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

PublicationStatus

Brand

Format

AgeRange

Series

Imprint

CategoryLabel

Conrad Mason

'We're the Demon's Watch, son. Protectors of Port Fayt. Scourge of all sea scum. Don't tell me you've never heard of us?' 
 
Half-goblin boy Joseph Grubb lives in Fayt, a bustling trading port where elves, trolls, fairies and humans live side by side. Fed up of working at the Legless Mermaid tavern, Grubb dreams of escape - until a whirlwind encounter with a smuggler plunges him into Fayt's criminal underworld. There he meets the Demon's Watch and learns of their mission to save the port from a mysterious and deadly threat. Can Grubb and his new allies uncover the dark plot in time, or will they end up as fish food in Harry's Shark Pit?

The Demon's Watch

Tales of Fayt, Book 1

Terry Pratchett

'In the beginning, there was nothing but endless flatness. Then came the Carpet . . .' 
 
That's the old story everyone knows and loves (even if they don't really believe it). But now the Carpet is home to many different tribes and peoples and there's a new story in the making. 
 
The story of Fray, sweeping a trail of destruction across the Carpet, and two brothers, who set out on an adventure to end all adventures. 
 
A hilarious fantasy, perfect for ages seven an up, written by master storyteller Terry Pratchett.

The Carpet People

Laura Dockrill

Ten-year-old Darcy Burdock is one of life's noticers. Curious, smart, funny and fiercely loyal, she sees the extraordinary in the everyday and the wonder in the world around her. 
 
In this first book, we are introduced to her family: Mum, who Darcy loves as much as her favourite fried egg and chips, Dad, who is kind and fair if a bit hopeless, and little siblings Hector and Poppy, who Darcy likes dressing up in ridiculous outfits and having dance-offs with, respectively. Plus there's her pet lamb, Lamb-Beth and best friend, Will, to have adventures with. 
 
Darcy learns that turning into an angrosaurus-rex and causing chaos just gets you in trouble, it's best not to throw a massive strop just before your surprise birthday party, Halloween is all about spider costumes and having a pumpkin with a wonky eye, and if you're ever in a situation where you're not sure what to do, you should write a story around it, and the truth will be illuminated by your imagination.

Darcy Burdock

Debi Gliori

Lily is 9. Her sister Daisy is 1. And she's no ordinary baby. Somehow, when she was born, something went rather wrong... and now Daisy is a Witch Baby. Nobody knows this but Lily - she's the only one who can see when Daisy makes the fridge float in the air, or turns people into slugs, or summons up her very stinky dog Waywoof... 
 
The sisters have now settled into their new home and so it's time for Lily to start at her new school. Can she survive being the new girl? Will Daisy be a help or a hindrance...?

Witch Baby and Me At School

Jean Ure

When Billy the Skid and his nasty gang of mountain bikers ride into Bodley Street and ride menacingly up and down, Danny and friends are determined to fight back. They know bullies must be stopped - the question is how? After a little thought, Danny comes up with an ingenious plan and enlists the help of the twins, Daisy and Donna. All will be well providing Danny can lure Billy into the spooky graveyard and sprint through like dynamite! 
 
A cheering story for new readers, with a cosy setting, a clear triumph for Danny against the bully and told with lots of humour.

Danny Dynamite

Paul Kidby

The Discworld is undoubtedly Sir Terry Pratchett's most famous creation. A universe teeming with dwarves, trolls, witches, and social and cultural issues that parallel those in our own world, all wrapped up in Pratchett's inimitable comic delivery. This iconic series will make you laugh, then make you think.

Discover master story-teller Terry Pratchett’s incredible Discworld in this first book in the Tiffany Aching series . . . 
 
Tiffany Aching wants to be a witch when she grows up . . . 
 
A proper one, with a pointy hat. And flying, Tiffany has always dreamed of flying (though it's cold up there, and you have to wear really thick pants, two layers). 
 
