From master storyteller, Michael Morpurgo comes an incredibly moving story about one horse's experience in the deadly chaos of the first world war. In 1914, Joey, a young farm horse, is sold to the army and thrust into the midst of the war on the Western Front. With his officer, he charges towards the enemy, witnessing the horror of the frontline. But even in the desolation of the trenches, Joey's courage touches the soldiers around him.
Friends - everyone's got them, even if they don't always get along with them all the time! Friendship is a universal theme for Kiwi kids and this year's collection of 30 stories covers a range of situations: being the new kid at school, competition between friends, learning to get along with people who are different, and finding friends in unexpected places. Contributors include popular names such as David Hill, John Parker, Emma Neale and Val Bird, as well as some new writers, each with their own entertaining story to tell. As wit... read more
Dreams inspire our spirit and nightmares test our courage. These are a collection of fables that will take you from the surface of the moon to the bottom of the ocean floor. The world has no limitations and nor do the great characters who live in it. From kings, to monsters, to slaves: they all control their own fate.- Taken from the back cover.
Amy and Dan are in a race for their lives . . . and the enemy may be even closer than they think. When seven members of their family were kidnapped by a sinister organization known as the Vespers, thirteen-year-old Dan Cahill and his older sister, Amy, vowed they'd stop at nothing to bring the hostages home. But then the ransom comes in and the Vespers demand the impossible. Amy and Dan have just days to track down and steal an ancient map. The only catch? No one has seen the map for half a century. Now Amy and Dan are on a despe... read more
Iris wants to be the best rapper and ukulele player in the whole of the entire universe. Preferably with her best friend ever, and fellow Master of the Musical Universe, Sidney, at her side. They're even writing a rap musical together, and Iris hopes they'll win the talent competition which will enable her to buy the new purple ukulele that she covets. But then she and Sidney fall out, much drama ensues, and Iris discovers what's most important in life.
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The Famous Five are having a brilliant time - on holiday in horse-drawn caravans - and they've discovered a ruined castle nearby! The castle looked deserted from a distance - but is that a face at the window? Or is it a trick of the light? The Famous Five just have to find out! Just who is hiding in the castle?
What would happen if you discovered that your family was one of the most powerful in human history? What if you were told that the source of the family's power was hidden around the world in the form of 39 clues? What if you were given a choice - take a million dollars and walk away...or get the first clue and begin the search? At the reading of their grandmother's will, Dan and Amy are given this choice - and they take the clue. Immediately, they are caught in a dangerous race against their own family members. The hunt is on...
When Joe, Beth and Frannie move to a new home, an Enchanted Wood is on their doorstep. And when they discover the Faraway Tree, that is the beginning of many magical adventures! Join them and their friends Moonface, Saucepan Man and Silky the fairy as they discover which new land is at the top of the Faraway Tree. Will it be the Land of Spells, the Land of Treats, or the Land of Do-As-You-Please? There'll be adventures waiting for them, whatever happens; funny, magical adventures that will delight children again and again.
In the good old days, magic was powerful, unregulated by government, and even the largest spell could be woven without filling in magic release form B1-7g. Then the magic started fading away. Fifteen-year-old Jennifer Strange runs Kazam!, an employment agency for soothsayers and sorcerers. But work is drying up. Drain cleaner is cheaper than a spell, and even magic carpets are reduced to pizza delivery. So it's a surprise when the visions start. Not only do they predict the death of the Last Dragon at the hands of a dragonslayer, t... read more
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Book 2 of The Spiderwick Chronicles in which Mallory, Simon and Jared ask many questions and discover the fate of the missing cat. The Grace kids are just beginning to get used to Aunt Lucinda's strange old mansion when Simon suddenly disappears. At first Mallory thinks the twins are pulling some kind of prank, but when it becomes obvious that he's been snatched by goblins, Jared and his sister, Mallory, have to rely on the help of a mischievous house boggart, a nasty bridge troll, not to mention a loudmouthed hobgoblin, to get Sim... read more
Noah is running away from his problems the day he takes the untrodden path through the forest - or at least that's what he thinks. When he comes across a very unusual toyshop and meets the even more unusual toymaker, he's not sure what to expect. But the toymaker has a story to tell, a story full of adventure, wonder and broken promises. And Noah travels with him on a journey that will change his life for ever. This is a thought-provoking fable from the author of the bestselling "Boy in the Striped Pyjamas".
The drama, the cruelty, the courage and the consequences of war feature in this collection of stories from Joan Aiken, Eva Ibbotson, Jamila Gavin, Elizabeth Laird, Geraldine McCaughrean, Margaret Mahy, Michelle Magorian, Michael Morpurgo, Eleanor Updale, Celia Rees and other top children's authors. From the Crusades to 1970s' Beirut to the Falklands, many aspects of war are explored in a collection of work that speaks powerfully to today's young readers.
Young Dow Amber is no sailor. But driven by a strange sea-longing he ventures from the high country of New Island all the way down to a grim fishing village on the shores of the bay known as the Claw. There he finds a cursed people living in dread not only of the mysterious Ship Kings that rule their country, but also of the fury of the ocean itself. When the Ship Kings sail their tall ships into the Claw, Dow's forbidden longing only grows. Who are the Ship Kings? How do they navigate the high seas? And what of the strange and fas... read more
Are you ready to save the world? The bestselling series returns with an adventure spanning 6 explosive books, 2 secret-filled card packs, and a website that places readers right in the action.
Thirteen-year-old Dan Cahill and his older sister, Amy, thought they belonged to the world's most powerful family. They thought the hunt for 39 Clues leading to the source of that power was over. They even thought they'd won. But Amy and Dan were wrong.
One by one, distress calls start coming in from around the globe. Cahills ... read more
The first ever sequel to Ian Fleming's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, written by bestselling author Frank Cottrell Boyce and endorsed by the Fleming family. When the Tooting family find a vast abandoned engine and fit it to their camper van, they have no idea of the adventure that lies ahead. The engine used to belong to an extraordinary flying car – and it wants to be back on the road again... fast! The Tootings can haul on the steering wheel and pull the handbrake as hard as they like, but their camper van now has a mind of h... read more
"I have died three times, and three times been reborn, though I am not yet twenty in the old earth years by which it is still the fashion to measure time. This is the story of my three deaths, and my life between. My name is Khemri." Taken from his parents as a child and equipped with biological and technological improvements, Khemri is now an enhanced human being, trained and prepared for the glory of becoming a Prince of the Empire. Not to mention the ultimate glory: should he die, and be deemed worthy, he will be reborn...Which ... read more
On New Years Eve, Callum Ormond is chased down the street by a crazed man with a deadly warning: They killed your father. Theyll kill you. You must survive the next 365 days! Cops and criminal gangs are all searching for Cal, the psycho kid whos meant to have attacked his uncle and put his sister in a coma. Cal is desperate to clear his name, but he also has less than a year to solve an ancient family mystery: the Ormond Singularity. The stakes are getting higher and the closer he gets to the truth, the more dangerous his life bec... read more
Steven has spent much of his childhood looking after himself and his younger brother, Dylan. But when he hears a stranger's name, memories from when it was just him and his mum living in the city start to emerge. Steven pieces together what his family has been through, but he still has that niggling feeling that it might all happen again.
