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A Series of Unfortunate Events
This book tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. From the very first page of this book when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on through the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. One might say they are magnets for misfortune.
In this short book alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast.
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Lemony Snicket |
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An Urgent Message of Wowness
My little sister's a princess.
My brother's a pin-up.
My parents are perfect.
They've all got the wow-factor...
But what about me? |
Karen McCombie |
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Artemis Fowl
In arch criminal Artemis Fowl's first encounter with the Fairy People, you'll learn how he hatched a plot to restore his family's fortune. You'll read how he discovered an underground world of armed and dangerous fairies, farting dwarves and mind-blowing technology. And you'll see how, by kidnapping Captain Holly Short of the Lower Elements Police, Artemis almost triggered a cross-species war.
Yours in deep cover,
Eoin Colfer |
Eoin Colfer |
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Arthur, King of Britain
An engrossing and different account in which the reader is drawn into the magic and chivalry of the world of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. |
Michael Morpurgo |
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Ballet Shoes
Pauline, Petrova and Posy are adopted and sent home by eccentric fossil collector and explorer Gum. In the care of his niece Sylvia and the family Nurse they choose the surname Fossil for themselves and vow to make the name famous. When Gum fails to return after five years, the money begins to run out and Sylvia decides that the girls should go to acting school in order to earn some money. Pauline loves the school and dreams of becoming an actress; Petrova hates it and only wants to learn about engines and fly planes; Posy loves it too and, as a gifted dancer, the school is the perfect place for her. |
Noel Streatfield |
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Beast Quest
An evil wizard has enchanted the magical beasts of Avantia - only a true hero can free the beasts and stop them from destroying the land. Is Tom the hero Avantia has been waiting for? |
Adam Blade |
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Black Beauty
Black Beauty begins life in a loving home. But his owners are forced to sell him, and Black Beauty's fortunes change. He is moved from place to place and job to job, often suffering cruel treatment and harsh conditions - until a chance encounter leads to a new turn of events. |
Anna Sewell |
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Blitz Boys
A story set in London during the Blitz. With Gernan planes blitzing London, the wreckage can be an exciting place to play after the fear of the night has died down. Whilst exploring a bombed house one day, a lonely boy makes a friend whose father is an RAF pilot - much more exciting than his own air-raid warden dad. But it takes genuine danger to make him realise the difference between the heroism of fantasy and what people do when their courage is needed for real. |
Linda Newberry |
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Bloodhunters
They know where you are...In the middle of the Mexican jungle a small scientific team prepare to embark on an exploration of the world's deepest sinkhole; a naturally-formed underwater shaft that no one has ever reached the bottom of. What they are about to discover could change the world forever. Three thousand miles away, Joe McDonald's father is arrested for murder. Joe and his friend Giles are desperate to prove his innocence, but when more people are attacked in mysterious circumstances, Joe begins to suspect that a predator is on the loose. Maybe the dark shapes he has seen in the woods and canal aren't just his imagination. Could the attacks in Joe's town be linked to his dad's research at the university? Could Dad's colleague have brought something back with him from the expedition in Mexico? Suddenly the search for justice becomes a desperate fight for survival... |
Steve Voake |
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The Camels are Coming (First in Biggles series)
The Camel closed up until it was flying beside him; the pilot smiling. Biggles showed his teeth in what he imagined to be an answering smile. 'You swine,' he breathed: 'you dirty, unutterable, murdering swine! I'm going to kill you if it's the last thing I do on earth.' This story is set in the last years of the First World War. Air combat has now become the order of the day and air duelling is a fine art. Biggles and his fellow pilots now have to contend with the enemy using their own British aircraft, a Sopwith Camel, to lure the British pilots to their deaths... |
