Bored with her ordinary pets, Martha chooses a monster from the pet store, but as it outgrows its shoebox and turns into a great big ugly monster, she finds out that it is more trouble than she expected.
Europe
Materials from Europe
The Beast and the Boy
A scary-looking beast and a weak-looking boy befriend each other and, through a daring rescue, show how deceptive looks can be.
Chronicles of the Red King: The Secret Kingdom
Timoken is a prince born in a secret kingdom. At his birth, a forest jinni bestows magical gifts upon him: a cloak made by the last moon spider and a potion called Alixir. When the peaceful land is attacked, Timoken and his sister, Zobayda, must find a new kingdom to call home. Together, with only the magical gifts and a talking camel, the siblings set off.
The Abandoned Lighthouse
A bear, followed by a boy and his dog, use a rowboat to float to an abandoned lighthouse where they all spend the day fishing, cooking their catch, and then joining together to make the lighthouse work again.
Nature Adventures
Nature Adventures is a treasure trove of activities, information, observation, pictures and poetry, featuring habitats such as town and city, woodland and headgerow, ponds and rivers, moorland and seaside. And even including car journeys. This is a unique and inspirational book that will encourage families everywhere to explore the beauty and diversity of the natural world.
My Two Grandads
Aston’s Grandad Roy played in a steel band and Grandad Harry played the trumpet in a brass band. Aston always enjoyed going to visit them and listen to them practice. But soon he wanted to join in. So he asked Grandad Roy to teach him to play the steel drums and then he asked Grandad Harry to teach him to play the trumpet. He loved practicing both instruments. Then the school needs a band to play at the school fair, and both grandads want their own band to play. Finally Aston had an idea – both bands join together to make one big band, and Aston joins in first on steel drums and then on trumpet. This story of a mixed-race family reconciling their cultures is a celebration of diversity. Written by one of Britain’s foremost campaigners and media personalities and illustrated by a highly regarded illustrator, this book is sure to build on the success of My Two Grannies.
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien’s novels were strongly influenced by his childhood both in South Africa, where lions prowled and wild beasts roamed, and in the English countryside, where he imagined that elves and gnomes dwelled. J. R. R. Tolkien wrote many stories, studied languages–even inventing one of his own–and founght bravely in World War I. He wrote The Hobbit, a children’s book about a courageous creature with pointed ears and furry feet, which was an instant success. His next book, The Lord of the Rings, made Tolkien, an ordinary man with an extraordinary imagination, one of the world’s most beloved authors.
Batty
Batty’s efforts to impress visitors at the zoo fail, but he is determined to be popular like the other animals. First he goes to the penguin pool but the water is cold and he doesn’t like fish. Then he tries the gorilla enclosure but he doesn’t have any fleas for the gorillas to pick off him. He tries to laze in the sun with the lions but its far too bright for his sensitive eyes. When eventually he returns to his bat cave he finds that everyone else is trying to be like him, hanging upside down. This clever and witty story is brought to life with Batty’s upside down view of his surroundings, involving the reader in turning the book upside down with him.
Flood and Fire
She survived the epic battle of the raiders on the rough waters that flood England. Now poor fishergirl Lilly is determined to return Lexy, the Prime Minister’s kidnapped daughter, to her home. And since his father was killed in the clash, Zeph is equally determined to claim leadership of his family’s clan before more savage tribes invade the marshlands. But will the electromagnetic pulse of an omnipotent computer set the world aflame and wipe out all humans so that artificial intelligence can take over the future?! It’s up to the unlikely trio of children — and their petulant, unpredictable gameboard PSAI — to rage against the machines.
Requiem: Poems of the Terezin Ghetto
Paul B. Janeczko’s stirring new collection of poems goes inside the walls of the notorious camp to portray the indomitable spirit of those incarcerated there. Hitler hailed Terezin (Theresienstadt) as a haven for artistic Jews, when in reality the Czech concentration camp was little more than a way station to the gas chambers. In his second book inspired by devastating history, acclaimed poet Paul B. Janeczko gives voice to this heartrending creative community: its dignity, resilience, and commitment to art and music in the face of great brutality. The many memorable characters he conjures include a child who performs in the camp’s now famed production of Brundibar, a man who lectures on bedbugs, and a boy known as “Professor,” who keeps a notebook hidden in his shoe. Accented with dramatic illustrations by the inmates, found after WW II, Janeczko’s spare and powerful poems convey Terezin’s tragic legacy on an intimate, profoundly moving scale.