The four children, their parrot Kiki, mother/aunt and "Old Bill" plan a quiet holiday in North Wales. However, as usual, adventure finds the children when they go off riding donkeys on a camping trip. First published in 1949 this story does not meet today's standards of political correctness particularly in Blyton's handling of black and Japanese characters.
A guide for teachers on how to use discipline instead of negotiation and consequences to achieve an effective, safe learning environment. Moorish's method is broken down into three triplets: Training (rules, limits, authority; Teaching (skills, attitudes, knowledge) and Management (independent choice). A good resource to keep on hand.
The children are off of school so that the can recover from the measles. When their mother falls ill, their old friend Bill agrees to take them to a remote island in Scotland. He is hiding out from a band of rogues that caught on to his trailing them. As always, it becomes an adventure featuring their parrot Kiki, rats, puffins and "the enemy".
A very accessible and well illustrated history of ironmasters and gunfounding in the Weald from Roman times to the 18th Century. Hodgkinson explains the processes used to make iron and the workforce, buildings and transportation aspects of production.
After stowing away on the wrong airplane, the children find themselves in a remote valley hiding from treasure hunters. Using their wits and survival skills, the four kids and their amusing parrot Kiki help capture the rogues and save an elderly couple who have been guarding the treasure for years.
First published anonymously in 1872, this novel is set in nineteenth-century New Zealand. A young man leaves the sheep station he's employed at to scout out distant valleys in the hope of finding pasture land he can claim for himself. What he discovers is the land of Erewhon (Nowhere) and its odd civilization. All machines and technology have been destroyed and outlawed. Being sick is treated as a crime and crime is treated as illness. Interesting social and political satire that can, to some extent, be applied today.
In the final battle between the Olympians and the Titan Kronos, Percy and the demigods get help from surprising sources.
The children befriend an elderly man who desparately needs help paying the vet bill and caring for his lame horse. The Secret Seven save the day by raising funds which inspires the grown ups to help too.
Annabeth gets her wish - a quest of her own - and she and Percy have to outwit the enemies of Camp Half-Blood and find their way through Daedelus' Labyrinth. Grover also gets his wish - to find Pan - with surprising consequences.
An interesting collection of shipping disasters both natural and man made - from storms and ice bergs to casualties of war and poor design. Many maps, historical paintings, photos and diagrams put these tragic events on a human scale
In this second book of the series, Percy and Annabeth must travel through the Sea of Monsters to rescue Grover from the cyclops Polyphemus. Their ultimate goal is to steal the Golden Fleece from Polyphemus and bring it back to Camp Half-Blood so that it's healing powers can stop the destruction of the camp.
This first book in "The Olympians" series is based on the premise that Greek gods are truly imortal. Set in today's world it is Greek Mythology retold with an ironic twist. Interesting characters and exiting battle scenes make the story come to life.
Not since Yann Martel's Life of Pi have I been undecided about the true nature of a book's characters and the truth behind the story line. Liese Campbell left her debts behind in England and started working at her uncle's real estate business in Melbourne, Australia. Her affair with farmer Alexander Colquhoun begins when she is showing him properties for sale. They continue their assignations, for money, in homes for sale. When Liese tells him that she's leaving Australia to return to England he offers her a four figure sum to spend the long weekend at his property in the bush. This psychologial thriller leaves you wondering who wrote the bizarre letters slandering Liese to Alexander.
A biochemist discovers an anti-aging compound when running tests on a lichen found in Manchuria. The moral, legal and ethical implications of giving people injections of a substance that will extend their life expectancy to two hundred years causes grave consequences.
Siblings Pippa, Zoe and Tom visit their friend Andy who takes them to see the Cliff of Birds on his fishing boat. They inadvertently discover that the island is being used by smugglers and get taken hostage. Quick thinking helps them turn the tables and escape.
At first, Matthew's parents think that Chocky is his "imaginary friend". But events lead them to a deeper understanding of the being that he communicates mentally with.
The Famous Five camp out on Billycock Hill near their friend Toby's farm. They meet up with some interesting characters including moth and butterfly enthusiasts Mr Gringle and Mr Brent, and Toby's little brother Benny who's always chasing after his pet pigling Curly. When two experimental planes go missing from the nearby airfield, the Five help solve the crime and find Toby's cousin Flight-Lieutenant Jeff Thomas who had been accused in the theft.
