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Lyn Gardner is the author of Olivia’s First Term and the other Olivia books. She was born in London and now lives near Richmond Park with her partner and two daughters. A theatre critic on The Guardian, she goes to the theatre five or six nights a week, which should leave no time for writing books at all.
Before she became a journalist, Lyn was a tea lady, a waitress and sold advertising space for a magazine called Sludge. Her ambitions are to learn to tap dance and walk the high wire, but it may have to be the low wire as she is a bit scared of heights!
Those terrible pirate twins are at it again! Their relentless pursuit of treasure is causing all sorts of havoc in the seaside town of Little Snoring, and only youngsters Tat and Hetty - and their cat called Dog - have a chance of stopping them. Packed with hilarious illustrations this is the third side-splitting pirate adventure in the Ghastly McNastys series. A Piece of Passion from Ruth Williams, Publisher The Ghastly McNastys: Fright in the Night is the third book about the ghastliest nastiest pirates to sail the Seven Seas, and it's just as funny as the other ones. It's full of surreal humour, weird happenings, random information and instructions to the reader, and larger than life characters. I really like the way that the pictures often show much more than what is happening in the text. Although there's something funny and silly on every page, there's still a strong narrative drive, and I just love the ending!
The 7th and final in the OLIVIA series and eagerly awaited by lots of fans. If you have a child aged 9+ who is keen to perform then this is the series for them. The books are gripping, inspiring, full of fun, with a cast of characters that every 9-12 year old girl will admire. But don't just take our word for it, check out the following review from a young fan called Omala. "I really enjoyed the Olivia series because they were so exciting, gripping and interesting...I’ve even started a circus skills course because I was so inspired by the books. You would not know how much I love the books! I have read and re-read the series loads and loads of times! I cannot go on holiday without knowing that they are in my bag! They’re my favourite books!” A message from Kirsty Stansfield, Nosy Crow Fiction...“The Olivia books are fantastic for girls who love to lose themselves in great stories beautifully written. Olivia is a girl after everyone’s heart – you’ll laugh with her, cry with her, and always come back to find out what happens to her next!"
The magic of performance continues in this new adventure for Olivia as she and her school friends head to Edinburgh to perform at the famous Fringe Festival. Having been picked for the Festival is a dream come true for the group who love the thought of performing their show every day as well as exploring the historic city. The question is, will it be as idyllic as they hope? Publishers Nosy Crow say of this series by The Guardian's theatre critic: “The Olivia books are fantastic for girls who love to lose themselves in great stories beautifully written. Olivia is a girl after everyone’s heart – you’ll laugh with her, cry with her, and always come back to find out what happens to her next!”
Full of friendship and drama, Olivia’s First Term captures the very special atmosphere of a stage school. Olivia’s life is full of dancing classes and acting classes but Olivia is really from the circus like her father so, whenever she can, she slips away and practices a bit on the high wire! But Olivia is also much poorer than most of the other students and there is one girl in particular who is determined to make her feel bad about it! How Olivia finds courage to stand up to bullies and be herself is a gripping and heartwarming drama. Click here to see more Olivia titles.
It's pantomime season at Campions' Palace of Varieties and Wonders - but Rose Campion and her friends have more to worry about than who'll be filling the role of Cinderella. The Duchess - the deadly ruler of the London criminal underworld - has been released from prison, and she has her sights set not only on Rose, but also on a pricesless emerald necklace that has just arrived in the city. Meanwhile, Campions' is playing host to the mysterious hypnotist Madame de Valentina - but how is she able to communicate with the souls of departed loved ones . . . before they've died?
Rose was left by her mother at the door of Campion's Palace of Variety and Wonders as a baby. It is her home, and she loves it, but she never stops wondering who she really is. When murder threatens to destroy the music hall, Rose will need all her performance skills to crack the crime and delve into a murky past of blackmail, subterfuge and abduction...
Business has never been better for Campion's Palace of Variety and Wonders - and the music hall is about to open its doors to its biggest act yet: the Illustrious Gandini, the stage magician known as the Great Wizard of the North. But when the Doomstone Diamond - a priceless jewel with a disturbing history - is stolen during one of Gandini's performances, Campion's finds itself under threat once more, and Rose Campion and her friends will need all their wits about them to find the thief and uncover the secrets of the magician's mysterious past...
The fun fair is in town! With its clouds of pink candyfloss and whirling big wheel, what child could resist such temptation? Little do the Eden sisters know that they are being lured into a wicked witch's lair . . . Barely escaping from a deadly game of hide-and-seek in the enchanted fair, our three heroines flee through the woods, with several ravenous wolves and a sweet-toothed lion hot on their heels. But now they face their biggest challenge yet. Will the Eden sisters ever truly be out of the woods?
The third book in the hilarious GHASTLY MCNASTYS series. Gruesome and Grisly McNasty are sure they know where Captain Syd's legendary treasure is buried. But before they get digging they need to keep the villagers away. So they scare them into thinking the place is haunted. But youngsters Tat and Hetty aren't going to be put off by a few spooky noises and dim lights, and soon find out what the McNastys are up to. They decide to outwit the dastardly duo by pretending to be the ghost of Captain Syd, seeking revenge on anyone stealing his treasure!
