and mysterious military organisation in the world...

We may still have signed copies - so email us to check and reserve one.

Ardennes 1944: Hitler's Last Gamble - Antony Beevor
Antony Beevor has a claim to be our most accomplished military historian, and his service background brings a soldier's eye view to books such as Stalingrad, Berlin and D-Day. 'Ardennes 1944' tells the story of the German's ill-fated final stand. On 16 December, 1944, Hitler launched his 'last gamble' in the snow-covered forests and gorges of the Ardennes. He believed he could split the Allies by driving all the way to Antwerp, then force the Canadians and the British out of the war.

His generals were doubtful of success, but younger officers and NCOs were desperate to believe that their homes and families could be saved from the vengeful Red Army approaching from the east. The Ardennes offensive, with more than a million men involved, became the greatest battle of the war in western Europe.

American troops, taken by surprise, found themselves fighting two panzer armies. Belgian civilians fled, justifiably afraid of German revenge. Panic spread even to Paris. While many American soldiers fled or surrendered, others held on heroically, creating breakwaters which slowed the German advance. The harsh winter conditions and the savagery of the battle became comparable to the eastern front. Beevor's telling is unflinching but masterful.

Black and British: An Untold Story - David Olusoga
A vital re-examination of a shared history, published to accompany the landmark BBC Two series. In 'Black and British', award-winning historian and broadcaster David Olusoga offers readers a rich and revealing exploration of the extraordinarily long relationship between the British Isles and the people of Africa. Drawing on new genetic and genealogical research, original records, expert testimony and contemporary interviews, Black and British reaches back to Roman Britain, the medieval imagination and Shakespeare's Othello.

It reveals that behind the South Sea Bubble was Britain's global slave-trading empire and that much of the great industrial boom of the nineteenth century was built on American slavery. It shows that Black Britons fought at Trafalgar and in the trenches of the First World War. Black British history can be read in stately homes, street names, statues and memorials across Britain and is woven into the cultural and economic histories of the nation.

Pack Up Your Troubles: How Humorous Postcards Helped to Win World War I - James Taylor
Artist-drawn humorous postcards were growing considerably in popularity at the start of the 20th century. When war broke out in 1914 trade in them soared as the government utilised them as a widespread means of communication, to bolster morale, stiffen resolve and lift up the spirits in the field, at sea and on the home front from 1914 to 1919. They were also an excellent tool for recording and commenting on military and civilian events as they unfolded.

'Pack Up Your Troubles' is the first book of its kind to focus exclusively on the impact of British humour in the art of the picture postcards of World War One, both in the field and on the home front. The book is divided into themed chapters of the era, from Camp Life and Training to The Western Front through to Women at War and many more in between. An ideal gift for anyone with an interest in war and military history, art, design and cartoons.

A History of Britain in 100 Dogs - Emma White

As the ultimate dog-loving nation, our history is inextricably entwined with that of our dogs. Through history they have sniffed, rolled, shaken and pawed their way into our hearts, and behind almost every great Briton is a faithful hound.

This beautifully illustrated book tells the story of Britain from Roman times to the present and looks at our native British breeds and the extraordinary roles they played in society, from providing entertainment to herding livestock to guiding the visually impaired.

The Secret Library: A Book-Lovers' Journey Through Curiosities of History - Dr Oliver Tearle
A fascinating tour through the curious history of Western civilization told through its most emblematic invention - the book. As well as leafing through the well-known titles that have helped shape the world in which we live, Oliver Tearle also dusts off some of the more neglected items to be found hidden among the bookshelves of the past. You'll learn about the forgotten Victorian novelist who outsold Dickens, the woman who became the first published poet in America and the eccentric traveller who introduced the table-fork to England.

Through exploring a variety of books - novels, plays, travel books, science books, cookbooks, joke books and sports almanacs - 'The Secret Library' highlights some of the most fascinating aspects of our history. It also reveals the surprising connections between various works and historical figures. What links Homer's Iliad to Aesop's Fables? Or Wisden Cricketers' Almanack to the creator of Sherlock Holmes?

Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts - Christopher de Hamel
If you are going to write a book about some of the most precious, intricate and sublime books in history, you'd better make the book itself you are writing pretty special - and that's what Christopher de Hamel manages here. Sumptuous is the word that springs to mind, as de Hamel encounters twelve of the most famous manuscripts in existence, their stories, and the buildings in which they are housed.

We learn the stories behind the books. How 'The Book of Kells' was barbarously trimmed by a bookseller in the 19th century. Why it's thought that 'The St Augustine Gospels' (“the oldest non-archaeological artefact of any kind to have survived in England”) reputedly accompanied St Augustine on his 597 papal mission to convert the English to Christianity. And how an English classicist almost managed to buy the sixth-century Greek manuscript, The Codex Purpureus Rossanensis (185 pages of purple-dyed vellum, with the Last Supper scene showing the disciples eating with their fingers at a low, eastern-style table). Amazing stories, and a wonderful book.

A History of Pictures: From the Cave to the Computer Screen - Martin Gayford and David Hockney
We were lucky to have supported a recent event with Art Critic Martin Gayford, speaking in Abingdon about his long-time collaboration with David Hockney, and in this impressive book, they show how the making of pictures has a history going back perhaps 100,000 years to an African shell used as a paint palette. Two-thirds of it is irrevocably lost, since the earliest images known to us are from about 40,000 years ago. But what a 40,000 years it's been.

They privilege no medium, or period, or style, but instead, in 16 chapters, discuss how and why pictures have been made, and insistently link 'art' to human skills and human needs. Each chapter addresses an important question: What happens when we try to express reality in two dimensions? Why is the 'Mona Lisa' beautiful and why are shadows so rarely found in Chinese, Japanese and Persian painting? Why are optical projections always going to be more beautiful than HD television can ever be? How have the makers of images depicted movement? What makes marks on a flat surface interesting? Energized by two lifetimes of looking at pictures, combined with a great artist's 70-year experience of experimentation as he makes them, this profoundly moving and enlightening volume will be the art book of the decade.

A History of Britain in 21 Women: A Personal Selection - Jenni Murray
Jenni Murray was ten years old when she came across Boadicea, and realised that the designated future of a girl born in 1950 - to be sweet, domesticated, undemanding and super feminine - was not necessarily the case.

Boadicea battled the Romans. Nancy Astor fought in Parliament. Emmeline Pankhurst campaigned for female suffrage. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson became a pioneering physician in a man's profession. Mary Quant revolutionised the fashion industry.

Britain has traditionally been defined by its conflicts, its conquests, its men and its monarchs. It's high time that it was defined by its women. In this unique history, Jenni Murray tells the stories of twenty-one women who refused to succumb to the established laws of society, whose lives embodied hope and change.

We Chose to Speak of War and Strife : The World of the Foreign Correspondent - John Simpson
In corners of the globe where fault-lines seethe into bloodshed and civil war, foreign correspondents have, for hundreds of years, been engaged in uncovering the latest news and - despite obstacles bureaucratic, political, violent - reporting it by whatever means available. It's a working life that is difficult, exciting and undeniably glamorous. 'We Chose to Speak of War and Strife' brings us pivotal moments in our history - from the Crimean War to Vietnam; the siege of Sarajevo to the fall of Baghdad - through the eyes of those who risked life and limb to witness them first hand, and the astonishing tales of what it took to report them.

As nightly news shows us journalists risking their lives reporting from Syria and Iraq, it's appropriate to celebrate an endangered tradition. weaving the tales of the greats of yesterday and today, such as Martha Gellhorn, Ernest Hemingway, Don McCullin and Marie Colvin.

One final honourable mention - out in hardback last year, and now in paperback, for some reason it never made it onto 2015's list (a travesty!) but 'Silk Roads' by Peter Frankopan is one of the finest history books of any year. A monumental re-framing of the story of trade between East and West, the region stretching from eastern Europe and sweeping right across Central Asia deep into China and India is taking centre stage in international politics, commerce and culture - and shaping the modern world. This is where civilization itself began, where the world's great religions were born and took root - a hugely important book and one we wholeheartedly recommend to be on your bookshelves!