Enid Blyton is arguably the most prolific children's writer of all time. During a career that spanned four decades, she wrote poetry, plays, books and magazine articles. In the 1950s she was churning out over 20 books per year. This biography helps the reader discover the woman behind the work, who was hard-working and dedicated to her audience on one hand but immature emotionally and temperamental on the other.
The three cousins are back at Kirrin Cottage for Christmas Holidays with George and her dog Timmy. A tutor, Mr Roland, has been hired to help the boys catch up on their studies. Uncle Quentin's very important research notes go missing and the Famous Five solve the mystery and save the day.
In this first book of the Famous Five series, first published in 1942, siblings Julian, Dick and Anne meet their cousin Georgina, who wishes to be called George, for the first time. George is unfriendly at first but the children win her over and she willingly shares her island with its derelict castle and submerged shipwreck. During a storm, the ship gets washed up on the beach and the search for a long lost horde of gold bars begins. George's dog Tim becomes the fifth member of the group.
When the village of Midwich is visited by a strange silver, egg shaped object, all its inhabitants are put to sleep for about 48 hours. Days after this incident it comes to light that all of the women of childbearing age are pregnant - over sixty of them. The babies all look alike,with golden eyes, white hair and translucent skin, and have a central consciousness. What one boy learns, all the boys learn; what one girl knows all the girls know.
Following a meteor shower, everyone who witnessed it goes permanently blind. Add to that the proliferation of "triffids" which are tall, intelligent, venomous, mobile plants that prey on humans and you've got an apocalyptic sci-fi horror story.
Bubbling with enthusiasm, in true Elwy Yost style, the author details his favourite movie moments. Set out chronologically, there are a lot fewer entries for the 60s and 70s(the book was published in 1978)than there were for the "Golden Era" of films the 1930s-40s. Makes one realize how spoiled we are today that we can look up and watch almost any film we wish, where as Yost relied upon his memory and film libraries.
First published in 1949, when Britain had been through two brutal wars in the previous 35 years, this novel is set in a world where war continuously rages. Throughout this dystopian tale, Orwell introduces a new language, Newspeak and unforgettable characters like Winston Smith and Big Brother.
Jon Skye and his uncle Howard venture into the uncharted jungles of the Amazon with the mysterious Mr Plumm in search of the legendary Falls of Orellana, alegedly the highest in the world. The plot is filled with many twists, turns and unexpected results.
The title is a play on words - while out for a tramp (hike) Billy Bunter and the Famous Five of the Remove encounter a tramp(hobo)named Ragged Dick. The story takes many twists and turns surrounding the true identity of the tramp which is not revealed until the very end.
A powerful true story of faith, perseverance and recovery written by Martin Spinelli whose wife Sasha has killed and their 4 year old son Lio critically injured in a car crash. Despite the early prognoses by doctors, Lio survived and thanks to the single-mindedness of his father has made a tremendous recovery.
Conjoined twins, Marion and Shiva Stone are separated at birth. Their mother, a nun, does not survive their delivery and their father, a surgeon, flees the scene. Raised by Hema and Ghosh, Indian doctors living in Ethiopia, the twins share a special bond and an aptitude for medicine. Verghese skillfully weaves political history - the 1974 coup d'etat and 1975 abolition of the monarchy into his story lines
A post-apocalyptic story centering around a group of young people that have the ability to communicate by thought-pictures. Their society abhors and destroys anything that strays from the norm, so when their gift becomes known they must flee to the "fringes" where mutants live in exile.
A biographical booklet by writer and wife of Clough Williams-Ellis, Amabel. She quotes heavily from his books and so both of their voices are heard. The cover photo is of Clough on his 90th birthday in a pony-cart driven by his granddaughter Menna.
Imagine a world where firemen start fires and books are outlawed. Technology like Seashell ear radios and giant flat screen tv walls were predicted by Bradbury in this 1953 dystopian novel.
A landscape painter witnesses the body of a man being thrown from a train passing over the Sankey Viaduct between Liverpool and Manchester. Inspector Robert Colbeck travels to France and puts his colleagues and himself at risk during the investigation. Marston cleverly incorporates railway builder Thomas Brassey and authentic details of 1852 into the story.
A biography of Clough Williams-Ellis written by his friend - sculptor, craftsman and author Jonah Jones. Detailed information and anecdotes about Clough's early life, career, marriage and magnum opus Portmeirion are tempered with warmth and humility. Insights into Clough and wife Amabel's philosophy on architecture, planning, and politics create a more rounded portrait.