W.E. Johns |
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Carrie’s War
Set in WW2, Carrie and her little brother are evacuated to Wales and billeted at the home of the bullying Mr Evans and his timid sister Lou. Unhappy at home, they love visiting fellow evacue, Albert, at the farm of Druid's Bottom. Here they meet Hepzibah Green, who knows magical stories, and Mister Johnny, who speaks a language all his own. But then things go wrong and Carrie takes things into her own hands - without guessing the awful consequences. |
Nina Bawden |
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CHERUB - The Recruit
A terrorist doesn't let strangers in her flat because they might be undercover police or intelligence agents, but her children bring their mates home and they run all over the place. The terrorist doesn't know that a kid has bugged every room in her house, cloned the hard drive on her PC, and copied all the numbers in her phone book. The kid works for CHERUB. CHERUB is not James Bond. There are no master criminals or high-tech gadgets. CHERUB kids live in the real world. They slip under adult radar and get information that sends criminals and terrorists to jail. For official purposes, these children do not exist. |
Robert Muchamore |
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Clarice Bean - That's Me
With one pesky younger brother who hangs upside down until he turns a funny color, an older brother in the "dark tunnel of adolescence," and a boy-crazy sister who won't notice her except to tell her to go away, Clarice Bean has her hands full. All she wants is a little peace and quiet. Her mother retreats to the bathtub with candles and language tapes, her father scoots off to his big fancy office, and Grandad spends all his time asleep with a cat on his head. |
Lauren Child |
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Clockwork
A tormented apprentice clock-maker - and a deadly knight in armour. A mechanical prince - and the sinister Dr Kalmenius, who some say is the devil - a story that is funny, frightening, exciting, and clever. |
Phillip Pullman |
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The Falcon's Malteser - A Diamond Brothers Story
When a dwarf comes into the office and leaves a package, Tim Diamond, the world's worst private investigator, is faced with his toughest case yet. The office is ransacked and the package is found to contain a box of Maltesers. Who was the dwarf and why was he murdered shortly after his visit? |
Anthony Horowitz |
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Diary of a Wimpey Kid
Greg Heffley finds himself thrust into a new year and a new school where undersize weaklings share the corridors with kids who are taller, meaner and already shaving. Desperate to prove his new found maturity, which only going up a grade can bring, Greg is happy to have his not-quite-so-cool sidekick, Rowley, along for the ride. But when Rowley's star starts to rise, Greg tries to use his best friend's popularity to his own advantage. Recorded in his diary with comic pictures and his very own words, this test of Greg and Rowley's friendship unfolds with hilarious results. |
Jeff Kinney |
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Face
Martin is a good-looking, self-assured boy who accepts a ride home from a drunken acquaintance and ends up in a horrible accident--badly burned, his face completely disfigured. Life as it was before is over...he loses his girlfriend and his friends, and finds that people are making judgements about him and how he feels without even knowing.
As Martin struggles through the reconstruction of his face, he is also working hard to reconstruct his life. His character, however, remains intact. |
Benjamin Zephaniah |
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Faerie Wars
Henry thinks he is simply saving a butterfly from being eaten by Mr Fogarty's cat - but he is in fact saving the life of a misdirected exiled fairy prince. A prince who has to get back to his own land in order to thwart a threatened attack by the Faeries of the Night. But time is against Pyrgus Malvae and soon he is relying on Henry and Mr Fogarty not just to get him home but also to solve the puzzle that surrounds his exile. A wonderful, gripping, page-turning read full of the kind of detail that will ensure that this fabulous fantastic novel will have readers young and old holding their breath as the story unfolds.
