Director, writer, editor, producer . . . Steven Spielberg is the person behind some of the most celebrated films ever made. Little People, BIG DREAMS Steven Spielberg is an empowering testament to believing in yourself and following your childhood dream.

Little Steven was six when he first went to the cinema. Although he didn’t understand the story, he was captivated by the beauty of the moving pictures on screen. Soon after, he picked up his Dad’s film camera and began experimenting. By his teens he was making short films – carefully crafting every part of the process, from writing the scripts to directing the shots.

Filmmaking was a refuge for Steven, who faced bullying and anti semitism at school. With his camera, editing machine and notebook he could create a world he felt safe in. As he grew, he found somewhere else he felt at home: Universal studios. He first visited the company’s lot during a studio tour, and was later  hired after impressing executives with a short films. Within a few years, Steven went from making TV movies to cinematic blockbusters. Audiences fell in love with his heartwarming adventures, like ET and Jurassic Park, and were deeply moved by his film about the Holocaust, Schindler’s List.

After a limetimes of accolades and awards, Steven remains happiest behind a camera – telling stories that encourage us to open our hearts and minds.

Little People, BIG DREAMS Steven Spielberg features:

• Quirky and stylish illustrations
• A biographical timeline, complete with historical photos and a detailed profile  
• Recommendations for further reading

Little People, BIG DREAMS is the bestselling biography series for kids that explores the lives of outstanding people, from designers and artists to scientists and activists. All of them achieved incredible things, but each began life as a child with a dream.   ]]> https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/the-last-bard/ Thu, 11 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/?post_type=product&p=51369

The bestselling author of  Who Let the Gods Out  is back with a brand new story packed full of humour and heart!

‘This is Maz Evans at her absolute best … readers of all ages will love this genius concept executed with pure class.’ A.F. STEADMAN

‘The master of comedy for children has done it again ? Funny, tender and clever’ LOUIE STOWELL

‘Laugh out loud, heartwarming, and sharp as a playwright’s quill ? You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll snort milk out your nose.’ ROSS MONTGOMERY

‘Hilarious, adventurous and inventive, this is Maz at her peerless best!’ PHIL EARLE

Will Davenant has known more tragedy than laughter. But in an unexpected twist, he inherits his grandfather’s copy of The Complete Works of Shakespeare – and makes a surprising discovery.

As the last living relative of William Shakespeare himself, Will can summon the Bard’s heroes from the pages . . . and now he has some extraordinary new friends to help turn things in his life around.

• Superstar Maz Evans – bestselling author of the Who Let the Gods Out  and Oh Maya Gods series – is BACK with a new standalone story!  
• Packed with timeless literary heroes, Maz’s trademark humour and heart, and told with empathy and poignancy.  
• Celebrates and introduces readers to some of William Shakespeare’s best-loved characters in a comic, accessible way.  
• Over half a million copies of Maz’s books sold in the UK alone!  

MORE PRAISE FOR THE LAST BARD:

‘I laughed on every page, and she’s made Shakespeare super accessible for younger readers. Genius!’ MEL TAYLOR-BESSENT

‘Every page is packed with laugh-out-loud brilliance and heart that could fill a theatre.’ JENNY PEARSON

‘Sublime storytelling from a master.’  M. G. LEONARD

Rediscover the Puffin Classics collection and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation – including this bold edition of Tales from Shakespeare.

These tales are the perfect introduction to Shakespeare’s greatest plays. Charles and Mary Lamb vividly bring to life the power of Hamlet and Othello, the fun of As You Like It and the drama of Pericles. They never lose the feel of his beautiful language and humanity and convey all of his wit and wisdom. These tales are classic literature in their own right.

“It’s Shakespeare for children – but in a radical new form ? the book is illustrated by Emily Sutton, who has supplied more than 150 ingeniously detailed watercolour drawings ? it’s a rare delight to find a children’s edition that leaves Shakespeare’s language intact.” The Daily Telegraph, 5 stars

“What a lovely treasure! A wonderful introduction to Shakespeare’s timeless plays.” Greg Jenner, You’re Dead to Me

The first-ever illustrated children’s edition of William Shakespeare’s First Folio, published to celebrate its 400th anniversary – a sumptuous gift book to treasure for ever.

Published in association with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Shakespeare’s Plays is the first-ever illustrated children’s edition of the First Folio, one of the greatest books ever published which celebrates its 400th anniversary in 2023. The sumptuously illustrated book, with luminous and detailed artwork by Emily Sutton, includes all 36 plays in the original volume, in the same order. The plays preserve Shakespeare’s original dramatic language, but have been skillfully abridged by Dr Anjna Chouhan so they can be performed by a minimum of eight children in under twenty minutes. The perfect accessible introduction to Shakespeare in his own words for a child, this is a very special gift book that will be returned to time and time again.

‘The course of true love never did run smooth’

Hermia loves Lysander. But she must marry Demetrius or be condemned to life in a convent. Together, Hermia and Lysander plan to elope to escape their fate. But Helena, Hermia’s best friend, secretly loves Demetrius and, hoping to win his heart, tells him about the plan.

Deep in the forest, the four unlucky lovers cross paths with Oberon, the jilted fairy king. When a powerful, love-inducing flower is put to nefarious use, a case of multiple mistaken identities sets in motion a night of magic and mayhem that could change all of their lives forever.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is Shakespeare’s magical romantic comedy of trickery, love triangles and mistaken identities.