The second book in the hilarious THE GHASTLY MCNASTYS series. Grisly and Gruesome McNasty are so scary, even fish cover their eyes and swim the other way when they see them coming! The McNastys are after Captain Syd's treasure, rumoured to be buried in Little Snoring Castle. And they're in luck - a pirate movie's being shot there. They reckon they'll easily be able to sneak into the castle, blend in with the cast and steal all the treasure. But youngsters Tat and Hetty, have outwitted the dastardly duo before, and have plans to trap them once and for all.
Olivia and her friends are auditioning for a production of Romeo and Juliet in the West End. It makes Olivia realise just how much she wants to be an actress, like her mum was. But her father asks her to perform with him in a high-wire stunt instead. How can she choose between her parents? And love is in the air at the Swan School of Theatre and Dance. But when the curtain falls, will everyone get their fairytale happy ending?
Jack Marvell's latest stunt is to stay up on a high-wire for thirty days and nights. Olivia is worried for her father, but very proud of him. But then the rumours start, claiming that Jack's cheating. Olivia must give her all to her role in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and also prove to the world that her father is no fraudster.
It's winter at the Swan Academy, and that means panto! While Olivia practises being the back end of a horse, everyone else is auditioning for a major new movie. Soon the school is full of rivalry and suspicion, nasty tricks and strange mysteries. To lighten the mood, Eel organises a festive ice-skating trip. But as the skaters twirl and leap among the twinkling lights, Olivia realises that the season of goodwill is anything but.
School's out for summer! Olivia and her friends are going to be spending August in Edinburgh, home to the world-famous Fringe Festival. They can't wait to get there, to stay in the beautiful city and soak up the Festival atmosphere, while the Swan Circus performs every day to wild applause and rapturous reviews. With such passion, such good friendships and the summer stretching out before them, what could possibly go wrong?
The Swan Academy is under threat from closure due to a building development next door. Into this tense atmosphere come Cosmo and Cosima, the famous singing/acting twins from Hollywood to star in Peter Pan. But a series of mysterious accidents in the theatre threaten to close the production. Who is out to sabotage everything . and why?
Olivia has been invited to New York to perform her innovative Shakespeare on the highwire! She's thrilled and can't wait to tell her friends. But they have news of their own, news which devastates Olivia and leads to a terrible rift.
Olivia is sad and lonely and angry - angry that she's been dumped with her sister, Eel, at her grandmother's school, and angrier still that that school turns out to be a stage school where there's no encouragement for her to do what she loves best: practise her circus skills. But in the course of a turbulent first term, Olivia finds out much more than she bargained for about the theatre, about friendship, about enemies, about her family and about herself.
Taking inspiration from numerous fairytales and weaving them into a wholly original story, INTO THE WOODS is a whirlwind of a novel, full of imaginative happenings, dastardly deeds and thrilling adventure. Our guides are sisters three: Storm, Aurora and Anything Eden. Accidentally orphaned and left to fend for themselves in a decaying mansion on the edge of the wilds, they come to the very much unwanted attention of the sinister Dr DeWilde: a scar-faced gentleman with a pied waistcoat and an unhealthy interest in rats. He's after a tiny little musical pipe that Storm has inherited, and he'll stop at nothing to get it. Fleeing into the woods, our courageous and eccentric sisters evade kidnap (almost), resist the temptation of sweet-filled orphanages (nearly!), and begin a treacherous journey across raging rivers, over mountains of ice, through deathly silent ghost towns and beyond the lairs of child-eating ogresses. With ravenously hungry wolves snapping at their heels every step of the way! Featuring wonderful illustrations by award-winning illustrator Mini Grey, INTO THE WOODS is a classic tale with a very modern twist and will delight readers of every generation.
Taking inspiration from numerous fairytales and weaving them into a wholly original story, INTO THE WOODS is a whirlwind of a novel, full of imaginative happenings, dastardly deeds and thrilling adventure. Our guides are sisters three: Storm, Aurora and Anything Eden. Accidentally orphaned and left to fend for themselves in a decaying mansion on the edge of the wilds, they come to the very much unwanted attention of the sinister Dr DeWilde: a scar-faced gentleman with a pied waistcoat and an unhealthy interest in rats. He's after a tiny little musical pipe that Storm has inherited, and he'll stop at nothing to get it. Fleeing into the woods, our courageous and eccentric sisters evade kidnap (almost), resist the temptation of sweet-filled orphanages (nearly!), and begin a treacherous journey across raging rivers, over mountains of ice, through deathly silent ghost towns and beyond the lairs of child-eating ogresses. With ravenously hungry wolves snapping at their heels every step of the way! Featuring wonderful illustrations by award-winning illustrator Mini Grey, INTO THE WOODS is a classic tale with a very modern twist and will delight readers of every generation.
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