It's Monday morning and there's chaos at Maxine's house. Dad's got ketchup on his sleeve and has lost his yellow sock. Mum can't get the car to start. But there's time for a puppet show and maybe even a third piece of marmalade toast, right? Maxine has really got to get a move on!

This hilarious story from rapper, actor and comedian Ben Bailey Smith is perfect for children who are learning to read by themselves and for Key Stage 1. It features engaging illustrations from Mette Engell and hilarious characters young readers will find hard to resist.

Bloomsbury Young Readers are the perfect way to get children reading, with book-banded stories by brilliant authors like Julia Donaldson. They are packed with gorgeous colour illustrations and include inside cover notes to help adults reading with children, as well as ideas for activities related to the stories.

Book Band: Purple
Ideal for ages 6+

From comedian, actor, rapper and screenwriter Ben Bailey Smith comes a blazingly funny, big-hearted story about family, friendship and how far one boy will go to get a laugh. Perfect for fans of David Baddiel and Frank Cottrell-Boyce.

For thirteen-year-old Carmichael Taylor, life is one big joke - in a good way. He just can't understand why no one else seems to find everything as funny as he does.

When Car is filmed stumbling into performing a piece of hilarious stand-up at the school talent show - targeting his family, school and friends - the footage ends up creating international infamy. But with the promise of fame and fortune comes trouble, and it's up to Car to decide what or who he's willing to risk to chase his comedy dream.

Get ready to laugh at life with this heart-warming, unashamedly honest and hilarious look at family, friendship and what really matters.

National Theatre Connections is an annual festival which brings new plays for young people to schools and youth theatres across the UK and Ireland. Commissioning exciting work from leading playwrights, the festival exposes actors aged 13-19 to the world of professional theatre-making, giving them full control of a theatrical production - from costume and set design to stage management and marketing campaigns. NT Connections have published over 150 original plays and regularly works with 500 theatre companies and 10,000 young people each year. This anthology brings together 10 new plays by some of the UK's most prolific and current writers and artists alongside notes on each of the texts exploring performance for schools and youth groups. Salt Life is never plain sailing, but when a new government initiative comes into place offering young people the chance to train and learn skills overseas, droves of teens jump at the chance to secure their future. Once on board the transport ship, the promises of the glossy advert seem a far cry from what lies ahead. A play about generations, choices and hope. Class It's school election time and while most of the school is busy enjoying their lunch break, a deadlock is taking place amongst the members of the school council. Bitter rivalries, secret alliances and false promises are laid bare. As a ruthless battle ensues, who will win and does anyone really care? A play about politics, populism and the 'ping' of a text message. The Sad Club This is a musical about depression and anxiety. It's a collection of monologues, songs and duologues from all over time and space exploring what about living in this world stops us from being happy and how we might go about tackling those problems. Chaos A girl is locked in a room. A boy brings another boy flowers. A girl has tied herself to a railing. A boy doesn't know who he is. A girl worries about impending catastrophe. A woman jumps in front of a train. A boy's heart falls out his chest. A butterfly has a broken wing. Stuff Vinny's organising a surprise birthday party for his mate, Anita. It's not going well: his choice of venue is a bit misguided, Anita's not keen on leaving the house, and everyone else has their own stuff going on. Maybe a surprise party wasn't the best idea? A play about trying (but not really managing) to help. Flesh A group of teenagers wake up in a forest with no clue how they got there. They find themselves separated into two different teams but have no idea what game they are expected to play. With no food, no water and seemingly no chance of escape, it's only a matter of time before things start to get drastic. But whose side are people on and how far will they go to survive? Ageless In a not too distant future, Temples pharmaceutical corporation has quite literally changed the face of ageing. Their miracle drug keeps its users looking perpetually teenage. With an ever youthful population, how can society support those who are genuinely young? The Small Hours It's the middle of the night and Peebs and Epi are the only students left at school over half-term. At the end of their night out, former step-siblings Red and Jazz try to navigate their reunion. With only a couple of hours until morning, Jaffa tries to help Keesh finish an essay. As day breaks, Wolfie is getting up the courage to confess a secret to VJ at a party. Their choices are small yet momentous. The hours are small but feel very, very long. And when the night finally ends, the future is waiting - all of it. terra A group of classmates is torn apart by the opportunity to perform their own dance. As they disagree and bicker, two distinct physical groups emerge and separate into opposing teams. When a strange outsider appears - out of step with everyone else - the divide is disrupted. A contemporary narrative dance piece about individuality, community and heritage. Variations Thirteen-year-old Alice wishes her life was completely different. She wakes up one morning to find that her life is different. In fact, it's so different that all she wants to do is get back to normality. But how does she do that?

