Ever wondered where rain comes from? Join the captivating journey of a little raindrop as it travels from the sky, through the earth, and back again in Nature Stories: Little Raindrop. With vibrant illustrations that come alive with every turn of the page, this book provides an accessible exploration of water's natural cycle
When Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane and their baby brother move to the countryside, they encounter ‘It’ – a grumpy, strange-looking Sand-fairy known as a Psammead. The Psammead can grant the children one wish every day – but whether they request to be beautiful or rich, to fly or live in a castle, it seems every wish is destined to lead the five children into a great deal of trouble . .…
Inspired by the bedtime stories Rudyard Kipling told his daughter that had to be recited ‘just so’, this collection includes mythical animal origin stories like ‘How the Camel got his Hump’ and ‘How the Rhinoceros got his Skin’, alongside other playful inventions, such as the reason for the ebb and flow of the tides and how the alphabet was invented. These rhythmically told, trad…
While travelling from Switzerland to Australia, William, Elizabeth and their four sons, Fritz, Ernest, Jack and Franz, are caught in a terrible storm. Shipwrecked on a desert island, they are left to fend for themselves, equipped with supplies salvaged from the wreckage and surrounded by an array of animals. Every day brings new challenges to overcome, and the family must use their wits to s…
After Mary Lennox’s parents pass away, she is sent to a large, isolated house in Yorkshire to live with an uncle she has never met. Ill-tempered, obstinate Mary dislikes her new home, but when she finds the key to a locked garden she realises there are fascinating secrets waiting to be uncovered at Misselthwaite Manor. With the help of new friends, Mary resolves to bring the neglected ga…
“It is impossible to understand China today without understanding the Cultural Revolution,” Tania Branigan writes. During this decade of Maoist fanaticism between 1966 and 1976, children condemned parents, students condemned teachers, and as many as two million people died for their supposed political sins, while tens of millions were hounded, ostracized, and imprisoned. Yet in China this b…
THE GIVER is the classic award-winning novel that inspired the dystopian genre and a major motion picture adaptation for 2014 starring Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Katie Holmes and Taylor Swift. It is the future. There is no war, no hunger, no pain. No one in the community wants for anything. Everything needed is provided. And at twelve years old, each member of the community has their prof…
Bilbo Baggins enjoys a quiet and contented life, with no desire to travel far from the comforts of home; then one day the wizard Gandalf and a band of dwarves arrive unexpectedly and enlist his services – as a burglar – on a dangerous expedition to raid the treasure-hoard of Smaug the dragon. Bilbo’s life is never to be the same again. Seldom has any book been so widely read and loved …