A spellbinding animal story from War Horse author and former Children's Laureate, Michael Morpurgo.
Bullied at school, nagged in Aunty May's tenth-floor council flat, there's only one place ten-year-old Billy really feels alive – in the wilderness by the canal. There he watches a cygnet on the water and protects a family of fox cubs. Then his secret place is discovered and the fox family decimated. Unwanted and unloved, Billy and the last fox run for their lives …
A gripping and poignant animal adventure from the master storyteller of An Eagle in the Snow, Listen to the Moon, Shadow, and An Elephant in the Garden.
–––
Former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo needs no introduction. He is one of the most successful children's authors in the country, loved by children, teachers and parents alike. Michael has written more than forty books for children including the global hit War Horse, which was made into a Hollywood film by Steven Spielberg in 2011.
Several of his other stories have been adapted for screen and stage, including My Friend Walter, Why the Whales Came and Kensuke's Kingdom. Michael has won the Whitbread Award, the Smarties Award, the Circle of Gold Award, the Children's Book Award and has been short-listed for the Carnegie Medal four times.
He started the charity Farms for City Children in 1976 with his wife, Clare, aimed at relieving the “poverty of experience… many young children feel in inner city and urban areas. Michael is also a patron of over a dozen other charities. Living in Devon, listening to Mozart and working with children have provided Michael with the ideas and incentive to write his stories. He spends half his life mucking out sheds with the children, feeding sheep or milking cows; the other half he spends dreaming up and writing stories for children. ""For me, the greater part of writing is daydreaming, dreaming the dream of my story until it hatches out – the writing down of it I always find hard. But I love finishing it, then holding the book in my hand and sharing my dream with my readers."" Michael received an OBE in December 2006 for his services to literature.
George's best friend Annie needs help. Her scientist father, Eric, is working on a space project - and it's all going wrong. A robot has landed on Mars, but is behaving very oddly. And now Annie has discovered something weird on her dad's super-computer. Is it a message from an alien? Could there be life out there?
Learn to read with Hiccup! The How to Train Your Dragon Beginner Readers are the perfect way to introduce your child to Hiccup and the magical world of reading.
After Snoutlout has played a trick on him, Fishlegs suddenly believes he is the powerful warrior Thor Bonecrusher! He strides off to rid Berk of the scary Scauldron dragon, needing no help from his friends. But Hiccup and the others know he can not face this dangerous dragon alone.
How to Train Your Dragon is now a major DreamWorks franchise. How to Train Your Dragon 3 is scheduled for release in 2019 and the TV series can be seen on CBBC and Netflix.
The Beginner Reader series includes:
How to Build a Dragon Fort, How to Defend Your Dragon, How to Pick Your Dragon, How to Raise Three Dragons, How to Start a Dragon Academy, How to Track a Dragon
It's the summer holidays and Lauren and Mel are excited about going to pony camp together. But when they get there they are surprised to find that they're not in the same cabin. Mel makes lots of new friends and Lauren begins to feel rather lonely. Still, there's plenty of pony tasks to do and Lauren is glad she has Twilight to keep her busy.
Join Betsey, the little girl with big ideas, as she surprises everyone on her birthday, learns to be a guard dog, moves house and even becomes a TV star in these four warm and funny adventures.
This book is one of five short story collections featuring Betsey from Children's Laureate, Malorie Blackman, beautifully illustrated by Jamie Smith, and ideal for building confidence in young readers.
Miss Edwards had always been good looking - the type of teacher fancied by older students and male staff alike. Her long, blonde hair always had that 'just been washed' look to it, and she smelled like a spring day - all honey and strawberries. Miss Edwards didn't smell of strawberries any more. She smelled of rotten meat. Of terror. Of death.
This title is published by Franklin Watts EDGE, which produces a range of books
to get children reading with confidence. EDGE - for books children can't put down.
It seems too good to be true-the Hyperbrain:a super intelligent computer that works by accessing the human brain. Dinah thinks it's an incredible invention. However,someone wants to use the Hyperbrain for other things. . such as accessing people's minds and taking control of them! It can't be the Demon Headmaster, because he's gone. Isn't he?
At the Wings & Co. Fairy Detective Agency, Emily Vole and her friends are beginning to worry. It's five months since their official opening and they still haven't had one case. Then local landowner Sir Walter Cross dies suddenly and mysteriously. The detectives suspect fairy meddling. And when Mr Rollo the tailor mysteriously loses everything and Pan Smith's wedding plans are ruined the night before her big day, they're convinced there must be magic at play. Now they have not one, but three pickled herrings to deal with! Can they solve the mystery of who is stealing people's luck before the meddling fairy goes too far?
The six knights clanking round the castle corridors are driving King Artie up the wall. He can't even visit the privy without them pestering him about jousting tournaments, the Code of Chivalry, the proper way to polish armour, and if Sir Tralahad sings another of his ridiculous songs Artie will chuck him off the ramparts. What the knights need, Queen Gwinnie says, is a room of their own for meetings. But that's easier said than done. And trouble really starts when someone brings a feast to a table that's more drop-leaf than round ...Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 8+
The perfect crime - it's a work of art, in Frank Cottrell Boyce's ingenious story, Framed, read aloud by actor Jason Hughes.
Dylan is the only boy living in the tiny Welsh town of Manod. His parents run the Snowdonia Oasis Auto Marvel garage - and when he's not trying to persuade his sisters to play football, Dylan is in charge of the petrol log. And that means he gets to keep track of everyone coming in and out of Manod - what car they drive, what they're called, even their favourite flavour of crisps. But when a mysterious convoy of lorries trundles up the misty mountainside towards an old, disused mine, even Dylan is confounded. Who are these people - and what have they got to hide?
A story inspired by a press cutting describing how, during World War II, the treasured contents of London's National Gallery were stored in Welsh slate mines. Once a month, a morale-boosting masterpiece would be unveiled in the village and then returned to London for viewing. This is a funny and touching exploration of how Art - its beauty and its value - touches the life of one little boy and his big family in a very small town.
