The acclaimed creator of THE RAINBOW FISH series returns with Bertie, an irrepressible hippo who’s not quite ready for bed. Bertie might wear his daddy out before he’s actually ready for sleep.
Europe
Materials from Europe
Nilo, Como Mi Papa
Bertie, a young hippopotamus, wants to drink coffee, read the newspaper, use a credit card, and more, just like Daddy, who appeases the eager hippo with age-appropriate options such as making a newspaper hat. At story’s end, the tables turn when Daddy wants to play like Bertie.
El Machinchar
Small Acts of Amazing Courage
It is 1918, six months after the end of World War I, and Rosalind awaits the return of her father from the war. While it is common practice for British children in India to be packed off to boarding school at the age of 6, Rosalind is unusual because she lives and is schooled in India because her mother insists. The heart of this penetrating story is Rosalind’s coming of age set against the hardship of life for the Indian people, Rosalind’s daily life in India, the rise of Ghandi and Rosalind’s coming to make her own decisions and become her own person.
Geek Fantasy Novel
What happens when a science geek and magic collide? Be careful what you wish for. Wishes can get you trapped in fantasy worlds full of killer bunny rabbits, evil aunts, and bothersome bacteria. Or at least that’s Ralph’s experience. He’s been asked to spend the summer with his strange British relatives at their old manor house in order to set up their Wi-Fi network. But there’s much more to it than that, of course. It’s just that nobody told Ralph. He’s a gamer, sure. But this game is much stranger–and funnier–than anything to be found on his xbox. He is a geek. This is his story.
Johnny Swanson
The secret to instant height? Stand on a box. Want to make your money go further? Roll it down a hill. The answer to smelly feet? Wear a clothes pin on your nose. Eleven-year-old Johnny Swanson is in business. He’s raking in the money with his advertising scams and his advice columnist persona, who offers advice on absolutely anything in return for a shilling. But his money-making schemes are getting him in too deep with the wrong kinds of people. Everything is spiralling out of control, and now his own mother is in mortal danger. There’s only one thing to be done: Johnny must assume another role as undercover detective! In the spirit of Roald Dahl, this is a funny and delightful story with a satisfying mystery, a wonderful cast of characters, and an unlikely but completely likeable hero.
Escape Velocity
Pupils and staff at HIVE are horrified to discover that Dr Nero has been captured by the forces of HOPE, the Hostile Operative Prosecution Executive, the world’s newest and most ruthlessly efficient security force. Three months pass without any news of his fate, and Number One has decided to appoint a sinister new headmistress for the school, somebody that the pupils and staff had thought that they’d seen the last of. Meanwhile Otto is also struggling to cope with new abilities that are starting to manifest themselves; can he really be unconsciously interfacing with computers without physical contact? And if he is, what exactly do these new powers really mean? The only way to find Nero and the truth behind the lies is to escape HIVE. Otto must get out, and take the risks which come with being a rogue agent. Then he just has to break into MI6…..
Bloodline Rising
A story of loyalties tested, secrets exposed, and one boy’s search for identity amid the tangled political intrigue and deception of the Dark Ages. A young thief known as “the Ghost” roams seventh-century Constantinople, tangling in political feuds and petty theft, using his eerie gifts of persuasion and stealth. With his father away at war and his mother devastated by his little sister’s death, Cai would rather be anywhere than at home. But when a rival ambushes and sells Cai as a slave, he begins to regret his choices. Aboard the slavers’ ship, Cai travels far from the warmth of Constantinople into his parents’ homeland, the forbidding land of Britain, where war is brewing between tribes. Bought by a clan head, Cai finds a new life as a tribal member, and using his uncanny talents, is put to work as a spy. The secrets he discovers, however, kindle doubt and disloyalty in his heart. Adrift in a society he still feels apart from, Cai seeks truth and revenge, throwing his life to the wind with startling results.
A Templar’s Gifts
The second book in Kat Black’s historical fantasy trilogy full of intrigue, mystery, and adventure! Something’s wrong with Tormod MacLeod. Ever since returning home his visions have become more intense and disorienting, making him increasingly ill and constantly on the verge of collapse. But then he meets Aine, a fiery, no-nonsense Scottish lass who has powers of her own and a special supernatural connection with Tormod–when they’re actually getting along. Together they must find the healer who can save Tormod’s life, all the while dodging King Philippe le Bel’s ruthless soldiers, who will stop at nothing to find Tormod and information about the secret he keeps.
Alice in Time
14-year-old Alice is spirited back in time and given the chance to fix her whole disastrous life.