Joseph Delaney used to be an English teacher, before becoming the best-selling author of the Spook's series, which has been published in 30 countries and sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide. The first book, The Spook's Apprentice, was adapted into a major motion picture starring Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore.

Joseph Delaney

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Malorie Blackman

Maxine is a little girl full of big ideas. She loves solving problems, and can usually be found with her twin brothers in tow causing all kinds of mischief. Whether it is solving the mystery of the tooth fairy, building the biggest snowball ever or just causing trouble, they always have the best time together. This selection of fantastically funny short stories is perfect for spring boarding younger readers into the world of reading via an endearing heroine who has a lot of fun.

When Maxine has a plan, you can be sure it involves her twin brothers Anthony and Edward. You can also be sure it involves BIG TROUBLE! 
 
Nine fantastically funny short stories, perfect for building confidence in new readers, whether reading aloud or reading alone.

Girl Wonder and the Terrific Twins

From scaring Mum at Halloween to building the biggest snowball the world's ever seen - Maxine always has a super plan and needs the help of her twin brothers, Anthony and Edward. Together the super siblings make all sorts of mischief . . . Can they fix it before Mum finds out? 
 
These seven funny short stories are perfect for building confidence in new readers, whether reading alone or reading aloud.

Girl Wonder's Winter Adventures

Candy Gourlay

Be careful what you wish for . . . 
Andi is short. And she has lots of wishes. She wishes she could play on the school basketball team, she wishes for her own bedroom, but most of all she wishes that her long lost half brother, Bernardo, could come and live in London, where he belongs. 
Then Andi's biggest wish comes true and she's minutes away from becoming someone's little sister. As she waits anxiously for Bernardo to arrive from the Philippines, she hopes he'll turn out to be tall and just as mad as she is about basketball. When he finally arrives, he's tall all right. But he's not just tall ... he's a GIANT. 
In a novel packed with humour and quirkiness, Gourlay explores a touching sibling relationship and the clash of two very different cultures.

Tall Story

Crystal Chan

'Grandpa stopped speaking the day he killed my brother, John. His name was John until Grandpa said he looked more like a Bird with the way he kept jumping off things, and the name stuck. Bird’s thick, black hair poked out in every direction, just like the head feathers of the blackbirds, Grandpa said, and he bet that one day Bird would fly like one too. Grandpa kept talking like that, and no one paid him much notice until Bird jumped off a cliff, the cliff at the edge of the tallgrass prairie, the cliff that dropped a good couple hundred feet to a dried-up riverbed below. From that day on, Grandpa never spoke another word. Not one. 
 
The day that Bird tried to fly, the grown-ups were out looking for him – all of them except Mom and Granny. That’s because that very day, I was born.' 
 
Twelve-year-old Jewel never knew her brother, but all her life she has lived in his shadow. Then one night, on her birthday, she finds a mysterious boy sitting in her oak tree. His name is John. And he changes everything.

Bird

Malaika Rose Stanley

Ken Wilson-Max

Baby Ruby won't stop crying. Dad gives her a bath, Mum gives her a feed, Nana takes her for a drive and Grandad walks her around the garden. But Ruby keeps on bawling. At last her brother Theo has a go and sings her a special song he makes up. The whole family are so tired after all of this, they fall asleep - all except Ruby.

Baby Ruby Bawled

Ann Cameron

Lauren Castillo

See the world through a dog’s eyes – and nose! 
 
Tiger loves his Human family, especially his Boy, Huey. But whenever he tries to speak to them, all they can hear is “YERF!” 
 
Poor Tiger can never get his point across – even when he has very important things to say. 
About eating Dad’s socks, 
 chasing squirrels 
 . . . or saving Fiona the Cat!

Tiger Tells All

Susan Gates

Something strange is going on by the slimy river Oozeburn. But Jin is the only one who knows. The ancient predator Zilombo is loose and has snatched Jin's baby brother. When Mizz Z, a secret agent, arrives to investigate, the race is on to save him. But the beast's mysterious powers are evolving. She's getting stronger. As Jin, his sister Frankie and Mizz Z make their plans, Zilombo grows hungrier...

Zilombo

Odette Elliott

Georgina McIntyre

Sammy dreams of flying. His older siblings are going on a school trip to an aeroplane museum. But Sammy is too small to go. Then Grandma plans a magical day out just for Sammy.

Sammy Goes Flying

How do you catch a zebra? 
 
Huey’s big brother, Julian, is mean. He says that Huey is too little and noisy to play with him. But Huey has a plan. 
 
With a few tools and a lot of skill, Huey teaches his brother a lesson – and makes a new friend along the way!

Huey's Tiger

Huey has a bright idea! 
 
Huey wants to surprise his mum on Mother's Day, so he invents banana spaghetti. It takes a bit of help from Dad to get it right, but Huey is determined to show everyone that he is just as clever as his big brother, Julian. 
 
And when Huey beats his fear of the dark, he proves he is just as brave too.

Banana Spaghetti

No-one the Croc King curses ever escapes Avenger . . . Avenger never gives up. It always tracks you down. 
 
Frankie Sparks and her brother Jin are going about their lives as normal, when Mizz Z, the formidable secret agent, arrives in town on a mission. She's on the hunt for some ancient relics, relics that everybody thinks have lost their powers completely. Everybody is wrong . . . 
 
The spirit of the tyrant Crocodile King has been lurking for years, waiting for his chance to return and release Avenger, his killing-machine tracker, once more . . . 
 
Frankie and Jin find themselves caught up in a centuries-old curse. Can they help Mizz Z to break it, or will the evil Avenger claim another victim . . . ?