And as the twentieth granddaughter of her Granny Aching: shepherdess extraordinaire, and protector of the land, Tiffany knows the most important thing a real witch can do is protect others with their magic. So, when the monsters of Fairyland kidnap her brother, Tiffany decides it’s up to her to defend her home, even if she’s only armed with a frying pan and her common sense. 
 
Luckily she has some very unusual help: the local Nac Mac Feegle – a.k.a the Wee Free Men – a clan of fierce, sheep-stealing, sword-wielding, six-inch-high blue men. Together they must face headless horsemen, ferocious grimhounds, terrifying dreams come true and ultimately the sinister Queen of the Elves herself . . . 
 
This edition includes a special introduction from Rhianna Pratchett. 
 
'If you've never read a Discworld novel, what's the matter with you?' Guardian 
'Quite, quite brilliant' Starburst 
 
DISCOVER THE FULL TIFFANY ACHING SERIES, THE PERFECT INTRODUCTION TO DISCWORLD: 
The Wee Free Men 
A Hat Full of Sky 
Wintersmith 
I Shall Wear Midnight 
The Shepherd’s Crown

The Wee Free Men

A Tiffany Aching Novel

Tiffany wants to be a witch when she grows up. 
 
A proper one, with a pointy hat. And flying, she's always dreamed of flying (though it's cold up there, you have to wear really thick pants, two layers). 
 
But she's worried Tiffany isn't a very 'witchy' name. And a witch has always protected Tiffany's land, to stop the nightmares getting through. 
 
Now the nightmares have taken her brother, and it's up to her to get him back. 
 
With a horde of unruly fairies at her disposal, Tiffany is not alone. And she is the twentieth granddaughter of her Granny Aching: shepherdess extraordinaire, and protector of the land. 
 
Tiffany Aching. Now there's a rather good name for a witch. 
 
 
'Quite, quite brilliant' 
Starburst 
 
THE FIRST BOOK IN THE TIFFANY ACHING SERIES

Lily is 9. Her sister Daisy is 1. And she's no ordinary baby. Somehow, when she was born, something went rather wrong... and now Daisy is a Witch Baby. Nobody knows this but Lily - she's the only one who can see when Daisy makes the fridge float in the air, or turns people into slugs, or summons up her very stinky dog Waywoof... 
 
The sisters have just moved to a new neighbourhood, and their mum wants them to make friends. She decides to throw a party and send Lily and Daisy out to deliver the invitations. They meet some odd characters along the way... Will the party be a big success or will Daisy's magic mean things are even more chaotic than normal?

Witch Baby and Me

Caitlin Moran

Fifteen-year-old Morag Narmo really doesn't want to go to school any more. She and her siblings would rather feed their heads into the waste-disposal unit than "do the academical". So they are all stunned when their parents whisk them out of school and embark on a home-schooling experiment. But with five children, two unruly pets and some extremely eccentric attitudes, the educational experiment soon descends into chaos... 
 
Witty, razor-sharp and laugh-out-loud funny, The Chronicles of Narmo show us how before Caitlin Moran knew How to be a Woman, she had to find out How to be a Girl.

The Chronicles Of Narmo

Lily is 9. Her sister Daisy is 1. And she's no ordinary baby. Somehow, when she was born, something went rather wrong... and now Daisy is a Witch Baby. Nobody knows this but Lily - she's the only one who can see when Daisy makes the fridge float in the air, or turns people into slugs, or summons up her very stinky dog Waywoof...

Witch Baby and Me After Dark

Susan Davis

Imagine meeting Henry VIII and finding he's madly in love with you! 
 
One lazy summer afternoon Abigail persuades Lauren and Marina to experiment with a homemade ouija board. The girls don't seriously expect the séance to work and are shocked when the glass starts moving, but that's nothing to the shock they get when they realise they have summoned up the spirit of a long-dead randy royal - Henry VIII. The trouble really begins when Henry declares his love for the sultry Marina and starts behaving in a seriously sinister manner. Jealous and possessive, Henry sets about controlling the girls' lives and making a right royal nuisance of himself... 
 
Friendship, first love and men behaving badly - this is a fantastically funny chick-lit read.