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Herbie Brennan |
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The Fire Within
'David ran a hand through his mop of brown hair. Dragons. It was certainly different from his last set of lodgings, where all you got were spiders and the occasional mouse. "It's perfect," he said.' When David arrives at Wayward Crescent he has no idea what lurks inside the Pennykettle house. Only when he's given his own special dragon does he begin to unlock their mysterious secrets, and to discover the fire within... |
Chris D’Lacey |
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Flambards
Christina is sent to live with her uncle in his country house, Flambards, and knows from the moment she arrives that she'll never fit in. Her uncle is fierce and domineering and her cousin, Mark, is selfish - but despite all this, Christina discovers a passion for horse-riding and finds a true friend in Will. What Christina has yet to realize, though, is the important part she has to play in the future of this strange household... |
K.M. Peyton |
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Girl Writer - Castles and Catastrophes
At twelve, Cordelia Arbuthnot has two major worries. One is whether she should be fancying boys yet. The other is whether her long surname will make it too expensive to have gold lettering at the bottom of her soon to be famous books. Cordelia longs to be a famous writer, but not like her aunt. Everyone loves her aunt's books, but Cordelia is determined to write something far more interesting and complex... |
Ros Asquith |
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Gold of the Gods
Lost in the jungle! Beck Granger is on a trip to Colombia in his school holidays. His anthropologist uncle has taken him along on a visit to Don Rafael de Castillo, a descendent of a great explorer who is claimed to have discovered a lost City of Gold. But the secret of the city died with the explorer - until now...His uncle and Don Rafael believe they know where to find the city and Beck gets to go along for the ride. But when the two men are kidnapped, Beck is left to solve this new mystery on his own. With Marco and Christina, the Don's children. he must set off into the wilds of Colombia to find the city - and bring his uncle back. Beck must build a raft and negotiate wild river rapids, make camp, defend his friends from wild animals and keep them all alive in the jungle. A fast-paced, exciting new adventure full of real survival details and gruesome tips. |
Bear Grylls |
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Goodnight Mr. Tom
Young Willie Beech is evacuated to the country as Britain stands on the brink of World War 2. A sad, deprived child, he slowly begins to flourish under the care of old Tom Oakley - but his new-found happiness is shattered by a summons from his mother back in London...This title is winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Award. |
Michelle Magorian |
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Groosham Grange
Two ghoulish chillers from an award-winning author - in one fang-tastic volume! David quickly discovers that his new school, Groosham Grange, is a very weird place indeed. New pupils sign their names in blood; the French teacher disappears every full moon and the assistant headmaster keeps something very chilling in his room..
What's the meaning of the black rings everyone wears? Where do the other pupils vanish to at night? Most important of all, how on earth can David get away - alive?
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Anthony Horowitz |
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H.I.V.E.: Higher Institute of Villainous Education
H.I.V.E. (Higher Institute of Villainous Education) is a top-secret school of applied villainy where children with a precocious gift for wrongdoing are sent to develop their talents into criminal masterminds. After all, 'villains have the best lines and wear the best costumes'. One small catch is that the children cannot leave until training is complete, six years later. With villainy comes a certain freedom of thought, and every year one student in particular will show exceptional talent - after all, it takes the best to produce the worst. This year there are two students: Otto Malpense and his new friend Wing Fanchu are both exceptionally bad, and they are definitely not keen on being held against their will for six long years... |
Mark Walden |
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Hacker
MESSAGE: THIS IS THE SYSTEM OPERATOR. WHO IS USING THIS ACCOUNT? PLEASE IDENTIFY YOURSELF ...When Vicky's father is arrested, accused of stealing over a million pounds from the bank where he works, she is determined to prove his innocence. But how? There's only one way - to attempt to break into the bank's computer files. Even if Vicky is the best hacker in the world, will she find the real thief before they find her?
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Malorie Blackman |
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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter is an ordinary boy who lives in a cupboard under the stairs at his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon's house, which he thinks is normal for someone like him who's parents have been killed in a 'car crash'. He is bullied by them and his fat, spoilt cousin Dudley, and lives a very unremarkable life with only the odd hiccup (like his hair growing back overnight!) to cause him much to think about. That is until an owl turns up with a letter addressed to Harry and all hell breaks loose! He is literally rescued by a world where nothing is as it seems and magic lessons are the order of the day. Read and find out how Harry discovers his true heritage at Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, the reason behind his parents mysterious death, who is out to kill him, and how he uncovers the most amazing secret of all time, the fabled Philosopher's Stone! All this and muggles too. Now, what are they?
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J.K. Rowling |
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Heartbeat
Twelve year old Annie loves running, and drawing. Annie's best friend Max thinks she is spoilt because she has two parents and a grandfather. Max is in a bad mood. Annie's mother is having another baby and Annie's grandfather is getting old and forgetting a lot. There is a lot going on in Annie's life...
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Sharon Creech |
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Heidi
Little Heidi goes to live with her grandfather in his lonely hut high in the Alps and she quickly learns to love her new life. But her strict aunt decides to send her away again to live in the town. Heidi cannot bear being away from the mountains and is determined to return to the happiness of life with her grandfather. |
J. Spryi |
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Holes
Stanley's family has a history of bad luck going back generations, so he is not too surprised when a miscarriage of justice sends him to Camp Green Lake Juvenile Detention Centre. Nor is he very surprised when he is told that his daily labour at the camp is to dig a hole, five foot wide by five foot deep, and report anything that he finds in that hole. The warden claims that it is character building, but this is a lie and Stanley must dig up the truth. In this wonderfully inventive, compelling novel that is both serious and funny, Louis Sachar has created a masterpiece that will leave all readers amazed and delighted by the author's narrative flair and brilliantly handled plot.
