'And with every word you read you will be transported to various places around Ireland where magic is as warm and golden as the summer sun.'

A collection of 11 short stories and 6 poems by Ireland’s top children’s writers, edited by Children's Laureate Eoin Colfer and illustrated by world-renowned artist PJ Lynch.

This wonderful collection of poems and stories by Irish writers for children was compiled by Laureate na nÓg, Eoin Colfer, as part of his nationwide storytelling project, Once upon a Place. It captures stories by some of our very best writers and wraps them up with P.J.Lynch's superb illustrations.

There are spooky stories and funny stories, adventurous stories and stories that take you back in time or to enchanted places – castles and rivers, fields and woods and parks, towers and towns and gardens, islands and beaches. The stories and poems come from all over Ireland – you might even find one from your own place.

Includes writing by Roddy Doyle, Pat Boran, Siobhán Parkinson, and many more ...

'The stories in the collection are certainly very varied; adventure stories, mysteries, stories of wonder are all included. All are linked by their referencing of Ireland which is evoked by descriptions of landscape, creatures, local magic and mischief and, most of all, weather! In John Connolly’s memorable and beautifully written The Bear, the magic lies in the imagination of a child who needs to see something that may not really be there. All readers will know more about Ireland when they have read the stories than they knew at the beginning but they would also see that stories such as these are universal.' – The Guardian

'Once Upon a Place is a significant publication, affording ample evidence of the high quality of the best of our current children’s literature. It is a pleasure to add that the quality of the content is matched in this instance by the extremely attractive standards of the book’s production values, including its design by Fidelma Slattery.' – The Irish Times

'As a collection, Once Upon a Place engages with the deep significance landscape has in Irish stories, featuring tales and legends matched with eerie illustrations perfectly evoking the strangeness of these stories and of the places that have inspired them.' – Children's Books Ireland

'This book is a gift that could be given to any child of any age, the younger kids could be read to. But it’s also a gift we should buy for ourselves. Rarely does one find such a rainbow of outstanding talent in one little book, one truly exceptional anthology.' – The Sunday Independent

Eoin Colfer (pronounced Owen) was born in Wexford, Ireland in 1965, where he and his four brothers were brought up by his father (a school teacher, historian and artist of note) and mother (a drama teacher). He first developed an interest in writing in primary (elementary) school with gripping Viking stories inspired by history he was learning in school at the time! His first book, Benny and Omar, was published in 1998, based on his experiences in Tunisia. In 2001 the first Artemis Fowl book was published and he was able to resign from teaching and concentrate fully on writing. The Artemis Fowl series has since sold over 20 million copies worldwide. He says, "I will keep writing until people stop reading or I run out of ideas. Hopefully neither of these will happen anytime soon. He lives in Ireland with his wife and two children.