A fun, heartwarming animal story, ideal for children practising their reading at home or in school.

Crumbs. That's all that's left in Dan's lunchbox. CRUMBS! Well who's eaten his sandwich? Could it have been Henry the horse? Bill the pig? Or even Bridget the chicken? One thing's for sure, Dan's going to find out just who ate his lovely egg mayonnaise sandwich.

This fun, rhyming story from rapper, actor and comedian Ben Bailey Smith (author of the picture books Bear and Bear Moves) is perfect for children who are learning to read by themselves at Key Stage 1 (KS1). Features dynamic illustrations from Sav Akyüz and fun characters young readers will find hard to resist.

Bloomsbury Young Readers are the perfect way to get children reading, with book-banded, phonically decodable stories by brilliant authors like Julia Donaldson. They are packed with gorgeous colour illustrations and include inside cover notes to help adults reading with children, as well as ideas for activities related to the stories.

With funny word play and bold imagery, actor Ben Bailey Smith and artist Sav Akyuz introduce a trickster to remember. If there's trouble, one thing is certain: Bear was there. In (and out) of his outrageous purple outfit, Bear can do anything - steal honey from the bees, do magic tricks, steal doughnuts from a police officer, and annoy a certain pesky squirrel. This hilarious picture book debut of actor Ben Bailey Smith (aka rapper Doc Brown) and artist Sav Akyuz will keep young mischief-makers in stitches.

Brought to you by Penguin. *A brand new collection of short stories from the incredible Sir Terry Pratchett!* Imagination is an amazing thing. It can take you to the top of the highest mountain, or down to the bottom of the deepest depths of the sea. This where it took Doggins on his Awfully Big Adventure: a quest full of magic and flying machines. (And the world's best joke - trust me, it's hilarious.) It took three young inventors to the moon (where they may or may not have left a bottle of lemonade) and a caveman on a trip to the dentist. You can join them on these adventures, and many more, in this incredible collection of stories . . . From the greatest imagination there ever was. Written for local newspapers when Terry Pratchett was a young lad, these never previously published stories are packed full of anarchic humour and wonderful wit. A must-have for Terry fans . . . and young readers looking for a fix of magic. (c) Terry Pratchett 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Brought to you by Ladybird. Join our intrepid adventurer Otto (and Missy, the smartest bird in the universe) as he embarks on a brand new Ladybird Audio Adventure! On this adventure we're going to discover one of Earth's natural wonders - The Volcano! These audiobooks help children learn about their environment on journey of discovery with the narrators Ben Bailey Smith (a.k.a. Doc Brown, rapper, comedian and writer) and Sophie Aldred (best known for her role as Ace in Doctor Who). Ladybird Audio Adventures is an award-winning original series for four to seven-year-olds; a new, entertaining and engaging way for children to learn about the world around them. These are special stories written exclusively for audio with fun sound and musical effects, perfect for listening at home, before bed and on long journeys. Other books in the Ladybird Audio Adventure series include Dinosaur Times, Deep Sea Dive, Outer Space, Amazing Vehicles, The Animal Kingdom, Rainforests, Creepy Crawlies, On the Farm, The Human Body and The Frozen Planet.

