The Secret Hen House Theatre

Since the death of her mother, Hannah's family life has been somewhat chaotic. Her father is absorbed by running their dilapidated farm, and the four children are increasingly left to their own devices. These include 'farming' each room of the house, looking after an enormous pet sheep called Jasper, and writing and directing plays in a disused hen house. But when the farm is threatened with demolition, Hannah determines to save it and realise her dreams at the same time... Shortlisted for the Waterstones Prize, this is a brilliant story of eccentric family life where the children's imaginations run as free as the farmyard animals. From the award-winning author of Evie's Ghost, Anna at War, The Farm Beneath the Water and the Jasmine Green series for younger readers, this is perfect for fans of Iva Ibbotson and Philippa Pearce.

Helen Peters grew up on an old-fashioned farm in Sussex, surrounded by family, animals and mud. She spent most of her childhood reading stories and putting on plays in a tumbledown shed that she and her friends turned into a theatre. After university, she became an English and Drama teacher. Helen lives in London with her family and a very assertive cat.