'Walter Trier's deceptively innocent drawings are as classic as Kästner's words; I never tire of them' Quentin Blake 'Atmospheric... bittersweet... a memorable exploration of bravery, boyhood and friendships' Wall Street Journal Martin's school is not the ordinary kind. There are snowball fights, kidnappings, cakes, a parachute jump, a mysterious man who lives in a railway carriage, and a play about a flying classroom. As the Christmas holidays draw near, Martin is preparing for the end of term festivities along with his friend: nervous Uli, cynical Sebastian, poetic Johnny, and Matthias, who is always hungry (particularly after a meal). But surprises, sadness and trouble are on the way - and a secret that changes everything. The Flying Classroom is a magical, thrilling and bittersweet story about friendship, fun and being brave even when you are scared. Part of the new Pushkin Children's Classics series of thrilling, magical and inspiring stories from around the world, which young readers will return to time and again. Translated by Anthea Bell. Erich Kästner, writer, poet and journalist, was born in Dresden in 1899. His first children's book, Emil and the Detectives, was published in 1929 and has since sold millions of copies around the world and been translated into around 60 languages. After the Nazis took power in Germany, Kästner's books were burnt and he was excluded from the writers' guild. He won many awards, including the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1960. He died in 1974. Walter Trier was born in Prague in 1880. After moving to Berlin, he became an acclaimed cartoonist and illustrator, and Kästner's collaborator on more than a dozen children's books. Forced to emigrate under Nazi rule, he died in 1951 in Ontario, Canada. Anthea Bell was born in Suffolk in 1936. An illustrious, award-winning translator, she was best known for her translations of the much-loved Asterix books and the work of Zweig and Sebald. She died in 2018.

"It's not the most famous book by the author of Emil and the Detectives but it's his best... breathes new life into the school story" - The Times

"Atmospheric... bittersweet... a memorable exploration of bravery, boyhood and friendships" - Wall Street Journal

"A treasure-trove of childhood reading" - Huffington Post

"There are so many books where it's the combination of author and illustrator that makes you love them. In the case of The Flying Classroom and The Parent Trap... it's the combo of author, illustrator and translator. The bold line drawings by Walter Trier are the work of genius... As for the stories, if you're a fan of Emil and the Detectives, then you'll find these just as spirited" - Spectator

"A perfect story for Christmas!... The Flying Classroom tells of the friendships and adventures of a group of lively boys... As Christmas gets ever closer, hopes and fears are raised and, in the final pages, beautifully resolved" - Lovereading4kids

"Gorgeous" - Books Are My Bag

"A marvellous piece of history... This book moved me to a place that few books do. Oh, just buy it!" - Bookwitch

"Generous and wise" - Guardian

"(On both The Parent Trap and The Flying Classroom) I enjoyed every word of both, before reluctantly passing them onto my grandson. They explore childhood with wit and invention while spinning magical yarns interwoven with the erratic and bizarre actions of adults and the independent-mindedness of children" - PEN Atlas Books of the Year

"Magical" - Independent Children's Books of the Year

"Warmly recommended, as is The Parent Trap, which, two film versions notwithstanding, survives as an affectionately humorous portrayal of family life" - Irish Times

"The Flying Classroom dazzles with its perceptive depiction of schoolboys, schoolmasters and snowballing" - Irish Times

"[A] charmingly illustrated... pleasingly sentimental tale of early 20th-century boarding-school life" - Publishers Weekly

"Perceptive... warmly recommended" - Irish Times