Gillian Rubenstein has selected seven stories by some of the very best current writers of children’s fiction, which are by turn gripping, funny, mysterious, and spooky. The anthology includes Anthony Holcroft’s “The Stone”, which also appears in his story collections The Ghost Tree and The Boy at the Door.

The Stone

While searching for stones along a riverbed on the wild west coast, Christopher discovers a pebble that glows under water with a strange luminous light. Delighted, he adds it to his collection, not knowing it is inhabited by a malevolent spirit that moves about after dark, intent on destruction ...