Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits

Peter Dickinson, Robin McKinley

David Fickling, 2003 - Juvenile Fiction - 300 pages

The shriek of the wind, calling the waters to rebel - and a voice like the roar of a seashell a A long-told story of the sea people and their song - and a golden eye, glittering at the edge of a desert a A ferocious serpent, its body as thick as the trunk of a tree - and the immense, unknowable Kraken, dark beyond black, cold beyond ice, waking on the ocean floora The first of four books, this is a mesmerising collection of short stories inspired by and celebrating the wondrous power of Water. The following books will each reflect and explore the magical and symbolic characteristics of the other elements - fire, air and earth - each incorporating a beautiful colour plate illustration at the front. Be swept away by the superb storytelling of award-winning authors Peter Dickinson and Robin McKinley, in what will be a very special series.

About the author

Peter Dickinson was born in Livingstone, Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia on December 16, 1927. He served in the British Army before receiving a B.A. in English literature from King's College, Cambridge in 1951. He was an assistant editor and reviewer for Punch Magazine for seventeen years. His first book, The Weathermonger, was published in 1968. He has written over 50 books for adults and young adults. His works for adults include Death of a Unicorn, Skeleton-in-Waiting, Perfect Gallows, The Yellow Room Conspiracy, and Some Deaths Before Dying. His works for young adults include The Iron Lion, The Ropemaker, Angel Isle, and In the Palace of the Khans. He has won several awards including the Boston Globe Horn Book Award in 1989 for Eva, the Carnegie Medal in 1979 for Tulku and in 1980 for City of Gold, the Whitbread Children's Prize for Tulku, and the Crime Writer's Golden Dagger for Skin Deep in 1968 and A Pride of Heroes in 1969. In 2009, he was awarded the OBE for services to literature. He died after a brief illness on December 16, 2015 at the age of 88. Robin McKinley was born in Warren, Ohio on November 16, 1952. She graduated from Bowdoin College in 1975 and her first novel, Beauty, was published in 1978. She has received numerous awards for her work including the Newbery Medal for The Hero and the Crown; a Newbery Honor for The Blue Sword; the Mythopoeic Award for Adult Literature for Sunshine; and the World Fantasy Award for Imaginary Lands. Her other works include Spindle's End; The Outlaws of Sherwood; Rose Daughter; A Knot in the Grain and Other Stories; Chalice; and Shadows.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits; Water, Peter Dickinson; Water, Peter Dickinson
• Authors: Peter Dickinson, Robin McKinley
• Edition: reprint
• Publisher: David Fickling, 2003
• ISBN: 0552548464, 9780552548465
• Length: 300 pages
• Subjects: Juvenile Fiction / Fantasy & Magic; Juvenile Fiction / Short Stories