Discover STAGED, a limited collection of Shakespeare’s unabridged plays celebrating the genius of the Bard and the tropes that continue to delight YA readers to this day.

Explore the rest of the STAGED collection:
As You Like It – With a foreword by Talia Hibbert
Hamlet – With a foreword by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Macbeth – With a foreword by Kat Delacorte
Much Ado About Nothing – With a foreword by Holly Bourne
Romeo and Juliet – With a foreword by Jennifer Niven

‘Something is rotten in the state of Denmark’

The King of Denmark is dead. When Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, meets the King’s ghost and discovers he was murdered, he swears vengeance against the killer: his father’s brother, Claudius, who has married Hamlet’s mother and taken the throne.

Furious at this betrayal, Hamlet devises a complex plot to reveal the truth and enact his revenge. But Claudius has a devious plan of his own. Together, they will bring devastation to the entire court.

Hamlet is Shakespeare’s timeless story of grief and a revenge so unrelenting that by curtain’s close, all the major players are dead.

Discover STAGED, a limited collection of Shakespeare’s unabridged plays that celebrates the genius of the Bard and the tropes that continue to delight YA readers to this day.

Explore the rest of the STAGED collection:
As You Like It – With a foreword by Talia Hibbert
Macbeth – With a foreword by Kat Delacorte
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – With a foreword by Becky Albertalli
Much Ado About Nothing – With a foreword by Holly Bourne
Romeo and Juliet – With a foreword by Jennifer Niven

‘It will have blood, they say: blood will have blood‘

On a bleak, stormy night in Scotland, three witches prophesy: Macbeth will be a lord twice-over and Macbeth will be king; but Banquo’s sons will also be kings.

When the witches’ predictions start to come true, the ambitious Lady Macbeth vows to help her husband become King of Scotland and hold on to the throne – by any means necessary. But as the pursuit of power leads them down a dark and bloody path, the Macbeths soon begin to unravel.

Macbeth is Shakespeare’s famously blood-soaked tale of greed and prophecy so powerful that superstitions about the curse of ‘The Scottish Play’ continue to this day.

Discover STAGED, a limited collection of Shakespeare’s unabridged plays that celebrates the genius of the Bard and the tropes that continue to delight YA readers to this day.

Explore the rest of the STAGED collection:
As You Like It – With a foreword by Talia Hibbert
Hamlet – With a foreword by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – With a foreword by Becky Albertalli
Much Ado About Nothing – With a foreword by Holly Bourne
Romeo and Juliet – With a foreword by Jennifer Niven

A bloody feud. A tangled love. A senseless tragedy that brings two families to their knees.

After a chance meeting at a ball, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet fall desperately in love. But their families are locked in a bitter rivalry, their love forbidden. Worse still, Juliet’s family already expect her to marry her suitor, Count Paris.

Determined to save their love, Romeo and Juliet wed in secret. But when a fight erupts that leaves Montagues and Capulets dead, Romeo is banished from Verona, forcing Juliet to take desperate measures that spell tragedy for the star-crossed lovers.

Romeo and Juliet is Shakespeare’s masterclass in tales of love and loss, and the origin of the lovestruck, star-crossed lovers.

Discover STAGED, a limited collection of Shakespeare’s unabridged plays that celebrates the genius of the Bard and the tropes that continue to delight YA readers to this day.

Explore the rest of the STAGED collection:
As You Like It – With a foreword by Talia Hibbert
Hamlet – With a foreword by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Macbeth – With a foreword by Kat Delacorte
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – With a foreword by Becky Albertalli
Much Ado About Nothing – With a foreword by Holly Bourne

Beautifully illustrated and cloth bound, this edition is the perfect keepsake for the whole family.

This classic volume includes:
· A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream
· Much Ado About Nothing
· As you Like It
· King Lear
· Macbeth
· Twelfth Night
· Romeo and Juliet
· Hamlet
and more.

Crafted by renowned writers and essayists of the 18th century, siblings Charles and Mary Lamb. Tales From Shakespeare vividly bring to life the power of Shakespeare’s stories with wit and wisdom.

‘First published in 1807, and never out of print, these stories, adapted from 20 of Shakespeare’s plays, are clever and powerful summaries designed to provide children with enough plot and characterisation to allow them to understand the plays themselves when they later see or read the authentic versions.’ – Independent

Collect our Puffin Clothbound Classics:
9780241444313 The Little Prince
9780241663554 The Jungle Book
9780241568811 Charlotte’s Web
9780241688243 Little Women
9780241688250 Peter Pan
9780241688267 The Railway Children
9780241688236 Chinese Cinderella
9780241411216 Treasure Island
9780241411209 The Wizard of Oz
9780241655702 Watership Down
9780241663578 The Worst Witch
9780241663547 David Copperfield
9780241663561 The Neverending Story
9780241623909 Stig of the Dump
9780241623916 The Dark is Rising
9780241411162 The Secret Garden
9780241411148 Black Beauty
9780241411155 Dracula
9780241425121 Frankenstein
9780241425138 Wuthering Heights
9780241425114 Tales from Shakespeare
9780241425107 Tales of the Greek Heroes
9780241411193 A Christmas Carol
9780241621196 Grimms’ Fairy Tales
9780241425145 Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales