Sophie Sapwood, daughter of the famous explorer, Bonniface Sapwood, discovers a whalebone pendant hidden at the back of her chest of drawers. At the same time, deep in the frozen wastes of the Antarctic, the ghost of Captain Cathcardo awakens from an ancient sleep, trapped in the Antarctic on his ship, The Riddle.

His three cries for "Help" travel through the stratosphere to three different sets of ears – famous explorer Bonniface Sapwood, renowned naturalist Corona Wottley and oily villain Rancid Swarthy – descendant of Escher Black who was first mate on the Riddle. All three parties immediately organise trips to the Antarctic – all with the same goal in mind (solving the mystery of the Riddle) but each with very different intentions.

It's 1863 and 10-year-old Emmy Blue Hatchett has been told by her father that soon their family will leave their farm, family, and friends in Illinois, and travel west to a new home in Colorado. It's difficult leaving family and friends behind. They might not see one another ever again. When Emmy's grandmother comes to say goodbye, she gives Emmy a special gift to keep her occupied on the trip. The journey by wagon train is long and full of hardships. But the Hatchetts persevere and reach their destination in Colorado, ready to start their new life.

Germany, 1945. Eighteen-year-old Zofia Lederman is alive, but not whole. Her body is just beginning to heal from the trauma of the Holocaust, her mind is broken, and her life is shattered. She knows that she will never see her beloved parents, grandmother, or aunt again-she watched as they were all sent to the left, to the gas chambers, at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Only she and her younger brother Abek were sent to the right, and her last words to him were a promise: Abek to Zofia, A to Z. When I find you again, we will fill our alphabet. And we will be whole, and everything will be fine. I promise I will find you. Desperate to find Abek, fulfill her vow, and rebuild their lives, Zofia's search brings her to their hometown in Poland and then deep into a displaced persons camp in Germany. There, Zofia meets fellow Holocaust survivors, each battling with their painful pasts and working towards different futures. There's Briene, eager to marry her new beau and start a new life; Miriam, searching far and wide for the twin she was separated from at liberation, who was the victim of horrible experiments; and Josef, who picks fights with bullies and refuses to talk about his past, but whose good looks and unexpected honesty draw Zofia in. The deeper Zofia digs, the more impossible her search seems. How can she find one boy in a sea of the missing? And if she does find him, how can she know that it's her Abek? After surviving unimaginable horrors, Zofia must now delve into a mystery whose answers could break her--or help her rebuild her world.

More than a century later, the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 is still America's deadliest disaster. Lauren Tarshis's story of one child surviving the horrible event churns with page-turning action and bold hope. The city of Galveston, Texas, was booming. Perched on an island off the southern coast of Texas, Galveston had been founded in the 1830s. By 1900, it was Texas's richest and most important city. Boats loaded up with American cotton and wheat steamed from Galveston to countries around the world. Arriving ships were crowded with immigrants. The streets, paved with crushed oyster shells, sparkled like they'd been sprinkled with diamonds. True, this glittering city was prone to flooding. But just a few years before, a weather forecaster had said the idea of a hurricane striking Galveston was absurd. So when a storm started brewing on September 8, 1900, no one believed it would be any worse than previous storms. They gathered on the beach to cheer on the wild waves. But what started as entertainment soon turned into a nightmare as those wild waves crashed into the city. By morning, hundreds of homes were destroyed. Eight thousand people were dead. The city had all but disappeared, In this thrilling installment of Lauren Tarshis's New York Times bestselling I Survived series, one child finds safety only to head back into the treacherous waters to make sure his neighbors are safe.

In this Newbery Honor Book, a thirteen-year-old boy struggles to survive on his own in the wilderness of eighteenth-century Maine. When Matt's father leaves him on his own to guard their new cabin in the wilderness, Matt is scared but determined to be brave and prove that he can take care of himself. And things are going fine until a white stranger steals his gun, leaving Matt defenseless and unable to hunt for his food. Then Matt meets Attean, a Native boy from the Beaver tribe, and soon learns that people called the land around him home long before the white settlers ever arrived. As Attean teaches him more about his own culture, Matt must come to terms with what the changing frontier really means. Now with an introduction by critically acclaimed writer Joseph Bruchac about the historical context and the relationships between Native peoples and white settlers in the eighteenth century.