The Henry Game

Dermot Milligan

David Tazzyman

Anthony McGowan

From the Carnegie Medal 2020 winning author of Lark comes The Donut Diaries. 
Dermot Milligan loves donuts. His nickname at school is Donut. But he knows he needs to lose some weight, so now he's made a promise to stop eating them. And to make sure he keeps that promise, his mum is sending him to the dreaded Camp Fatso during the summer holidays. 
 
When he arrives, Dermot realises the camp is even more horrible than he had imagined. Fed on a diet of gruel and carrots under the strict control of evil Boss Skinner and his paintball-gun-yielding guards, Dermot and his friends are desperate to escape. So together, they hatch a cunning plan . . .

The Donut Diaries: Escape from Camp Fatso

Book Three

Witches are odd. 
 
That much is clear to Tiffany. But she likes them . . . in an odd sort of way. Just as she likes Roland . . . in a friend sort of way (which most certainly isn’t odd). 
 
But Tiffany hasn’t really got time to think about Roland, because she has accidentally danced with Winter himself – the Wintersmith. 
 
And now the Wintersmith has a bit of a crush on Tiffany. 
 
According to her friend Daft Wullie, if Tiffany kisses the Wintersmith (an awful thought), her nose turns blue and fall off. According to the witches, if she doesn’t shake off her admirer, there will never be another springtime . . . 
 
‘Characteristically entertaining’ 
Sunday Times

Wintersmith

Liz Rettig

A brilliantly funny tale of romantic confusion! 
 
Cat is fat and boring - or so she thinks. Her mum is a stick insect and so is her twin sister Tessa - a bit of a spoilt brat who can get any boy she wants. There's a new arrival in their town from the USA - Josh, the son of their dad's boss. He's gorgeous so Tessa is keen and Cat knows she doesn't have a chance... But Josh seems strangely uninterested in Tess. Cat thinks there must be more to the situation... She and Josh become friends and eventually she thinks she's got to the bottom of the mystery...maybe Josh just isn't into girls at all...? Now she has a new best gay friend, cat's life is much happier, and she and Josh get on wonderfully. If only things could stay that simple...

Jumping to Confusions

Anne Fine

Ally really doesn't want to go with his mum on her weekly visit to his fragile aunt Chloe at the big Victorian hospital - until he discovers a hidden garden in the grounds. Here a young homeless couple have made themselves a home. Suddenly Ally begins to discover a new way of looking at the world - and to understand his aunt and some of her sensitivity. But there is another side to the coin, too, and the young couple must also be prepared to adapt to suit their changing circumstances . . .

The Stone Menagerie

Matt Haig

From the bestselling author of A Boy Called Christmas, The Girl Who Saved Christmas, Father Christmas and Me and The Truth Pixie. 
 
*Winner of the Gold Smarties Prize, the Blue Peter Book Award and shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal* 
 
Samuel Blink is the hero of this story, but he doesn't know it yet. 
 
Right now, he and his sister Martha are in the back of his parents' car. He has no idea a giant log is about to fall from the sky and change his life forever. He doesn't know that he and Martha will be forced to move to Norway and eat their Aunt Eda's smelly brown cheese. He hasn't the slightest clue Martha will disappear into the Shadow Forest - a forest full of one-eyed trolls, deadly Truth Pixies, a shadow-stealing witch and the evil Changemaker. 
 
Samuel Blink doesn't know any of this. So don't tell him. It might ruin the book . . . 
 
An eerie, funny and exciting fairytale from multi-award-winning author Matt Haig. 
 
'Fascinating and magical . . . Outstanding' The Times

Shadow Forest

Ten-year-old Darcy sees the extraordinary in the everyday and the wonder in the world around her. This third book sees Darcy encounter extra-large-amounts of drama - mice have invaded her house, which means the family must get a cat. Cue a mega-meltdown in a pet shop and then the arrival of Pork, an angry dumpling of a cat who terrifies Lamb-Beth. And while chaos rules at home, Will's long-lost dad has turned-up and taken him out of school. Who will Darcy be friends with now? Must she hang-out with school secretary Mavis EVERY DAY FOR ALL ETERNITY? 
 
Joyous drawings, colourful characters and a high-energy voice - the Darcy Burdock books are packed with personality from start to finish.

Darcy Burdock: Sorry About Me

Michael Bond

Imagine swallowing a computer chip and becoming a living computer . . . 
 
Imagine almost burning down your school . . . 
 
Imagine being Harry Manners. He is a very unusual boy. His family don’t understand him. His teachers wish he would stop daydreaming. But he thinks he’s doing just fine, as long as he has a stash of Max Masters comics to read and his imaginary pet pig Monty to take for a walk…

It Wasn't Me!

Tiffany Aching is a witch alone. 
 
Well, that’s how she feels. Everyone seems so, apart. People respect her, but also fear her. There are loads of secrets she can’t share. 
 
And when the Baron dies, and Tiffany is framed for his murder, it’s clearer than ever that she is, well . . . not liked 
 
Now Tiffany must journey to Ankh-Morpork, to inform the Baron’s heir, Roland, of his father’s death. But on the way she meets something that likes witches very much . . . a bit too much – an evil ball of spite and malice that has only now woken up. 
 
And is out to get witches everywhere . . . 
 
 
‘High peaks of imagination’ 
Sunday Times

I Shall Wear Midnight

Carl Hiaasen

Noah's dad, Paine, is a kind but slightly irresponsible fisherman who is passionate about saving the local Florida aquatic life.When Paine discovers that a local businessman is running a scam from his casino boat, he takes the law into his own hands, sinks the boat and ends up in jail.This scam involves releasing the effluent from the boat's toilets directly into the water, to avoid the cost of disposing of it safely. 
 
Noah and his sister Abbey, take up the fight for justice on their Dad's behalf and enlist the help of Shelly, who knows that her former boyfriend is up to no good and comes up with a plan to prove it.She gets a job as a barmaid back on the casino boat and plans to sneak a huge load of coloured dye into the toilets. 
 
A fantastically funny thriller - to find out more visit www.haveyouflushed.co.uk

Flush

From the bestselling author of A Boy Called Christmas, The Girl Who Saved Christmas, Father Christmas and Me and The Truth Pixie. 
 
*'A clawed masterpiece' - Guardian* 
 
Barney Willow's life couldn't get any worse. He's weedy, with sticky-out ears. Horrible Gavin Needle loves tormenting him. And evil headteacher Miss Whipmire seems determined to make Barney's existence a complete misery! Worst of all, Dad has been missing for almost a year - and there's no sign of him ever coming home. 
 
Barney just wants to escape. To find another life. To be a cat, for example. A quiet, lazy cat. Things would be so much easier - wouldn't they? 
 
A darkly funny and adventurous tale from multi-award-winning author Matt Haig.

To Be A Cat

Tiffany Aching is going ‘into service’: to be a lady, no less, a maid in a big house. At least, this is what she tells her parents. 
 
Really, Tiffany is going away to learn magic. 
 
But making friends with fellow witches is always difficult when an invisible-being-that-cannot-be-killed takes over your body – stealing money, and threatening violence. 
 
Tiffany must use all her witchy cunning to reclaim what’s hers. Luckily, she has a bit of help. What’s tiny, Scottish and blue all over? A Nac Mac Feegle of course – the rudest type of fairy, and handy to have in a tight spot . . . 
 
‘Oodles of dry wit, imagination and shrewdly observed characters’ 
Independent on Sunday

A Hat Full of Sky

Jonathan Stroud

Now a major Netflix series! 
 
Lockwood & Co. might be the smallest (some might say shambolic) Psychic Detection Agency in London. But its three agents - Lockwood, Lucy and George - are exceptional Talents. And they get results. When an outbreak of ghostly phenomena grows to terrifying levels in Chelsea, Scotland Yard is left baffled. 
 
Even more baffling is that Lockwood & Co appear to have been excluded from the huge team of Agents investigating the Chelsea Outbreak. Surely this is the perfect chance for them to show once and for all that they're actually the best in town? Well, that's if they can put aside their personal differences for long enough to march into action with their rapiers, salt and iron . . . 
 
Ghouls and spectres, thrills and tension in this third instalment in Jonathan Stroud's bestselling series. 
 
'Stroud is a genius' - Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson series.

Lockwood & Co: The Hollow Boy

Book 3

Narinder Dhami

Jack has always known his little sister, Annie, is bright. By the time she's five, she's reading Hamlet and the Financial Times, and has an extremely active imagination. Her odd behaviour doesn't make life easy at school for Jack, especially when Annie insists that she has an invisible but very real friend called Sarah, who accompanies her everywhere. Jack is desperate to prevent Annie's obsession causing problems at school - good behaviour is vital if they're to be allowed to go on the long-promised trip to America to meet their absent father. 
 When they are finally aboard the plane for America, Jack is thinking quietly, maybe drifting off to sleep, when he is rudely interrupted by the crystal clear voice of a girl - not Annie, but Sarah! 
 A perceptive, amusing and moving novel about sibling relationships, absent parents and the borderline between truth and imagination, which will be eagerly enjoyed by boys and girls of 8+.

Annie's Game

From the bestselling author of A Boy Called Christmas, The Girl Who Saved Christmas, Father Christmas and Me and The Truth Pixie. 
 
Samuel's not allowed to enter Shadow Forest. But what's to stop the forest from coming to him? 
 
There's one thing every troll child dreads more than anything - and that's the Betterer, the evil troll in Shadow Forest who loves to punish his fellow trolls for their grubby and stupid habits in lots of horrible ways. 
 
When one troll boy escapes the forest to be with his favourite human, Samuel Blink, the Betterer isn't happy. Until he realizes that the most useful thing to have in his Bettering Tower would be a real life human child. So he sets out on a quest into the human world to kidnap Samuel and the troll friend he's been hiding in his wardrobe . . .

The Runaway Troll

Mark Beech

An illustrated edition of Truckers by Terry Pratchett. 
 
Terry Pratchett's extraordinary, and extraordinarily funny, book, Truckers, available for the first time in an edition beautifully illustrated by Mark Beech. 
 
Imagine that all around you, hidden from sight, there are thousands of tiny people. 
They are four inches tall, brave, stubborn and resourceful. 
They are the nomes. 
 
The nomes in this story live under the floorboards of a large Department Store and have never been Outside. In fact, they don’t even believe in Outside. But new nomes arrive, from – where else? – and they bring with them terrifying news: the Store is closing down and Everything Must Go . . . 
 
The fantastically funny first book of the nomes, from the author of the bestselling Discworld series.

Truckers

Illustrated edition

The First Book of the Nomes

Jacqueline Wilson

Nick Sharratt

Jacqueline Wilson’s FUNNIEST, FIERCEST and most BELOVED new heroine JESS BEAKER returns for another AMAZING ADVENTURE. 
 
Jess and Tracy Beaker have found happiness in The Dumping Ground. Not that Dumping Ground- the children’s home that Tracy grew up in- but a seaside antique shop full of treasures, along with Flo, the owner, and Alfie, their dog. 
 
Jess is looking for a fantastic new boyfriend for her mum (mostly because Tracy’s awful ex Sean is back on the scene). But Jess has bigger problems of her own. She’s being picked on by a local kid who’s got it in for her. But when Jess uncovers the truth about her new enemy, it means big changes for the Beaker Girls… 
 
*The SEQUEL to the award-winning MY MUM TRACY BEAKER* 
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
Praise for Tracy Beaker: 
 
‘Wilson can still step effortlessly into the mind of a nine year old, and her chatty prose will sweep you along’ – The Daily Telegraph 
 
‘This warm-hearted story about the importance of family and friends is classic Jacqueline Wilson’ – First News 
 
‘[A] cosy woolly jumper of a book about wish fulfilment and its alternatives’ – The Observer

We Are The Beaker Girls

When a young magician’s apprentice secretly summons an irascible 5,000 year old djinni to do his bidding, neither are prepared for the peril that ensues. 
 
Nathaniel is plotting the downfall of his nemesis – a ruthless magician by the name of Simon Lovelace – and tasks Bartimaeus to steal the powerful Amulet of Samarkand from him, in order to exact his revenge. 
 
But before long, Nathaniel and Bartimaeus are caught up in a terrifying adventure much bigger than either of them anticipated, involving intrigue, rebellion and murder… 
 
Set in an alternate London controlled by magicians, this hilarious and electrifying series will enthral readers of all ages.

The Amulet of Samarkand

Two years have passed since the events surrounding the Amulet of Samarkand, and the young magician Nathaniel is rising fast through the ranks of London’s elite magical government. 
 
But his career is suddenly threatened by a dangerous golem making random attacks on London, and Nathaniel is forced on a perilous quest to save his reputation and the city. When he finds his life in danger he has no choice but to call upon the troublesome 5,000 year old djinni, Bartimaeus, to do his magical bidding once more . . . 
Set in an alternate London controlled by magicians, this hilarious and electrifying New York Times bestselling series will enthral readers of all ages. 
 
Fresh, witty and wise, this novel is a worthy sequel to The Amulet of Samarkand – Times Educational Supplement 
 
Readers can rest easy: this sequel is no pale imitation of its predecessor. Fast paced, frightening and funny, and you don't want it to end – The Bookseller

The Golem's Eye

Enter master story-teller Terry Pratchett’s incredible Discworld in this second book in the Tiffany Aching series . . . 
 
Something is coming after Tiffany Aching . . . 
 
Tiffany Aching is ready to begin her apprenticeship in magic, but life isn't exactly what she thought it would be. She expects spells and magic – not chores and ill-tempered goats! Surely there must be more to witchcraft than this? 
 
But when a sinister creature starts pursuing her, Tiffany realises that she’ll need her magic more than ever to fight it off. And this time, neither Mistress Weatherwax (the greatest witch in the world) nor the fierce, six-inch-high Wee Free Men can protect her. In the end, it will take all of Tiffany's inner strength to save herself. 
 
Will she succeed? 
 
‘If you've never read a Discworld novel, what's the matter with you?’ Guardian 
‘Oodles of dry wit, imagination and shrewdly observed characters’ Independent on Sunday 
‘Fantastically inventive and humorous’ The Sunday Times 
 
 
DISCOVER THE FULL TIFFANY ACHING SERIES, THE PERFECT INTRODUCTION TO DISCWORLD: 
The Wee Free Men 
A Hat Full of Sky 
Wintersmith 
I Shall Wear Midnight 
The Shepherd’s Crown

biblio.categories.code

biblio.publicationStatus

biblio.brand

biblio.workEditions.format

biblio.ageRange

biblio.series.seriesName

biblio.imprint.description

biblio.type

About us

About Us (Header 4)

Best-Jane-Austen-quotes_Online-Desktop_Penguin

James-Baldwin

Marian-Keyes

haruki-murakami-320×320-1

Richard-Osman

Malorie Blackman

Lisa-Jewell

Charlie-Mackesy

Authors (Header 3)

Children&#039;s

Company

Discover

Fiction

Non-fiction

Penguin Classics

Penguin Shop (Header 5)

Useful links

Work with us

Search Results

The Fall of the West

Hunt the Villain

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Fight or Flight (Book 21)

The Mortons

Watch a trailer for The Spook's Blood

A photograph of Ben Barnes in character for Shadow and Bone Netflix series.

Interviews

Shadow and Bone’s Ben Barnes on tear-jerking books and what he’s reading

An image showing a selection of adventure stories for 9-12 year olds on a bright yellow background with orange doodles that include a hashtag, flag, danger sign and speech bubble

Children's reading lists

16 books for 9 to 12-year-olds that love adventures

An image of a selection of books for 9-12s on a blue background with a large splodge and striped print

24 must-read books for 9-12-year-olds

A picture of several different children's books on a pink to blue ombre background; each book has a bright yellow shadow

Showing results for: ‘joseph delaney’

Filters

Category

Age

Publication Date

Format

Series

Imprint

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter