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A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month January 2020 | January 2020 Book of the Month | Interest Age Teen Reading Age 9 | Award-winning author Tanya Landman captures the high drama and deep romance of Charlotte Bronte’s classic novel Jane Eyre is this fresh retelling. While in the setting of the story and the overarching plot and twists that propel it she is faithful to the time and place of the original and to the feel of both, she has given Jane a boldness and independence that is both entirely in keeping with the original and refreshingly modern.
Oxford School Shakespeare is an acclaimed edition especially designed for students, with accessible on-page notes and explanatory illustrations, clear background information, and rigorous but accessible scholarly credentials. Macbeth is one of the most popular texts for study by secondary students the world over. This edition includes illustrations, preliminary notes, reading lists (including websites) and classroom notes. This title is suitable for all exam boards and for the most recent GCSE specifications.
Jonathan Stroud, November 2010 Guest Editor, of a classic 'boy's own adventure': He may seem a bit out-dated now, but Biggles was one of the very greatest fictional heroes of my childhood, and I’m still a huge fan. He’s an ace pilot and adventurer – brave, unflappable and decent – ready to serve his country in war, and battle injustice in times of peace. This particular story – one of the very best – is set in World War I. Biggles is sent to Northern Africa to try to uncover a mysterious German spy who is working havoc among British forces. Much to his disgust he must become a spy in his turn – and spies (when they’re caught) are immediately shot. The book is a genuine thriller, full of close shaves both on the ground and in the air, as Biggles and his unknown enemy play their deadly game of cat-and-mouse. Highly recommended!
A compelling and compassionate view of the victims of early nineteenth-century French society, Les Misérables is a novel on an epic scale. One of a range of marvellous comic books created in the '50s and '60s now with artwork re-coloured and covers digitally enhanced for a new generation. Perfect Bound at a terrifically good value price. A message from the publisher: Classics Illustrated - A wonderful History - We're delighted to re-introduce these marvellous comic books to new generations of readers who will surely enjoy them as fantastic tales of adventure and excitement but will also improve their reading skills as a result and be inspired to read the complete versions of many of these fine works. I sincerely hope that you enjoy these superb adaptations and are similarly inspired as I was, nearly 50 years ago. Jeff Brooks, CEO, Classic Comic Store Ltd
July 2019 Book of the Month | It’s more than 150 years since the publication of Alice in Wonderland and it is delighting today’s readers as much as it ever has. Both a tribute to and a celebration of Lewis Carroll’s story, this collection includes new adventures by eleven favourite contemporary children’s authors, each of whom has been inspired by Alice. With such an extraordinary set of characters and scenes to take as starting points, the stories are wonderfully varied. Pamela Butchart chooses to write about the Queen of Hearts in a follow up story, while Swapna Haddow picks the Mock Turtle. There’s an environmental message in Lauren St John’s lively story ‘Plum Cakes at Dawn’, while Robin Stevens puts the real Alice into her Oxford set story. Together they make for a sparkling collection, one well worth tumbling back down the rabbit hole to enjoy.
Although they're small, fat and shy creatures, Moomins have the most amazing adventures. It all begins when Moominpappa tries on a magic hat that makes exciting and funny things happen. Katy Guest, literary editor for The Independent on Sunday on the Moomin books: "A fantasy series for small children that introduces bigger ones to ideas of adventure, dealing with fear, understanding character and tolerating difference."
May 2010 Guest Editor Philip Ardagh says of this book: What can I say? In early May, I'll be one of a number of guests of the Finnish Embassy and Puffin books celebrating 65 years of the remarkable Moomin books, written and illustrated by the late, great Finnish artist/illustrator/author Tove Jansson. How important are Moomin books to me as a reader, writer and (alleged) human being? When Jansson died, I dedicated the book I was writing at the time to her memory. The fact that the Finnish publisher of my Eddie Dickens trilogy was her original publisher means more than I can say. (Proud, or what?) Moomin books are like nothing else I'd ever read. I couldn't wait to spend my birthday-present book tokens on them. Sure, they contain charm and quirkiness, but this is coupled with insight and wisdom rare in any books, children's or otherwise. They are unique. If I had to chose a favourite, it would be Comet in Moominland. Choosing a favourite character is even harder. Little My? Snufkin? Sniff? If you haven't yet experienced the Moomin valley, I urge you visit it as soon as possible.
January 2011 Guest Editor Jenny Downham: "I wish I’d written every single one of Tove Jansson’s Moomin series, but forced to choose I’ll pick number five, Moominland Midwinter, because it’s darker and more introspective than the earlier books, with just a hint of delicious danger. This is a hilarious and tender tale that you will never grow out of. Tove Jansson is a genius and believe me, this book is proof!" Katy Guest, literary editor for The Independent on Sunday on the Moomin books: "A fantasy series for small children that introduces bigger ones to ideas of adventure, dealing with fear, understanding character and tolerating difference."