A new Christmas classic from a magical pairing: Dame Emma Thompson and Axel Scheffler. The story of Jim: a very lucky, very special, very grubby dog, who lives, improbably, in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Emma Thompson magically weaves the real-life tale of Jim - beloved dog of Sir Henry Cole who created the first Christmas card - with a fantastically warm and heartfelt Christmas romp, brilliantly illustrated by bestselling illustrator, Axel Scheffler. A Christmas book to treasure, and an adventure filled with high emotion, guilt, redemption, unexpected presents and a life-changing brush with royalty.

Nazi Germany is a dangerous place for a girl with a stammer - and although her father tries to keep her safe, Ingrid can't help feeling like she's let him down. But in the air, soaring high as she pilots her beloved glider planes, Ingrid is free and incredibly talented. When she gets the chance to fly in a propaganda tour alongside her hero, Germany's daring female test pilot Hanna Reitsch, Ingrid leaps at the chance. But through Hanna, she will learn some dangerous truths about Germany's secret missions and the plans that could change the course of the war to secure victory for the Nazi regime. When everything is at stake, Ingrid must decide where her loyalties lie ...

He's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same. One of the masterpieces of classic literature, Wuthering Heights is a both the story of a wild, obsessive love and a terrible revenge. Catherine and Heathcliff's, a foundling adopted by Catherine's father, passionate but doomed love forms the core of this extraordinary tale. Catherine's brother Hindley's hatred and humiliation of Heathcliff leads to tragedy when Catherine marries another and Heathcliff returns newly wealthy to enact his revenge on all who wronged him.

A middle-grade fantasy adventure powered by a kick-ass wild-west heroine and a collection of magical objects known as Oddities.

The daughter of a murdered physician vows to protect the magical Oddity he left behind – if only she knew what it was – in an alternate nineteenth century in which the United States is at war with Napoleon’s France. When her physician father is murdered, thirteen-year-old Clover Elkin embarks on a perilous mission through warring frontier territories to protect the one secret Oddity he left behind. And as she uncovers the truth about her parents and her past, Clover herself emerges as a powerful agent of history. A rich, startling, funny fantasy adventure, powered by an irresistible force-of-nature heroine; Clover Elkin is a born fighter – a heroine to rival Lyra Belacqua or True Grit’s Mattie Ross.

'[Selznick is] a postmodern hero of middle-grade children's fiction... Those who revel in puzzles, philosophical conundrums and musings on transience, time and grief will adore this challenging read' The Times 'The most perfect feat of storytelling' Scott Evans, The Reader Teacher 'It has touched me in a way I can't express... Breath-taking' Ceridwen Eccles, primary teacher and blogger at Teacher Glitter A ship. A garden. A library. In Kaleidoscope, the incomparable Brian Selznick presents the story of two people bound to each other through time and space, memory and dreams. At the centre of their relationship is a mystery about the nature of grief and love which will look different to each reader. Kaleidoscope is a feat of storytelling that illuminates how even the wildest tales can help us in the hardest times. Brian Selznick's first book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, was the winner of the esteemed Caldecott Medal, the first novel to do so, as the Caldecott Medal is for picture books Released as a live-action film Hugo in 2011, directed by Martin Scorsase and starring Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Jude Law, Sacha Baron Cohen, Richard Griffiths, Ray Winstone, and Christopher Lee. Brian Selznick's second book, Wonderstruck, was also made into a feature film, starring Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams

The fate of feudal Japan hangs in the balance in this bloody conclusion to the epic Blood Ninja trilogy.
Taro is at a crossroads: He has vanquished Lord Oda for good, but with no land and no title, he has no hope of marrying Hana, the daughter of a "daimyo." So when Taro receives news of a murderous dragon and the large reward for killing it, he and his friends find themselves on a dangerous quest to slay the beast.
Their mission has the potential to save the people of Japan--but failure will result in the deaths of thousands. And dragons are not the only monsters they will encounter: The dead, led by the odious Kenji Kira, have begun to rise, and they have Taro in their sights.
In this heart-stopping conclusion to the Blood Ninja trilogy, the future of all feudal Japan is in danger, and everything Taro holds dear will be threatened. But it is the betrayal of flesh and blood--his "own" flesh and blood--that may be his ultimate undoing.