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Louis Sachar |
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Ink Heart
Meggie loves books. So does her father, Mo, a bookbinder, although he has never read aloud to her since her mother mysteriously disappeared. They live quietly until the night a stranger knocks at their door. He has come with a warning that forces Mo to reveal an extraordinary secret - a storytelling secret that will change their lives for ever. |
Cornelia Funke |
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Journey to the River Sea
It is 1910 and Maia, tragically orphaned at 13, has been sent from England to start a new life with distant relatives in Manaus, hundreds of miles up the Amazon. She is accompanied by an eccentric and mysterious governess who has secret reasons of her own for making the journey. Both soon discover an exotic world bursting with new experiences in this highly colourful, joyous and award-winning adventure. |
Eva Ibbotson |
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Just So Stories
These twelve magical stories tell, among other things, how the camel got his hump, the leopard his spots, the elephant his trunk, how the alphabet was made and how a butterfly caused mayhem at the court of Solomon when he stamped. |
Rudyard Kipling |
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Just William
Just William makes his mark in this hilarious collection of twelve classic stories. Whether it's trying to arrange a marriage for his sister or taking a job as a boot boy as step one in his grand plan to run away, William manages to cause chaos wherever he goes. |
Richmal Crompton |
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Knife (Concorde Book Award winner 2011)
Once upon a time, a fairy is born. She lives in an old oak tree at the bottom of a garden with the rest of the fairy folk. Never has she known a time when life hasn't been hard, with many dangers and much adversity. But when she becomes the Hunter of the group and learns to do battle in the outside world, her adventures really take off...Don't read this book if you're expecting fairy dust - the last thing Knife is likely to wield is a magic wand...
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R.J. Anderson |
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Lionboy
Charlie Ashanti can speak Cat. He takes it for granted - but when his mum and dad go missing, the cats are the only friends he can turn to. Setting out to find his parents, Charlie stows away on an incredible circus ship bound for Paris. On board he meets six proud, beautiful lions who need his help.
Together they embark on the adventure of a lifetime.
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Zizou Corder |
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Little Women
The story of four girls, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, as they grow up in 19th-century New England. They are faced with the prospect of a dreary Christmas the year their father is away at war. Money is tight, and what they do have the family shares with their even poorer neighbors. But the girls are resourceful, and they can never be really poor when they have each other.
As the year progresses, the girls have many domestic adventures. They meet Laurie, "that Lawrence boy," who lives in the immense house next door. He and his grandfather become good neighbors and friends, and Laurie seems to be falling for Jo. Meanwhile, Jo embarks on a writing career, publishing a story in the local newspaper. The girls all experience social triumphs and disasters as they try to find their place in the world.
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Louisa M. Allcott |
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Millions
Two bothers, Damian and Anthony, are unwittingly caught up in a train robbery during Britain's countdown to join the Euro. Suddenly finding themselves with a vast amount of cash, the boys have just one glorious, appalling dilemma how to spend it in the few days before it becomes worthless. Torn between the vices of buying a million pizzas and the virtues of ending world poverty, the boys soon discover that being rich is a mug's game. For not only is the clock ticking the bungling bank robbers are closing in. Pizzas or World Peace, what would you choose?
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Frank Cottrell Boyce |
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Mortal Engines (1st in series)
A brilliantly-imagined creation, the world of the Traction Era, where mobile cities fight for survival in a post-apocalyptic future. The first installment introduces young apprentice Tom Natsworthy and the murderous Hester Shaw flung from the fast-moving city of London into heart-stopping adventures in the wastelands of the Great Hunting Ground.
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Philip Reeve |
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My Family and Other Animals
Soaked in the sunshine of Corfu where the author lived as a boy, we hear of the the family, with its many eccentric hangers-on, and the animals Gerry studies and brings home. The procession includes toads, and tortoises, bats and butterflies scorpions and geckos, ladybirds, glow-worms, octopuses and rose-beetles, Quasimodo the pigeon, the puppies Widdle and Puke, and of course the magpies.
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Gerald Durrell |
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Northern Lights (1st in Series)
'Without this child, we shall all die'. Lyra Belacqua and her animal daemon live half-wild and carefree among scholars of Jordan College, Oxford. The destiny that awaits her will take her to the frozen lands of the Arctic, where witch-clans reign and ice-bears fight. Her extraordinary journey will have immeasurable consequences far beyond her own world...
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Phillip Pullman |
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Refugee Boy
Alem is on holiday with his father for a few days in London. He has never been out of Ethiopia before and is very excited. They have a great few days together until one morning when Alem wakes up to find that his father has left him. Alem is left a letter in which his father admits that political problems in Ethiopia mean they have decided he will be safer in London. Alem is now on his own, in the hands of the social services and the Refugee Council. This story charts Alem's fate as he is moved from children's home to foster family, and in and out of court hearings. Winner of the 2002 Portsmouth Book Award - Longer Novel category. |
Benjamin Zephaniah |
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Ring of Bright Water
Gavin Maxwell went to live in an abandoned house on a shingle beach on the west coast of Scotland. A haven for wildlife - he named his home Camusfearna and settled there with the otters Mij, Edal and Teko. "Ring of Bright Water" chronicles Gavin Maxwell's first ten years with the otters and touched the hearts of readers the world over, brilliantly evoking life with these playful animals in this natural paradise. |
Gavin Maxwell |
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Scarlet
Scarlett's not red like a sunset, she's red with rage. She cannot believe her mum's sunk so low as to pack her off to Ireland to stay with the dad who left them. Surely he's the reason for everything going wrong, her never being able to stay in a school, rules always just, somehow, seeming to get broken? Ha! They won't get round her so easily. But she hasn't reckoned the gorgeous Kian, and he might just find a way to change Scarlett's mind. There's a chance that - this time - things will be different... |
Cathy Cassidy |
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Jane Blonde - Sensational Spylet
Janey Brown feels like she is practically invisible. With her stick-thin legs, mousy brown hair and grey eyes, no one ever notices her. Then a crazy woman turns up at the school gates, claiming to be Janey's godmother. According to hip-hop-talking, larger-then-life 'G-Mamma', Janey Brown really is something special. She's Jane Blonde, Sensational Spylet and it's time for her first mission.Swapping her too-big school uniform for a silver spysuit, and her battered satchel for a set of amazing gadgets, Janey soon discovers that nothing in her life, or in her past, is as it seems. Her elusive Uncle Solomon happens to be the head of SPI (Solomon's Politicational Investigations) and the greatest spy the world has ever known. Recruited by the government to work on top-secret Project Crystal Clear, Solomon has made a scientific discovery that could change the world. But now he's gone missing. Can Jane Blonde get to him first? Or will The Sinerlesse, a rogue spying group with evil purposes (and a very nasty dog), hunt him down and take his secret? |
Jill Marshall |
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The Sheep Pig
When Babe, the little orphaned piglet, is won at a fair by Farmer Hogget, he is adopted by Fly, the kind-hearted sheep-dog. Babe is determined to learn everything he can from Fly. He knows he can't be a sheep-dog. But maybe, just maybe, he might be a sheep-pig. |
Dick King-Smith |
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Shooting Star
Jelly might be rubbish at maths, but she's great at netball and she loves it. So when a ruthless local politician decides to ban competitive sports in school, Jelly is determined to fight. Especially as her team are about to go through to the inter-school finals. |
Rose Impey |
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Silverfin
How does an ordinary boy become the world's most famous secret agent? Discover how the legend began in Silverfin, the first in a series for younger readers about the young James Bond, a 13-year-old growing up in Britain in the 1930's. |
Charlie Higson |
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Skellig
When a move to a new house coincides with his baby sister's illness, Michael's world seems suddenly lonely and uncertain. Then, one Sunday afternoon, he stumbles into the old, ramshackle garage of his new home, and finds something magical. A strange creature - part owl, part angel, a being who needs Michael's help if he is to survive. With his new friend Mina, Michael nourishes Skellig back to health, while his baby sister languishes in the hospital. But Skellig is far more than he at first appears, and as he helps Michael breathe life into his tiny sister, Michael's world changes forever ... |
David Almond |
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Skulduggery Pleasant
Twelve year old Stephanie's uncle Gordon is a writer of horror fiction. But when he dies and leaves her his estate, Stephanie learns that while he may have written horror, it certainly wasn't fiction. Pursued by evil forces intent on recovering a mysterious key, Stephanie finds help from an unusual source -- the wisecracking skeleton of a dead wizard. When all hell breaks loose, it's lucky for Skulduggery that he's already dead. Though he's about to discover that being a skeleton doesn't stop you from being tortured, if the torturer is determined enough. And if there's anything Skulduggery hates, it's torture! Will evil win the day? Will Stephanie and Skulduggery stop bickering long enough to stop it? One thing's for sure: evil won't know what's hit it. |
Derek Landy |
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Stormbreaker
When his guardian dies in suspicious circumstances, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider finds his world turned upside down. Forcibly recruited into MI6, Alex has to take part in gruelling SAS training exercises. Then, armed with his own special set of secret gadgets, he's off on his first mission to Cornwall, where Middle-Eastern multi-billionaire Herod Sayle is producing his state-of-the-art Stormbreaker computers. Sayle has offered to give one free to every school in the country - but there's more to the gift than meets the eye. |
Anthony Horowitz |
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The Butterfly Lion
A lyrical and moving tale of a young boy growing up in Africa, and his lifelong friendship with a white lion. "All my life I'll think you you, I promise I will. I won't ever forget you." Bertie rescues an orphaned white lion cub from the African veld. They are inseparable until Bertie is sent to boarding school far away in England and the lion is sold to a circus. Bertie swears that one day they will see one another again, but it is the butterfly lion which ensures that their friendship will never be forgotten. |
Michael Morpurgo |
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The Colour of Home
Hassan feels out of place in a new cold, grey country. At school, he paints a picture showing his colourful Somalian home, covered with the harsh colours of war from which his family has fled. He tells his teacher about their voyage from Mogadishu to Mombasa, then to the refugee camp and on to England. But gradually things change. When Hassan's parents put up his next picture on the wall, Hassan notices the maroon prayer mat, a bright green cushion and his sister Naima's pink dress - the new colours of home. |
Mary Hoffman |
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The Curse of the Gloamglozer (1st in the Edge Chronicles)
In the floating city of Sanctaphrax, fusty old professors scheme and bicker with each other as they study the weather in minute detail - mistshifting, fogprobing, researching the air blowing in from beyond the Edge. But some experiments are best left alone…
Quint is the son of a sky pirate captain. He arrives in Sanctaphrax at the request of Linius Pallitax, the Most High Academe, who needs an apprentice he can trust to carry out a series of highly important tasks. Just how important, Quint is about to find out as he and Linius’s only daughter, Maris, are plunged into the midst of a terrifying adventure that takes them deep within the rock upon which Sanctaphrax is built. |
Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell |
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The Hobbit
The Hobbit is a tale of high adventure, undertaken by a company of dwarves in search of dragon-guarded gold. A reluctant partner in this perilous quest is Bilbo Baggins, a comfort-loving unambitious hobbit, who surprises even himself by his resourcefulness and skill as a burglar. Encounters with trolls, goblins, dwarves, elves and giant spiders, conversations with the dragon, Smaug, and a rather unwilling presence at the Battle of Five Armies are just some of the adventures that befall Bilbo. Bilbo Baggins has taken his place among the ranks of the immortals of children's fiction. |
J.R.R.Tolkein |
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The Illmoor Chronicles
The Duke of Dullitch is in distress -- several reports are coming in that the city is beginning to be over-run by a plague of rats. Naturally he has killed off all witnesses, but daily the problem is becoming more obvious. His corrupt council, led by the hapless ex-wizard Tambor has no solutions. He must send for mercenaries to rid his city of the rampant rodents. Heralds ride out from every gate, each hoping to bring back the saviour of the city. Part-time herald, full-time thief, and grandson to Tambor, Jimmy Quickstint is the lucky man -- falling haphazardly upon the skills of Diek Wustapha -- a charmer -- recently inhabited by magic and suddenly irresistible to girls, sheep -- and rats. Diek fulfils his task and is promised £500 for his troubles. But once the rats have gone, the council renege on their deal. Full of anger (and magic), Diek charms the children of Dullitch out of the city, playing on his mouth organ, where he disappears into the caves and woodland of the surrounding area. The Duke is now in despair. Jimmy and his useless friends Groan, a barbarian mercenary, and Gordo, a dwarf -- decide they will bring the children back, and garner a huge reward. But their adventure is only just beginning... |
David Lee Stone |
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The Lightening Thief
Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood. I never asked to be the son of a Greek god. I was just a normal kid, going to school, playing basketball, skateboarding. The usual. Until I accidentally vaporized my maths teacher. That's when things started really going wrong. Now I spend my time fighting with swords, battling monsters with my friends and generally trying to stay alive. This is the one where Zeus, God of the Sky, thinks I've stolen his lightning bolt - and making Zeus angry is a very bad idea... |
Rick Riordan |
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The Narnia Chronicles - The Magician's Nephew (1st in series)
When Digory and Polly discover Uncle Andrew's secret workshop, they are tricked into touching some magic rings that take them right out of this world. But even Uncle Andrew doesn't realise the wonders that lie ahead as they discover the gateway to the magical land of Narnia, where many thrilling adventures await them!
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C. S. Lewis |
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The Narnia Chronicles - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2nd in series)
The most loved of all the Chronicles, this wonderful tale can be enjoyed again and again. Lucy steps into the Professor's wardrobe but steps out again into a snowy forest. She's stumbled upon the magical world of Narnia, land of unicorns, centaurs, fauns! and the wicked White Witch, who terrorises all. Lucy soon realises that Narnia, and in particular Aslan, the great Lion, needs her help if the country's creatures are ever going to be free again.
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C. S. Lewis |
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The Poltergoose
Something's after Jiggy McCue! Something big and angry and invisible. Something which hisses and flaps and stabs his bum and generally tries to make his life a misery. Where did it come from? And, more importantly, will Jiggy and Co ever be able to make the poltergoose go away? |
Michael Lawrence |
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The Railway Children
When Father goes away one evening, the lives of Roberta, Peter and Phyllis are shattered. They and their mother have to move from their comfortable London home to go and live in a simple country cottage, They soon come to love the railway near their cottage and all associated with it. |
E. Nesbit |
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Bugs on the Brain - The Revenge Files of Alistair Fury (1st in series)
Alistair Fury is out for revenge. No more running errands. No more being called 'Alice'! It's payback time for his embarrassing mum, his bone-idle dad, and his constantly teasing older brother and sister. Only Alistair's two best friends - and this, his private diary - share his secrets. Culminating in a scene involving a snake, a toupee and a live TV broadcast, Alistair tries to wreak spectacular revenge but it doesn't exactly go according to plan...In lively and accessible diary form, this is a story of family life at its funniest. |
Jamie Rix |
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The Secret Garden
Mary Lennox was horrid, selfish and spoilt, and was sent to stay with her uncle in Yorkshire. She hated it. But when she finds the entrance to a secret garden a change overcomes her. With a local boy and her cousin the three children work magic in themselves and those around them. |
Frances Hodgson Burnett |
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The Circle of Power - The Sprite Sisters (1st in Series)
In the gently undulating countryside of North Norfolk is a huge, mysterious house, with rolling grounds. This is Sprite Towers, the home of the Sprite family. Magic runs through the Sprite family, but not all of it is good and nobody knows who has it. Unknown to their parents, the four Sprite Sisters each has a magical power that relates to one of the elements of Fire, Water, Earth & Air. When little Ariel gains her power of Air on her ninth birthday, dark forces are soon at work to hurt the sisters. The Sprite Sisters must work together and balance their power, to keep themselves and Sprite Towers safe from harm. |
Sheridan Winn |
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The Sword in the Stone
The extraordinary story of a boy called Wart -- ignored by everyone except his tutor, Merlyn -- who goes on to become King Arthur. When Merlyn the magician comes to tutor Sir Ector's sons Kay and the Wart, schoolwork suddenly becomes much more fun. After all, who wouldn't enjoy being turned into a fish, or a badger, or a snake? But Merlyn has very particular plans for the Wart. This new edition of T.H White's classic story includes a special "Why You'll Love This Book" introduction by bestselling-author, Garth Nix.
