Showing titles in Growing Up & Facts of Life

A father's wounded heart. A mother's patient love. An eager boy, an impetuous girl, and, above all, the healing power of nature. These are the classic ingredients that fill Virginia Sorensen's Newbery Award-winning novel with a tender power and lift it to classic status.

The Boy lives in a cottage with his mother and father, and the Dragon lives in a cave on the Downs. The Boy is his only friend. The Dragon is not at all the sort of Dragon one might expect to meet, however: he's polite and friendly.

From David Baddiel, the brightest new star of children's books and winner of the Lollies award, comes a laugh-out-loud adventure for every child who ever wondered what it might be like to be a bit of an animal.... Malcolm doesn't like animals. Which is a problem because his family love them. Their house is full of pets. What the house is not full of is stuff Malcolm likes. Such as the laptop he wanted for his birthday.

At the outbreak of World War 1, Joey, young Albert's beloved horse, is sold to the cavalry and shipped to France. He's soon caught up in enemy fire and fate takes him on an extraordinary odyssey, serving on both sides before finding himself alone in no man's land. But Albert cannot forget Joey and, still not old enough to enlist, he embarks on a treacherous mission to the trenches to find him and bring him home....

One fateful day Lucy is invited to study at the prestigious Overworld Academy. The academy offers her the opportunity to learn all of the secrets of the Overworld - and it's an opportunity she can't miss. She's sad to leave behind her friends, Henry and Max, but it's time for her to have an adventure on her own. At Overworld Academy she meets two new friends, Jane and Phoebe. Jane is an expert fighter, and Phoebe is a talented alchemist. With Lucy's own knack for treasure hunting, the trio makes an incredible team.

A stunning new classic from master storyteller Michael Morpurgo in the vein of Private Peaceful and The Butterfly Lion. This is a landmark new novel from the nation's favourite storyteller, set in the unique landscape of the Camargue in the South of France during WW2. There, a young autistic boy lives on his parents' farm among the salt flats and the flamingos that live there. There are lots of things he doesn't understand, but he does know how to heal animals.

Johnny Maxwell and his friends have to do something when they find Mrs Tachyon, the local bag lady, semi-conscious in an alley...as long as it's not the kiss of life. But there's more to Mrs Tachyon than a squeaky trolley and a bunch of dubious black bags. Somehow she holds the key to different times, different ears: including the Blackbury Blitz in 1941. Suddenly, now isn't the safe place Johnny once thought it was as he finds himself caught up more and more with then.

Sophie Foster changed the game. Now she’s facing impossible choices: When to act. When to trust. When to let go. Her friends are divided and scattered, and the Black Swan wants Sophie to focus on their projects. But her instincts are leading her somewhere else. Stellarlune—and the mysterious Elysian—might be the key to everything. But finding truth in the Lost Cities always requires sacrifice. And as the Neverseen’s plans sharpen into terrifying focus, it appears that everyone has miscalculated.

Jayben has realised his destiny as the Ninth Great Dreamer; he is the only one with the power to defeat Null, the villain who has been making everyone in the elf world forget. A year has gone by since Jayben took half of Null's powerful crystals using the Golden Torch, but now the torch has been stolen. Without it, Jayben must find another way to harness his power.

If you have not read anything about the Baudelaire orphans, then before you read even one more sentence, you should know this: Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are kindhearted and quick-witted, but their lives, I am sorry to say, are filled with bad luck and misery. All of the stories about these three children are unhappy and wretched, and this one may be the worst of them all.

The Crim family is full of notorious criminals. Notoriously inept, that is. Uncle Knuckles once tried to steal a carnival. Great-Uncle Bernard held himself hostage by accident. Aunt Drusilla died slipping on a banana peel. But Imogen is different. She was born with a skill for scandal. A knack for the nefarious. A mastery of misdemeanors. Despite her natural talent for all things unlawful, Imogen got out of the family business years ago. But when the rest of the Crims are accused of pulling off a major heist - which seems doubtful, to say the least - Imogen is forced to step in.

Mia Tang thinks she's going to have the best year ever. She and her parents are the proud owners of the Calivista Motel, Mia gets to run the front desk with her best friend, Lupe, and she's finally getting somewhere with her writing! But as it turns out, sixth grade is no picnic. With a roller coaster of challenges, Mia needs all of her determination to hang on tight. But if anyone can find the key to getting through turbulent times, it's Mia Tang!

While Isa is off at sleepaway orchestra camp, Jessie, Oliver, Hyacinth, and Laney are stuck at home in the brownstone with nothing to do but get on one another's nerves. But when catastrophe strikes their beloved upstairs neighbor, their sleepy summer transforms in an instant as the Vanderbeeker children band together to do what they do best: make a plan. They will create the most magical healing garden in all of Harlem.

Solve the mystery with the Secret Seven - everyone's favourite detective club! These timeless stories are perfect for young fans of mystery, adventure or detective series. In book five, a sinister-looking man gets George in trouble with the police. The Secret Seven are outraged. Spying on him, the gang are certain he's bad news, but what exactly is he up to? They need to investigate and solve the mystery once and for all.

Ten-year-old Ray Grey lives in the magical Weatherlands, high in the sky. Ray is surrounded by Weatherlings with astounding weather power at their fingertips...but she doesn't have any magic! Then, after a trip to Earth, Ray’s life changes forever. She is transformed from Ray Grey into Rainbow Grey! With the help of her best friends (and exploding cloud cat Nim), now all Ray has to do is master her powers and save the world from a mysterious, powerful enemy.

With her irresistible urge to tell a joke in every situation - even when she really, really shouldn't - 12-year-old Jacky Ha-Ha loves to make people laugh. And cracking wise helps distract her from thinking about not-so-funny things in her life, like her mom serving in a dangerous, faraway war and a dad who's hardly ever home. But no matter how much fun Jacky has, she can't seem to escape her worries.

Isadora Moon and the New Girl: When a new girl, Ava, joins her class, Isadora is keen to make friends. But Ava's not interested. She'd much rather be back at her old school with her old friends. Isadora's classmates are happy to leave Ava on her own since she clearly doesn't like them, but Isadora figures out that there's something more going on. Isadora Moon and the Frost Festival: Isadora and her family are visiting the Frost Festival, a huge celebration of the winter fairies! There's ice skating, fairground rides, gingerbread houses and lots of delicious fairy hot chocolate. It's magical!

Cole is the odd one out at school: the other kids have the latest gadgets and trainers, while his family struggles to make ends meet, until the day one of his paintings is talent-spotted and sells for thousands of pounds at a posh London gallery. Being famous is FANTASTIC, but Cole has a guilty secret which, if exposed, will bring everything crashing down around him.

Scarlet and Ivy return to Rookwood School - in their second spine-tingling mystery adventure! The twins have been reunited but are definitely not out of danger.... Evil Miss Fox may have fled the scene, but headmaster Mr Bartholomew is back, imposing a reign of terror with his threats of epic punishments should any of the pupils step out of line. When possessions and food start going missing, and the finger of suspicion is pointed firmly at troublemaking Scarlet, she knows she must uncover the truth.

Join Kitty and her cat crew on the rooftops for a series of enchanting adventures by the light of the moon. Here, Kitty will discover that being a superhero is about more than using her special abilities - she must learn to be courageous, too, scaling the city clock tower to rescue a very frightened kitten.