Penguin Readers is an ELT graded reader series for learners of English as a foreign language. With carefully adapted text, new illustrations and language learning exercises, the print edition also includes instructions to access supporting material online. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. The eight levels of Penguin Readers follow the Common European Framework of Reference for language learning (CEFR). Exercises at the back of each Reader help language learners to practise grammar, vocabulary, and key exam skills. Before, during and after-reading questions test readers' story comprehension and develop vocabulary. Brooklyn, a Level 5 Reader, is B1 in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to four clauses, introducing present perfect continuous, past perfect, reported speech and second conditional. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear regularly. When Eilis gets a job in Brooklyn, New York, she leaves her family in Ireland to travel to a new country. It is an exciting adventure, with lots of new people and things to learn, but Eilis misses Ireland. When she meets someone special, Eilis must choose between her past and her future. Visit the Penguin Readers website Exclusively with the print edition, readers can unlock online resources including a digital book, audio edition, lesson plans and answer keys.

Can Marcel make the ride of his life? Marcel loves riding his bicycle, whether he's racing through the streets of his small town in France or making bread deliveries for his parents' bakery. He dreams of someday competing in the Tour de France, the greatest bicycle race. But ever since Germany's occupation of France began two years ago, in 1940, the race has been canceled. Now there are soldiers everywhere, interrupting Marcel's rides with checkpoints and questioning. Then Marcel learns two big secrets, and he realizes there are worse things about the war than a canceled race. When he later discovers that his friend's entire family is in imminent danger, Marcel knows he can help -- but it will involve taking a risky bicycle ride to pass along covert information. And when nothing ends up going according to plan, it's up to him to keep pedaling and think quickly... because his friend, her family, and his own future hang in the balance.

Elizabeth Tudor's teenage years are hardly those of a fairy-tale princess. Her father has beheaded her mother; her jealous half sister has her locked away in the Tower of London; and her only love has betrayed her in his own quest for the throne.
Told in the voice of the young Elizabeth and ending when she is crowned queen, this is the second novel in the exciting Young Royals series.

Adventure, history, and the drama of family life intertwine in this engrossing tale of a fifth-grade girl struggling to find her place after her mom remarries and she finds herself stuck with a younger stepbrother. Find out what happens when Ava and her newly blended family take a trip to Boston, where she buys a magic bobblehead and is unexpectedly transported to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. As Ava and her stepbrother, J. P., travel back and forth with John and Abigail Adams and their children, from Massachusetts, to Philadelphia, to the White House, to France, she learns about history, friendship, and how to deal with new situations, including her recently blended family. This sequel to The President and Me: George Washington and the Magic Hat features some of the same characters.

In the fifth and final book in the All-of-A-Kind Family series, Ella, the eldest child of the family, has been offered a stage career by a Broadway talent scout. While Ella wants to sing more than anything else in the world, she finds herself torn between Jules, her beloved fiance who has just returned from World War I, and what's sure to be a tough uphill climb to stardom. Once again, the loving all-of-a-kind-family provides the support needed for Ella to make the right decision.

Born in 1904 on New York's Lower East Side, Sydney Taylor was one of the first authors of children's books centered on Jewish characters, and is especially known for the immensely popular All-of-a-Kind Family series. The Sydney Taylor Book Award is given each year by the Jewish Association of Libraries to a book for young people that authentically portrays the Jewish experience.

In 1707, young Sarah Noble and her father traveled through the wilderness to build a new home for their family. "Keep up your courage, Sarah Noble," her mother had said, but Sarah found that it was not always easy to feel brave inside. The dark woods were full of animals and Indians, too, and Sarah was only eight!

The true story of Sarah's journey is inspiring. And as she cares for her father and befriends her Indian neighbors, she learns that to be afraid and to be brave is the greatest courage of all.

Stories of the Second World War on the Home Front from the bestselling Terry Deary, author of the hugely successful Horrible Histories. A young tearaway unwillingly evacuated to the countryside is unjustly accused of theft. He decides to make his way back home, never mind the Blitz - but he'll need to steal a bike to do it...

Summer 1940. As the cuckoo sings out across the Lake District, life is about to change for ever for local boy Tommy and his friend Sally, the mysterious evacuee girl who lives on the neighbouring farm. When they find a wounded Nazi airman in the woods, Sally persuades Tommy not to report it but to keep the German hidden. This starts a chain of events that leads to the uncovering of secrets about Sally's past and a summer of adventure that neither child will ever forget.