England (UK)

The Two Loves of Will Shakespeare

Young William Shakespeare should be taking his glove-making apprenticeship much more seriously. However, carousing with his friends, carrying on with women, and sneaking off to see plays are all higher priorities for him. All this changes when Will’s best friend, Richard, asks him to write and deliver sonnets to a young woman, pretending the love poems are from Richard. Once Will lays eyes on the exquisitely beautiful Anne Whateley, he is deeply in love. He wants more than anything to make himself into a man worthy of such a young woman. But entanglements with a certain Anne Hathaway, the discovery of an old prank, and his distracted nature all complicate matters for the future Bard of Avon. In this highly entertaining historical novel Laurie Lawlor imagines how there came to be two different marriage license applications taken out on consecutive dates in November of 1582 between eighteen-year-old William Shakespeare and two different women both named Anne.

Garibaldi’s Biscuits

Wearing pizza buckles on their belts and wielding water balloons,Garibaldi and his army defeat the rascally French, and the world-famous Garibaldi’s biscuits are born! Ralph Steadman’s cast of quirky characters and witty cartoons bring this foot note of history to life.

Well Between The Worlds

Lyonesse is the land of legends and magic. It’s the forgetten land where King Arthur once resided with Merlin and his Knights of the Round Table. But thousands of years after the great king walked this country, it has become a place of shadows, where men hunt and capture the monsters that lurk below in the dark depths of the sea. Lyonesse is slowly sinking, and it is up to one boy, Idris, to save his people and his land. Can he stand up to the forces of evil that aim to stop him? Sam Llewellyn’s book in two parts LYONESSE has its roots in the world of Arthurian legend, but Sam has made the story and characters his own, drawing on a range of sources to create a fabulously rich and fresh adventure for every child, not just those with an interest in King Arthur. Sam Llewellyn worked as an editor and fine art dealer until he decided that life was too short. Since then, his novels, published in twelve languages, have earned him a reputation as one of the world’s master storytellers and writers of maritime thrillers. Many of his books are founded in personal experience. While researching them he has (among other things) chased pirates in the South China Sea and raced large ships in France.

Oddly

When a little boy bursts into their world, three unusual creatures find answers to their questions in this whimsical story from a stellar pair.The Lostlet twirls a golden leaf and asks, Where am I? What do I hope for? The Strangelet holds a smooth white pebble and wonders, What am I? What do I dream of? The Oddlet listens to a seashell and muses, Who am I? What do I wish for? Lost in their own worlds, the creatures are powerless to find answers, until a small boy appears who seems stranger, odder, and even more lost than they. As the three creatures comfort the child, they discover their hearts’ desires — while their new friend finds surprising ways to make all their dreams and wishes come true.

Peril on the Sea

It is the summer of 1588 and a pair of unlikely shipmates is traveling on the Vixen, a privateer that will soon be drafted to join a flotilla of English ships bound for a fiery clash with the Spanish Armada. Seventeen-year-old Sherwin is aboard to repay a debt he owes the ship’s roguish captain, Brandon Fletcher. Sixteen-year-old Katharine is sailing with them in a desperate bid to save her noble family’s fortune. The fight will be harrowing and bloody, and the unfolding tumult will challenge the character of both Sherwin and Katharine, who are about to discover the deeper meaning of strife and of honor. This fascinating tale affords an unusual view of one of the most important naval encounters in history, as a kindling romance between two young people takes place amidst a reluctant race to battle.

I Is Someone Else

It is 1966, and the times, they are a-changin’. Fifteen-year-old Stephen is on his way to a summer program in France when he meets two glamorous new friends of his older brother, Rob, who has been missing for 18 months. They persuade Stephen to travel to Istanbul with them, to find his brother. And what a world opens up to him: a world of beautiful girls, drug busts, fascinating cultures, fast-moving friendships, and betrayals. As he travels further into Asia, the nature of Stephen’s journey changes: The search for his brother is replaced by an inner exploration, in which he must confront his own past, and his own dark secret.

Demons and Shadows: The Ghostly Best Stories of Robert Westall

Contains some of the author’s best ghostly tales, including “Rachel and the Angel,” “The Creatures in the House,” and the previously unpublished “Graveyard Shift.” By the author of The Stones of Muncaster Cathedral.

The Wish House

From the best-selling author of WITCH CHILD and SORCERESS comes another engrossing, atmospheric novel — following a teenage boy as he uncovers the secrets of the mysterious and provocative Wish House. It’s the start of summer vacation, and fifteen-year-old Richard has discovered that a family has taken up residence in the usually deserted Wish House. Richard is intrigued by both the house and the bohemian family now living there. The father, Jethro Dalton, is an internationally renowned painter; his seemingly licentious wife is fascinated by herbs and cures. But it’s their beautiful and vibrant daughter, Clio, the muse for Jethro’s paintings, who draws Richard utterly into the Daltons’ world. Soon Richard finds himself so captivated by Clio that he steals off to the woods to spend days and nights with her, meanwhile struggling to understand and fit in with her eccentric clan. How could he know that some mysteries are best left alone — and that some betrayals can never be forgiven?