Brought to you by Ladybird. Join our intrepid adventurer Otto (and Missy, the smartest bird in the universe) as he embarks on a brand new Ladybird Audio Adventure! On this adventure we're going to learn about lakes, lochs and rivers - talk about a splash landing! These audiobooks help children learn about their environment on journey of discovery with the narrators Ben Bailey Smith (a.k.a. Doc Brown, rapper, comedian and writer) and Sophie Aldred (best known for her role as Ace in Doctor Who). Ladybird Audio Adventures is an award-winning original series for four to seven-year-olds; a new, entertaining and engaging way for children to learn about the world around them. These are special stories written exclusively for audio with fun sound and musical effects, perfect for listening at home, before bed and on long journeys. Other books in the Ladybird Audio Adventure series include Dinosaur Times, Deep Sea Dive, Outer Space, Amazing Vehicles, The Animal Kingdom, Rainforests, Creepy Crawlies, On the Farm, The Human Body and The Frozen Planet.

Brought to you by Ladybird. Join our intrepid adventurers Otto and Cassandra (and Missy, the smartest bird in the Universe) as they embark on a brand new Ladybird Audio Adventure! In this adventure Otto and Missy are off to explore the Frozen World. Setting course for the Artic and Antarctica they discover Penguins, Orca's and Seals, and a whole lot of snow! Now if they can just figure out how to get the heating going in Otto's teleporter they'll be able to get back home! These audiobooks help children learn about their environment on journey of discovery with the narrators Ben Bailey Smith (aka Doc Brown, rapper, comedian and writer) and Sophie Aldred (best known for her role as Ace in Doctor Who). Ladybird Audio Adventures is an original series for 4-to 7-year-olds; a new, entertaining and engaging way for children to learn about the world around them. These are special stories written exclusively for audio with fun sound and musical effects, perfect for listening at home, before bed and on long journeys. Other books in the Ladybird Audio Adventure series include Dinosaur Times, Deep Sea Dive, Outer Space, Amazing Vehicles, The Animal kingdom, On the Farm, Creepy Crawlies, The Human Body and Rainforests. (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Brought to you by Ladybird. Join our intrepid adventurers Otto and Cassandra (and Missy, the smartest bird in the Universe) as they embark on a brand new Ladybird Audio Adventure! In this adventure Otto and Missy are off to experience life on the Farm. Pulling on their Wellington boots they are going to discover all sorts of animals and some very clever sheepdog! Missy has always wanted to drive a Combine Harvester! These audiobooks help children learn about their environment on journey of discovery with the narrators Ben Bailey Smith (aka Doc Brown, rapper, comedian and writer) and Sophie Aldred (best known for her role as Ace in Doctor Who). Ladybird Audio Adventures is an original series for 4-to 7-year-olds; a new, entertaining and engaging way for children to learn about the world around them. These are special stories written exclusively for audio with fun sound and musical effects, perfect for listening at home, before bed and on long journeys. Other books in the Ladybird Audio Adventure series include Dinosaur Times, Deep Sea Dive, Outer Space, Amazing Vehicles, The Animal kingdom, Rainforests, Creepy Crawlies, The Human Body and The Frozen Planet. Winner of The FutureBook of the Year Award 2019. (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Everyone's favourite purple bear is back and bolder than ever in this laugh-out-loud page turner from Ben Bailey Smith and Sav Akyuz.

With funny word play and bold imagery, actor Ben Bailey Smith and artist Sav Akyuz have created a Bear to remember. If there's one thing Bear knows, it's how to move. And when the music starts up, Bear just can't help grooving to the beat - spinning round, belly dancing and even doing the foxtrot. This infectiously rhythmic and hilariously funny sequel to I Am Bear will keep readers in stitches from start to finish.

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Dinosaur Times read by Ben Bailey-Smith.

Join our eccentric explorer, Otto, as we travel back in time on a Ladybird Audio Adventure! Discover dinosaurs and other ancient creatures in this fact-filled journey into the past. Turn the sound up and join the adventure!

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Outer Space read by Ben Bailey-Smith.

Join our eccentric explorer, Otto, as we blast off into outer space on a Ladybird Audio Adventure!

Discover planets, stars and moons in this fact-filled journey through the solar system.

Turn the sound up and join the adventure!