Chess prodigy Sophie Peshka inherited her love of the game from her grandmaster father. But now that he has been imprisoned in the dungeons of the Winter Palace in St Petersburg by powerful Empress Catherine the Great, Sophie must use all her strategic skill and cunning to help him escape. Part of Sophie's plan involves an incredible chess-playing automaton called the Clockwork Queen, but will the Queen be able to outwit the Empress in a game where the stakes are a matter of life and death?

Twins Kitty and Harris Hawk have grown up at the airfield where their father works as an engineer. Kitty in particular is obsessed with the idea of becoming an aeronaut but her father thinks children should stay firmly on the ground. When the twins discover a strange and unusually large egg from which a dragon hatches, little do they imagine that this is the first step on a journey that will see them taking to the skies and competing in the first long-distance air race. Can they win the huge prize that's at stake and will their daring adventure lead their father to change his mind about Kitty's future?

Nature loving Finn's life has been turned upside down by a move to the city. All he can see are dull, grey buildings. But Grandpa has a surprise in store: his allotment! By introducing Finn to his allotment, Finn reconnects with the natural world: he's amazed to discover a hibernating hedgehog, whom he befriends, and learns to care for a fox. There is, after all, nature in the city! A beautifully detailed picture book with a directory of wildlife for spotting in the story, as well as dedicated hedgehog and fox fact pages.

The city of Paris wanted to tear down the Eiffel Tower! Gustave Eiffel, an engineer and amateur scientist, had built the incredible structure for the 1889 World's Fair. Created using cutting-edge technology, it stood taller than any other building in the world! More than a million delighted people flocked to visit it during the fair. But the officials wondered, beyond being a spectacle, what is it good for? It must come down! But Eiffel loved his tower. He crafted a clever plan to make the tower too useful to tear down. He would turn it into "a laboratory such as science has never had at its disposal". As the date for the tower's demolition approached, Eiffel raced to prove its worth. Could science save the Eiffel Tower?

The city of Paris wanted to tear down the Eiffel Tower! Gustave Eiffel, an engineer and amateur scientist, had built the incredible structure for the 1889 World's Fair. Created using cutting-edge technology, it stood taller than any other building in the world! More than a million delighted people flocked to visit it during the fair. But the officials wondered, beyond being a spectacle, what is it good for? It must come down! But Eiffel loved his tower. He crafted a clever plan to make the tower too useful to tear down. He would turn it into "a laboratory such as science has never had at its disposal". As the date for the tower's demolition approached, Eiffel raced to prove its worth. Could science save the Eiffel Tower?

Since learning about climate change at school, Nathan keeps having a dream about a polar bear and he can't figure out why. The polar bear seems to want something from Nathan, but he's only a nine-year-old boy and there's nothing he can do to help - or so Nathan believes ... Reflect is a series of emotionally powerful fiction and non-fiction with realistic settings, carefully crafted to promote thoughtful discussions and develop higher-level reading comprehension. Written by top authors and developed with Literacy expert Nikki Gamble, these are books you can trust to engage, entertain and support children's personal development and wellbeing. The books are finely levelled, making it easy to match every child to books with the right depth and complexity, and helping them to progress. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children deepen their understanding and support their reading comprehension. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links to Relationships Education and support literacy skills.

"A rip-roaring, soul-stirring adventure... Utterly enchanting!" Katharine Orton, author of Nevertell "Ghosts, pirates and the quiet power of friendship and kindness." Sarah Baker, author of Through the Mirror Door A funny and imaginative adventure about searching for lost treasure and finding friendship along the way, with beautiful black-and-white illustrations by Lia Visirin. Treasure isn't always where you expect to find it... River likes to go mooncatching, sweeping his net across the reflection of the night sky in the village pond. But when he accidentally wakes the ghost of Mona Brightly, River must find Mona's lost treasure before the ghost of the dastardly pirate Dashbuckle gets there first. This is classic children's storytelling at its best - with lively characters and a whole lot of heart.

Magic and mischief abound in this captivating collection. Meet the cheeky kappa from Japan, a clever duende from the Philippines and the loyal foletto of Florence, all fairy creatures who can help or hinder humans as they please.

Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available. Matt and Alex and their little sister Lizzie have returned to England from their fun-filled holiday in India. Accompanying them is their young ayah, Jamila. The day after they return home, the children wake to find Jamila gone. Who made her leave? Where did she go? She is alone and penniless in a new country and the children know they must find her. And so, the search for the ayah begins. Pearl/Band 18 books offer fluent readers a complex, substantial text with challenging themes to facilitate sustained comprehension, bridging the gap between a reading programme and longer chapter books. Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.