On this page: Introduction | List of Titles
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*Updated to include the new 2024 publications.
Penguin began publishing this series in late 2019, with decorative series bindings created by Penguin designers. The books in this series have been selected by Penguin’s editorial team to include classic children’s stories to inspire a lifelong love of reading – they focus particularly on English and American novels. To date, many of the titles include reprints of novels in the earlier ‘Puffin Hardback Children’s Classics’ series in a more deluxe binding.
The series features the full unabridged texts of each book as originally published, full cloth covers with generous gilt accents and bound-in satin ribbon bookmarks. (Unfortunately they still have glued bindings, but this does help make them more affordable.)
Many of the books also include black and white illustrations from earlier editions, as well as thoughtful introductions from contemporary children’s authors. The cover designs are pretty (they include repeating motifs drawn from the story), and they present a delightful glittery and brightly colored rainbow of spines on the shelf, but do take care shelving them as the gilt is less robust than the cloth cover.
Because the books are produced by Penguin UK, newer titles are typically available from UK bookshops before they can be sourced from other countries.
Titles in the Series
2025
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 9780241725108, 19 Jun 2025.
“Follow Alice down the rabbit hole and into the curious world of Wonderland.”
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
The Great Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 9780241725221, 19 Jun 2024.
“No case is too tricky for the famous detective.”
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
Kiki's Delivery Service - Eiko Kadono
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 9780241725146, 19 Jun 2024. Illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton, translated by Emily Balistrieri.
“Can Kiki learn to control her magic and make her own way in the world?“
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
A Little Princess - Frances Hodgson Burnett
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 9780241725092, 19 Jun 2024.
“Sara Crewe holds onto her inner strength despite losing her wealth and facing hardships.”
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
The Call of the Wild -Jack London
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 9780241725139, 19 Jun 2024.
“Buck, a domesticated dog, is thrust into the harsh wilderness of the Yukon where he embraces his wild nature.”
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 9780241725238, 19 Jun 2024.
“Mole, Rat, Badger, and the eccentric Toad explore the challenges of the English countryside.”
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
2024
The Worst Witch - Jill Murphy
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 9780241663578, 12 Sep 2024. 50th Anniversary Edition.
“The original magical boarding school series.”
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
Chinese Cinderella - Adeline Yen Mah
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 9780241688236, 20 Jun 2024. 25th Anniversary Edition.
“When her mother dies shortly after her birth, lonely Adeline is marked as ‘bad luck’ and treated as an outcast by her own family, shown kindness only by her grandfather and Aunt Baba who encourage her to follow her dreams.”
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 9780241663547, 5 Mar 2024. 175th Anniversary Edition.
“As David recounts his experiences from childhood to the discovery of his vocation as a successful novelist, Dickens draws openly and revealingly on his own life.”
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
The Neverending Story - Michael Ende
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 9780241663561, 5 Mar 2024. 45th Anniversary Edition.
“Bastian is nobody’s idea of a hero, least of all his own. Through the pages of an old book he discovers a mysterious magical world – a world of dragons, monsters, witches and giants. A world that is doomed unless a human can save it.“
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
2023
Watership Down - Richard Adams, illustrated by David Parkins
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 9780241655702, 26 Oct 2023.
“Sandleford Warren is in danger. Hazel’s younger brother Fiver is convinced that a great evil is about to befall the land, but no one will listen. So together Hazel and Fiver and a few other brave rabbits secretly leave behind the safety and strictures of the warren and hop tentatively out into a vast and strange world.”
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales - retold by Naomi Lewis, illustrated by Jan Pienkowski
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 9780241425145, 14 Sep 2023
“A delightful selection of stories from Hans Christian Andersen, translated by the eminent writer and critic, Naomi Lewis. All the best-known and most-loved stories are included – ‘Thumbelina’, ‘The Snow Queen’, ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ etc, as well as the less familiar – ‘The Goblin at the Grocer’s’ and ‘Dance, Dolly, Dance’.“
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
Grimms' Fairy Tales - Brothers Grimm, illustrated by George Cruikshank
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 9780241621196, 14 Sep 2023.
“From classics such as ‘The Frog-Prince’ and ‘Hansel and Grettel’ to the delights of ‘Ashputtel’ or ‘Old Sultan’, all of these tales from the Brothers Grimm hold a timeless magic which has enthralled children for centuries.”
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
Stig of the Dump - Clive King, illustrated by Edward Ardizzone
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 9780241623909, 13 Apr 2023.
“Barney meets a boy wearing a rabbit skin and speaking in grunts in a cave. He names him Stig. Nobody believes Barney when he tells his family all about Stig, but they become great friends, learning each others ways and embarking on a series of unforgettable adventures.”
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
The Dark Is Rising - Susan Cooper
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 9780241623916, 23 Mar 2023
“It’s Midwinter’s Eve, the day before Will’s eleventh birthday. But there is an atmosphere of fear in the familiar countryside around him. This will be a birthday like no other. Will discovers that he has the power of the Old Ones, and that he must embark on a quest to vanquish the terrifyingly evil magic of the Dark.“
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
2022
Charlotte's Web - E. B. White, illustrated by Garth Williams
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 1 Sep 2022.
“Wilbur the pig’s life has already been saved by Fern, but when he is sold to her uncle, he realises his life is in even more danger. Enter Charlotte A. Cavatica, a beautiful large grey spider. Charlotte is determined to keep Wilbur from the chopping block, and comes up with an ingenious way to do just that.”
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
Tales of the Greek Heroes - Roger Lancelyn Green
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 9780241425107, 1 Sep 2022
“Discover the mysterious and exciting legends of the gods and heroes in Ancient Greece, from the adventures of Perseus, the labours of Heracles, the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts, to Odysseus and the Trojan wars.”
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery, translated by T. V. F. Cuffe
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 9780241444313, 17 Feb 2022 (delayed from 2020).
“The timeless, enchanting story of the little prince who lives on a tiny planet with three volcanoes and a haughty flower, which he must protect from the baobabs, the bad seeds.”
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
Tales from Shakespeare - Charles and Mary Lamb
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 9780241425114, 17 Feb 2022 (delayed from 2020).
“Charles and Mary Lamb retell Shakespeare’s most famous stories, including Hamlet, Othello and As You Like It.”
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
2020
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 9780241425121, 3 Sep 2020
“Gifted scientist Victor Frankenstein gives life to a being of his own creation, who is rejected by mankind.”
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 9780241425138, 3 Sep 2020
“Lockwood, the new tenant of Thrushcross Grange on the bleak Yorkshire moors, is forced to seek shelter one night at Wuthering Heights, where he learns the tragic tale of the intense passion between foundling Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw.”
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
Dracula - Bram Stoker
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 9780241411155, 3 Sep 2019
“Jonathan Harker travels to Castle Dracula to see the Transylvanian noble, only to have his beloved wife Meena and other lost souls fall under the spell of Count Dracula.”
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
The Wizard of Oz - L. Frank Baum, introduction by Cornelia Funke
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 9780241411209, 3 Sep 2019
“Dorothy must follow the yellow brick road to Emerald City and find the wonderfully mysterious Wizard of Oz in order to get home to Kansas with her dog Toto”.
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens, introduction by Anthony Horowitz
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 9780241411193, 3 Sep 2019
“One cold Christmas Eve, three ghosts take Ebenezer Scrooge on a scary journey to show him the error of his nasty ways.”
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
Black Beauty - Anna Sewell, introduction by Meg Rosoff
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 9780241411148, 3 Sep 2019
“Black Beauty is a handsome, sweet-tempered colt whose strong spirit is tested when he goes from a life of comfort and kindness to one of hard labour and cruelty.”
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
Puffin Clothbound Classics, 9780241411162, 3 Sep 2019
“Orphaned Mary Lennox is sent from India to live in her uncle’s gloomy mansion on the wild English moors, where she finds a key to a secret garden.”
➤ Buy from Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells
☞ See also the loveliest editions of The Secret Garden page