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Tom Moorhouse lives in Oxford, where he enjoys the refreshing and perpetual rain. When not writing fiction he works as an ecologist at Oxford University's Zoology Department. Over the years he has met quite a lot of wildlife. Most of it tried to bite him. He loves hiking up mountains, walking through woods, climbing on rocks and generally being weather-beaten outdoors. Pouring words into books makes Tom very happy. His novels include The Rising, River Singers, and Trickster.
Tom talks in greater detail about The River Singers (this is an extended version of the video on the book page.)
In a nutshell: Mr Toad roars back for 21st century adventure | Tom Moorhouse ingeniously breathes new life into Toad of Toad Hall in this engaging chapter book. In an inspired bit of plotting, the young heroes of his book Teejay, Ratty and Mo, descendants of the original Wind in the Willows characters, discover poor Toad frozen in the icehouse beneath Toad Hall, left there years ago by the Weasels who have their beady eyes on his property. Before you can say ‘Poop Poop’ Mr Toad has thawed out and in typically enthusiastic manner is embracing our brave new world and its shiny gadgets. The style is very different to Kenneth Grahame’s but Moorhouse captures the absolute essence of Mr Toad, who is the same impetuous, childish character, alternately egotistical and generous, foolish and brave. The story rattles along with regular nods to the original, and Holly Swain’s illustrations add to the adventure, humour and general warmth. ~ Andrea Reece
With a naturalist's expertise the author has created a very believable animal civilisation to rival Watership Down in its depth and complexity, as well as page turning adventure.
This thrilling follow-up to the highly-acclaimed novel, The River Singers, will transport readers into a vivid world of riverbank creatures, where excitement and danger are never far away. With beautiful black and white illustrations throughout by Simon Mendez these combine with great storytelling draw the reader into the sights and sounds of the riverbank and the world of the vole.
Everyone loves the ebullient and outrageous Mr Toad, one of the heroes of Kenneth Grahame’s classic The Wind in the Willows. Tom Moorhouse brings him to life in this modern retelling which captures all the drama of Mr Toad’s famous and deadly dangerous antics when he gets behind the wheel as well as his wonderful friendships with Mole, Ratty and Badger. David Roberts illustrations are warm and funny and bring the rich social life of the river bank vividly to life.
Everyone loves the ebullient and outrageous Mr Toad, one of the heroes of Kenneth Grahame’s classic The Wind in the Willows. Tom Moorhouse brings him to life in this modern retelling which captures all the drama of Mr Toad’s famous and deadly dangerous antics when he gets behind the wheel as well as his wonderful friendships with Mole, Ratty and Badger. David Roberts illustrations are warm and funny and bring the rich social life of the river bank vividly to life.
This thrilling follow-up to the highly-acclaimed novel, The River Singers, will transport readers into a vivid world of riverbank creatures, where excitement and danger are never far away. With beautiful black and white illustrations throughout by Simon Mendez these combine with great storytelling draw the reader into the sights and sounds of the riverbank and the world of the vole.
October 2013 Debut of the Month In the tradition of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows and Richard Adams’s Watership Down, The River Singers captures the desperate adventures of a family of water voles struggling survive as their habitat changes. Sylvan and his younger siblings are only just prepared for the world of the river when their lives are thrown into confusion following the violent death of their mother. Sylvan knows he must lead his family to a new home. Their journey takes them along the river which must now be their guide but the waters are treacherous and there is great danger all around them from the other animals that live along its banks. A Piece of Passion from Liz Cross, Children’s Publisher, Oxford University Press Among all the riches in the children’s book world, there are some books that stand out, some books that are truly special and I am delighted that we have found just such a book in The River Singers. Lyrical yet gripping… with characters that spring from the page fully-formed. Packed with witty, authentic dialogue, and filled with moments of genuine peril, this is a book to fall in love with.
One of our Books of the Year 2014 In the tradition of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows and Richard Adams’s Watership Down, The River Singers captures the desperate adventures of a family of water voles struggling survive as their habitat changes. Sylvan and his younger siblings are only just prepared for the world of the river when their lives are thrown into confusion following the violent death of their mother. Sylvan knows he must lead his family to a new home. Their journey takes them along the river which must now be their guide but the waters are treacherous and there is great danger all around them from the other animals that live along its banks. A Piece of Passion from Liz Cross, Children’s Publisher, Oxford University Press Among all the riches in the children’s book world, there are some books that stand out, some books that are truly special and I am delighted that we have found just such a book in The River Singers. Lyrical yet gripping… with characters that spring from the page fully-formed. Packed with witty, authentic dialogue, and filled with moments of genuine peril, this is a book to fall in love with.
October 2013 Debut of the Month In the tradition of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows and Richard Adams’s Watership Down, The River Singers captures the desperate adventures of a family of water voles struggling survive as their habitat changes. Sylvan and his younger siblings are only just prepared for the world of the river when their lives are thrown into confusion following the violent death of their mother. Sylvan knows he must lead his family to a new home. Their journey takes them along the river which must now be their guide but the waters are treacherous and there is great danger all around them from the other animals that live along its banks. A Piece of Passion from Liz Cross, Children’s Publisher, Oxford University Press Among all the riches in the children’s book world, there are some books that stand out, some books that are truly special and I am delighted that we have found just such a book in The River Singers. Lyrical yet gripping… with characters that spring from the page fully-formed. Packed with witty, authentic dialogue, and filled with moments of genuine peril, this is a book to fall in love with.
