It's here! Browse the 2024 Penguin Christmas gift guide
The Scarecrow and His Servant

The Scarecrow and His Servant

Summary

Featuring wonderful new illustrations from Peter Bailey, this brilliantly funny and moving tale by multi-award winning Philip Pullman, is perfect for readers young and old.

One night, during a terrible thunderstorm, a boy named Jack shelters in a barn. The following morning he is confused to find a scarecrow with a turnip head calling out to him. For a moment he thinks he is imagining it. But he isn't, the scarecrow has been struck by lightning in exactly the right way to bring him completely to life.

Jack becomes the scarecrow's personal servant and together they decide to set out and see the world. It is a journey that neither of them could have possibly imagined, filled with adventure - and it will change them both in ways they never expected . . .

Reviews

  • [A] tale of great charm and wit
    Independent on Sunday

About the authors

Philip Pullman

Philip Pullman is one of the most highly respected children's authors writing today. Winner of many prestigious awards, including the Carnegie of Carnegies and the Whitbread Award, Pullman’s epic fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials has been acclaimed as a modern classic. It has sold 17.5 million copies worldwide and been translated into 40 languages. In 2005 he was awarded the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. He lives in Oxford.
Learn More

Peter Bailey (Illustrator)

Learn More

Sign up to the Puffin newsletter

Stories, ideas and giveaways to help you spark young imaginations