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T.H. White |
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The World According to Humphrey
You can learn a lot about life by observing another species. That's what Humphrey was told when he was bought as a classroom pet for Room 26. And it's definitely true! In addition to his classroom escapades, each weekend he gets to sleep over with a different student, like Stop-Giggling-Gail and Repeat-That-Please-Richie. Humphrey learns to read, write, shoot rubber bands and much more. With adventures galore, Humphrey's life would be absolutely perfect if only the teacher, Mrs Brisbane, wasn't out to get him... |
Betty Birney |
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The Woven Path
The Woven Path is the first book in the compelling Wyrd Museum trilogy. All readers will be drawn in by the gripping storytelling of Robin Jarvis, where the fantastical elements combine with the seriously chilling. In a grimy alley in the East End of London stands the Wyrd Museum, cared for by the strange Webster sisters -- and scene of even stranger events. Wandering through the museum, Neil Chapman, son of the new caretaker, discovers it is a sinister place crammed with secrets both dark and deadly. Forced to journey back to the past, he finds himself pitted against an ancient and terrifying evil, something which is growing stronger as it feeds on the destruction around it. Dare to enter the chilling and fantastical world of the Wyrd Museum in this first book of a compelling trilogy. |
Robin Jarvis |
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Two Weeks with the Queen
This is a humorous but deeply moving story about Colin who refuses to believe that his younger brother is dying of cancer and decides to take things into his own hands. Colin decides to go to the top for help, to none other than the Queen. Colin's efforts to penetrate the British establishment are hilarious, surprising and doomed to failure, but although Colin can't find a cure for cancer, he does find a way to help some of the new friends he makes, as well as discovering the best thing he can do for Luke. |
Morris Gleitzman |
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Watership Down
Fiver could sense danger. Something terrible was going to happen to the warren - he felt sure of it. So did his brother Hazel, for Fiver's sixth sense was never wrong. They had to leave immediately, and they had to persuade the other rabbits to join them. And so begins a long and perilous journey of a small band of rabbits in search of a safe home. Fiver's vision finally leads them to Watership Down, but here they face their most difficult challenge of all... |
Richard Adams |
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Ways to Live Forever
My name is Sam. I am eleven years old. I collect stories and fantastic facts. By the time you read this, I will probably be dead. Sam loves facts. He wants to know about UFOs and horror movies and airships and ghosts and scientists, and how it feels to kiss a girl. And because he has leukemia he wants to know the facts about dying. Sam needs answers to the questions nobody will answer. "Ways to Live Foreover" is the award-winning novel from an extraordinarily talented young writer. Funny and honest, it is one of the most powerful and uplifting books you will ever read. |
Sally Nicholls |
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What Katy Did
Katy Carr is untidy, tall and gangling, planning for the day when she will be "beautiful and beloved, and amiable as an angel". An accidental fall from a swing seems to threaten her hopes for the future, but Katy struggles to overcome her difficulties with pluck, vitality and good humour. |
S.M. Coolidge |
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Winging It
Meet Melanie Beeby! Mel is a trainee time-travelling angel. She's feisty, witty, streetwise and! dead! The hilarious, fast-moving, other-worldly adventure that started it all! |
Annie Dalton |
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Wolf Brother- Chronicles of Ancient Darkness Bk. 1
Thousands of years ago the land is one dark forest. Its people are hunter-gatherers. They know every tree and herb and they know how to survive in a time of enchantment and powerful magic. Until an ambitious and malevolent force conjures a demon: a demon so evil that it can be contained only in the body of a ferocious bear that will slay everything it sees, a demon determined to destroy the world. Only one boy can stop it - 12 year old Torak, who has seen his father murdered by the bear. With his dying breath, Torak's father tells his son of the burden that is his. He must lead the bear to the mountain of the World Spirit and beg that spirit's help to overcome it. Torak is an unwilling hero. He is scared and trusts no one. His only companion is a wolf cub only three moons old, whom he seems to understand better than any human. Theirs is a terrifying quest in a world of wolves, tree spirits and Hidden People, a world in which trusting a friend means risking your life.
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Michelle Paver |