The Curse of the Crocodile King

Your wildest dreams can come true! 
 
Julian and Huey want to give their dad the best birthday present ever – something he has always dreamed of. But what could that be? They watch Dad while he’s sleeping to find out. 
 
It’s hard to read someone’s thoughts, but Julian finds a way. And it seems that Dad’s biggest dream is . . . two big snakes! Or is it . . . ?

Julian, Dream Doctor

Poor Fangs, the tarantula, is terribly lonely and bored with her life in the pet-shop. So when Nathan takes her home, she's more than excited about her new life. But before Nathan can introduce his new pet to his family, he's going to need her help to convince them that spiders aren't just creepy and crawly . . . They're beautiful and brave too! 
 
This funny story from the Children's Laureate, Malorie Blackman, is perfect for building confidence in young readers - whether reading aloud or reading alone.

Fangs

Julian to the rescue! 
 
Grown-ups aren’t very good at solving crimes. That’s why it’s time for Julian, Huey and Gloria to take matters into their own hands. 
 
The crime-busting kids go on a mission to track down wanted criminals. They have a special motto, a secret code and plenty of plans. All they need now is their first crook . . .

Julian, Secret Agent

Juan lives in Guatemala, in the mountains. It is a poor but beautiful place, with volcanoes rising from the shores of a blue lake, and flocks of brilliantly plumed wild parrots living in the trees. 
 
Juan is a shoe-shine boy. Although he’s only seven years old, he works hard every day to earn his keep. He has lived with his grandmother since his parents abandoned him. 
 
But Juan dreams of other things. Most of all, he longs to go to school like other children his age . . .

The Most Beautiful Place in the World

Miss Bubble is a super-cool teacher at Topley Primary School. The children in Rainbow Class have lots of fun with her. When Miss Bubble ends up in a spot of trouble, her parrot Shriek and her cat Milkshake try their best to help. But they need Rainbow Class to come to the rescue... 
 
A story in rhyme about a great teacher and her class.

Miss Bubble's Troubles

Never leave a yummy pudding lying around! 
 
Dad makes a pudding that tastes like a whole raft of lemons and a night on the sea. But then he does something really silly. He goes for a nap and leaves Julian in charge. Bad idea. 
 
Before he knows it, Julian’s in a sticky situation. And that’s just one of his many adventures, which involve catalogue cats, cave-boy teeth . . . and a new next-door neighbour!

The Julian Stories

When she receives a call-back from the amazing Birchwood School for Dance, thirteen-year-old Keisha is over the moon. She’s one pirouette closer to becoming a superstar ballerina! 
 
But getting a place at Birchwood would mean moving schools and leaving behind her BFFs – and the swoon-worthy Joel Daley-Clarke. Until she knows the outcome, Keisha must keep the biggest news of her life a secret from her best friends. 
 
Can she hold it together, or will her dance dreams turn into a nightmare?

Dance Dreams

Big ambitions, big bullies and big problems 
 
When 13-year-old Brummie babe, Destiny enters the Bright Sparks beauty contest behind her (ex-model) mum's back, she is determined to prove she has talent and brains - and that she is not just a pretty face. 
 
Together with her cousin, Keisha and best friends, Ebyan and Bee, Destiny deals with every challenge life throws at her - including scary eyeball-to-eyeball confrontations with bully-girl Bella and secret winks from heart-throb, Joel. 
 
And then real disaster strikes...

Skin Deep

Monsters are in the eye of the beholder. 
 
Rosa suffers from a rare condition that renders her mute. She lives on the strange island of Mirasol where the rain never seems to stop. 
 
In the gloom of the island, its superstitious population are haunted by all sorts of fears . . . they shun people who suffer from Rosa's condition, believing them to be monsters. So Rosa must live hidden away in an isolated house with its back to the rest of the world, with only the internet for a social life. 
 
But Rosa has no desire to leave Mirasol. This is where her mother died and every night she lights a candle on the windowsill. The islanders believe this is the way to summon ghosts, and Rosa wants her mother back. 
 
One day she is befriended by a boy online who calls himself Ansel95 – and she quickly realizes that this is one friendship that can take place in the real world. Can she really trust him? What does he want from her? 
 
And then Mother turns up at the front door. 
 
From the author of the critically-acclaimed Tall Story comes a haunting, intense and moving novel which weaves myths and ghosts into a modern setting. As Rosa's social life blossoms, how will she seize the freedom to be who she really is?

Shine

Madhvi Ramani

Nina’s schoolfriend Lee is in trouble, so she must borrow her aunt’s travelling spice shed and head to Beijing. Now they are both on a great adventure involving a kung fu master, a yellow snake and a mysterious riddle . . .

Nina and the Kung-Fu Adventure

Bali Rai

JIT can’t be bothered with school. His mum’s new boyfriend is doing his head in, and the last thing on his mind is dealing with lessons and homework. He needs the gang’s help, and fast . . . 
 
SUKY and Imi have been going out for ages. But there’s trouble in paradise – namely, Suky’s strict parents. A whole load of drama is about to kick off . . . 
 
Two great stories from the Devana High gang.

Secrets

Narinder Dhami

Your home was the one place you felt safe. 
Now it’s your prison. 
 
You were invisible. 
Now your every move is monitored by masked strangers. 
 
You looked after your mum, your best friend. 
Now you barely know her. 
 
Everything can change in thirteen hours.

Thirteen Hours

Did you know that Nina's aunt's spice shed is a travel machine? 
 
Well neither did Nina - and now she's head first into a great adventure involving a lost envelope, a charming street thief, a glamorous Bollywood star and a fierce tiger . . .

Nina and the Travelling Spice Shed

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