Interest Age 9+ Reading Age 8+. This is a terrific page-turner that will have particular appeal to children of 9+ who have a reading age that is below that level. Tony Bradman has created a really believable and powerful adventure set in Roman times that will have the reader asking for more. Barrington Stoke's mission is to help children enjoy reading by publishing accessible, enjoyable and unpatronising short books for children who are dyslexic, struggling to read, or simply reluctant to sit down with a book. Legends and Lies is another one from the same stable. For further information do go to their website.
Shortlisted for the Marsh Award for Children's Literature in Translation, awarded biennially since 1996, was founded to celebrate the best translation of a children’s book from a foreign language into English and published in the UK. It aims to spotlight the high quality and diversity of translated fiction for young readers. | Translated by Laura Watkinson Gripping from its opening moment onwards, this award-winning book that doesn’t miss a beat from its thrilling beginning to its satisfying ending. Disturbed during the night of contemplation before he is made a knight, sixteen-year-old Turi is handed a letter which must be secretly delivered. Keeping his identity hidden and keeping the letter safe at all times, Turi travels through deadly danger in which survival depends on adhering to the chivalric codes of courage, friendship and honesty. A thrilling adventure which is full of heart.
Shortlisted for the Marsh Award for Children's Literature in Translation, awarded biennially since 1996, was founded to celebrate the best translation of a children’s book from a foreign language into English and published in the UK. It aims to spotlight the high quality and diversity of translated fiction for young readers. | Shortlisted for the Marsh Award for Children's Literature in Translation. Translated by Laura Watkinson Gripping from its opening moment onwards, this award-winning book that doesn’t miss a beat from its thrilling beginning to its satisfying ending. Disturbed during the night of contemplation before he is made a knight, sixteen-year-old Turi is handed a letter which must be secretly delivered. Keeping his identity hidden and keeping the letter safe at all times, Turi travels through deadly danger in which survival depends on adhering to the chivalric codes of courage, friendship and honesty. A thrilling adventure which is full of heart, now released as a special winter edition. A Piece of Passion from Adam Freudenheim, Publisher, Pushkin Press and Pushkin Children's Books The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt is the classic Dutch children's book. Already translated into more than a dozen languages, made into a feature film and with over 1 million copies sold, The Letter for the King is one of the most gripping, page-turning novels I've ever read. My 8-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter both loved it and couldn't put it down either. I started reading it aloud to them, and then one morning when my son woke early he creeped into my bedroom and 'stole' the bound proof in order to finish it - later he sheepishly explained that he just couldn't wait for me to finish reading it aloud, he had to know what happened next! For anyone who likes a heart–thumping tale of good vs. evil, of lone young hero desperate to save a kingdom, this is the book for them. This beautiful edition, printed in Italy, includes a wonderful hand–drawn map of the kingdoms of Unuawen and Dagonaut on the endpapers, original illustrations by the author, and is a wonderful gift for any fan of classic fantasy in the Tolkien mould.
Tonke Dragt’s The Letter for the King has been acknowledged as a classic of Dutch literature since its publication over fifty years ago, but it took until 2013 for it to find a British publisher. Pushkin Press took it on and published it to huge acclaim, the story of young squire Tiuri’s trials as he sets about carrying out the final wishes of a dying man captured the hearts of readers in the UK. Now comes the sequel, and some may think it even more thrilling than the original. Tiuri, now a knight, has another mission: he will go into the Wild Wood to search for one of the King’s knights who has gone missing. There are lots of rumours about the Wild Wood, about robbers, woodland spirits, Men in Green, but Tiuri’s adventures will be stranger still. Not many books are genuinely spellbinding, this one is. ~ Andrea Reece A Piece of Passion from Adam Freudenheim, Publisher of Pushkin Children’s Books I was thrilled and proud by the amazing response we had to the first book we published by Tonke Dragt, The Letter for the King. We have since had countless children and teachers writing to us, asking when the next book is coming out. Well – here it is at last. And what a book it is! I really believe The Secrets of the Wild Wood is even better than The Letter for the King. Tiuri is older, and the plot is darker, more complex – and even more gripping. But it still retains that grand atmosphere of mystery and suspense that drew so many children (and their parents) to the world of knights and squires, and to the dark secrets of the Wild Woods…
Deep in the woods, in a crooked house full of stairs, a young boy is kept prisoner by his uncle. He cannot meet other children, or have any friends. He holds the key to a secret. Meanwhile, in a quiet village, Frans the schoolteacher invents incredible stories of perilous deeds, shipwrecks, desert islands, and haunted castles to entertain his pupils, in which he is the hero. Then one stormy evening, a mysterious letter blows onto his doormat, summoning him to a meeting. Suddenly, Frans is on a real-life mission, one in which he will encounter magicians, secret passages, conspiracies, hidden treasure, a black cat with green eyes and a sealed parchment which predicts the future. He will learn the secret of the Seven Ways. He will find seven allies. And he will make a fearsome enemy. The adventure has begun...
Gert-Jan is being kept prisoner and although the hidden treasure rightfully belongs to him, his uncle is determined to seize it for himself. As Mr Van der Steg, with the help of his pupils, sets out to rescue the boy, he becomes more and more entangled with the strange history of the Seven Ways, the House of Stairs and the powerful Conspiracy of Seven.
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