One of our Books of the Year 2014 In the tradition of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows and Richard Adams’s Watership Down, The River Singers captures the desperate adventures of a family of water voles struggling survive as their habitat changes. Sylvan and his younger siblings are only just prepared for the world of the river when their lives are thrown into confusion following the violent death of their mother. Sylvan knows he must lead his family to a new home. Their journey takes them along the river which must now be their guide but the waters are treacherous and there is great danger all around them from the other animals that live along its banks. A Piece of Passion from Liz Cross, Children’s Publisher, Oxford University Press Among all the riches in the children’s book world, there are some books that stand out, some books that are truly special and I am delighted that we have found just such a book in The River Singers. Lyrical yet gripping… with characters that spring from the page fully-formed. Packed with witty, authentic dialogue, and filled with moments of genuine peril, this is a book to fall in love with.
There's something strange in the skies over Toad Hall - it's an airborne amphibian! Toad has a new paraglider but not the skill to control it. And when his haphazard flight - all recorded on his head-cam - reveals that whole swathes of the Wild Wood have vanished, it's up to Toad to catch the culprits! With the help of Teejay, Ratty, and Mo, Mr Toad has launched his riskiest mission yet. Can he stop the environmentally unfriendly weasels, or will Operation Toad leave him dangling in danger? With outrageous antics from Mr Toad, action-packed adventure from the start, and stylish two-colour illustrations from Holly Swain that capture all the comedy, this is a fantastic package for young readers.
Teejay (which stands for Toad Junior), Mo and Ratty are fishing on the riverbank when their peace is disturbed by Toad's out of control river cruiser. Toad is obsessed with following some rather dubious treasure-hunt clues but who is setting the clues and why are they so keen to keep Toad away from Toad Hall? As the shady operations of the stoats and weasels continues, it's up to Toad's loyal friends to guide him out of troubled waters and keep his dignity intact! With outrageous antics from Mr Toad, action-packed adventure from the start, and stylish two-colour illustrations from Holly Swain that capture all the comedy, this is a fantastic package for young readers.
Mr Toad has the builders in, and they're busy filling Toad Hall with awesome gizmos and gadgets. But there's something odd about them: why don't their bushy tails look quite right? And why are they loading Mr Toad's furniture into their van? Squirrel skulduggery! Greedy weasels! Mr Toad will need help from Teejay, Ratty, and Mo to have a REMOTE chance of defending his home. Can he keep his property safe, or will Toad Hall be in lockdown? From the author of The River Singers and The Rising, this stylishly illustrated story is inspired by The Wind in the Willows.
Teejay (which stands for Toad Junior), Mo and Ratty are exploring the ruined grounds of Toad Hall. After falling into a tunnel they discover something . . . someone in the ice house. It turns out to be Mr Toad and the children have found him in the nick of time: Wildwood Industrious (the shady operation run by the descendants of the Stoats and Weasels) is on the brink claiming legal ownership of Toad Hall. With outrageous antics from Mr Toad, action-packed adventure from the start, and stylish two-colour illustrations from Holly Swain that capture all the comedy, this is a fantastic package for young readers.
Willow and Alder love racing down the river rapids and don't let the strong currents scare them. But will their newly-discovered taste for crayfish lead them into trouble? Oxford Reading Tree All Stars is an engaging chapter fiction series which combines age-appropriate content with imaginative stories, perfect for inspiring and stretching able infants. The series develops comprehension skills and provides a wide variety of fiction topics and styles, alongside illustrations that aid understanding. All the books in this series are carefully levelled, so it's easy to match every child to the right book - one which will develop their reading skills and fuel their love of reading. Help with children's reading development is also available at www.oxfordowl.co.uk.
First a rat must earn his name. Then he must live up to it. This is the story of Gabble, a young rat with a wild, beloved, but unpredictable brother, Ash. At the start of the book Ash tricks Gabble into going out with him on a 'name raid', a dangerous mission to earn a True Name, normally reserved for older rats. Gabble finds himself drawn into a perilous adventure, crossing boundaries, fighting with enemy rat packs, and eventually being forced to confront both his brother and himself in the most dramatic fashion.
When their uncle Sylvan pays an unexpected visit, bringing with him a terrible warning, young water voles Kale and Strife have no idea that their world is about to change for ever. Soon they'll be running for their lives as a new danger threatens to destroy everything and everyone they care about. Kale and Strife will need all their strength and courage to survive their journey into the unknown. But the shadows are full of enemies, and still more surprises lie in wait . . . will they ever make it back home again? This thrilling follow-up to the highly-acclaimed novel, The River Singers, will transport readers into a vivid world of riverbank creatures, where excitement and danger are never far away. Now available in a beautiful paperback edition, containing the original beautiful black and white illustrations by Simon Mendez.
With stunning illustrations from David Roberts, and a sparkling new text from Tom Moorhouse, this is a glorious picture-book edition of The Wind in the Willows. Kenneth Grahame's children's classic has all the ingredients needed for a perfect picture book - great characters, humour, lots of adventure, and a heartwarming message about the true value of friendship. This is the perfect book to introduce a really young audience to Mole, Ratty, Badger and, of course, Mr Toad.
Something was approaching the burrow. Something deadly. Something that made Sylvan's fur bristle with fear . . . Knowing their lives are under threat, Sylvan and his brother and sisters have no choice but to abandon their burrow for ever. Together they set out on an epic journey along the Great River; but with dangers lurking at every turn, will they ever find a safe place to call home? Now available in paperback, this exciting and beautifully-illustrated animal adventure has the makings of a future children's classic. 'Just the sort of book I would have loved as a child.' Gill Lewis
Something was approaching the burrow. Something deadly. Something that made Sylvan's fur bristle with fear ...Knowing their lives are under threat, Sylvan and his brother and sisters have no choice but to abandon their burrow for ever. Together they set out on an epic journey along the Great River; but with dangers lurking at every turn, will they ever find a safe place to call home? Adventurous, exciting, and bursting with charming illustrations - this is a book you'll want to treasure for ever.
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