Featuring wonderful new illustrations from Peter Bailey this beautiful fairytale is perfect for readers young and old.

Lila doesn't just want to be a Firework-Maker's daughter, she wants to be a Firework Maker herself. But although she's learned a lot she still must get through the most difficult and dangerous part of her apprenticeship - and her father won't tell her what it is.

In search of this final Firework-Making secret, Lila heads off alone on a journey. It is a journey filled with dangers beyond anything she could have imagined, a journey on which she will learn so much more than the one secret she set out to find . . .

First published in 2006. Part of the Studies in Social History series, this volume looks at leisure and class in Victorian England, 1830-85, including topics of popular recreation, middle class and working class differences and rational recreation for the masses and the case of Victorian Music Halls in the entertainment industry.

First published in 2006. Part of the Studies in Social History series, this volume looks at leisure and class in Victorian England, 1830-85, including topics of popular recreation, middle class and working class differences and rational recreation for the masses and the case of Victorian Music Halls in the entertainment industry.

A beautiful retelling of a classic Greek myth, perfect for fans of Geraldine McCaughrean. When the world was new and the gods ruled the whole of Earth, a large wooden chest was sent to a newly-married couple with a warning not to open it. The chest was hidden away with the thought 'out of sight, out of mind'. But curiosity is a powerful thing and it can't hurt to have one little look... can it? This retelling of the classic Greek myth from Rose Impey has engaging black-and-white illustrations by Peter Bailey and is perfect for children who are developing as readers. The Bloomsbury Guided Reading series is packed with brilliant books to get children reading independently in Key Stage 2, with book-banded stories by award-winning authors like double Carnegie Medal winner Geraldine McCaughrean and Waterstones Prize winner Patrice Lawrence covering a wide range of genres and topics. With charming illustrations and online guided reading notes by the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE), this series is ideal for reading both in the classroom and at home. For more information visit www.bloomsburyguidedreading.com. Book Band: Brown Ideal for ages 7+

Tick, tick, tick, tock. Once you've wound some things up nothing can stop them . . .

It is a cold winter's night when Karl enters the White Horse Tavern looking like he's swallowed a thundercloud. His final task as a clockmaker apprentice is to make a new figure for the great clock of Glockenheim. He has not made the figure - or got any idea of what it could be, and the unveiling is tomorrow.

Fritz is also in the tavern; there to read aloud his new spooky story. Like Karl, he hasn't finished. Well, he knows how the story starts and he knows it's called Clockwork - so, with the snow swirling down outside, he sets his story going and just has to hope that the ending will come to him as he tells it.

Suddenly, Fritz's story and real life merge in a completely sinister way - and just like clockwork it can't be stopped . . .

Lively and innovative, these well-illustrated essays on the making of the Victorian entertainment industry get inside the popular experience of the pub, music-hall, theater and comic press. In this new leisure world, audiences learned how to be performers themselves, adopting roles and styles appropriate to the unsettling dynamics of the modern city. A major advance in understanding how popular culture actually works, this is a model of the successful integration of the theory and practice of social history and cultural studies.

A king hides a terrible secret under his crown ...A marvellous dream inspires an epic journey ...A clever girl outwits the king. Told in hyper-readable language and with full-colour illustrations, these stories are an ideal first step for children embarking on a lifelong journey through the wonders of books and stories.

A uniquely intimate portrait of Malcolm X not just as a revolutionary leader, but as a complex family man, told through personal stories, memories, and rare family photos from his sister and nephew.

No other book about Malcolm X offers such enlightenment on the man who was not just a great leader, but a beloved brother, cousin, nephew, uncle, father, husband, and friend. As politically relevant today as he was during his lifetime, Malcolm X also remains a controversial figure alternately mythologized and misunderstood.

Ella Little Collins saw her brother Malcolm through some of the most significant times of his life, and knew him better than anyone else. Here she shares her poignant, vivid memories of him. Told to her son, Rodnell, to whom Malcolm was a much-loved uncle and mentor, Seventh Child contains haunting, bitter, as well as joyful recollections, and deeply personal insights.

Seventh Child also provides remarkable details about Malcolm's family genealogy previously unavailable to the general public, and rare family photos—including one of Rodnell with Malcolm the night before his assassination. As informative as it is intimate, Seventh Child adds immeasurably to our knowledge of this complex and extraordinary figure.

Staying with her granny in London, in The War Monkey, Tegan stumbles on a family mystery - a girl called Alice. Was she really killed by a bomb in WWII or is she still alive? Everything depends on a child's toy called Monkey TreeTops Fiction contains a wide range of quality stories enabling children to explore and develop their own reading tastes and interests. It contains stories from a variety of genres including humour, sci-fi, adventure, mystery and historical fiction. These exciting stories are ideal for introducing children to a wide selection of authors and illustrators. There is huge variety to ensure every reader finds books they will enjoy and can read. Books contain inside cover notes to support children in their reading. Help with children's reading development also available at www.oxfordowl.co.uk. The books are finely levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book.

When Sara Crewe is brought from India to attend Miss Minchin's boarding school for girls in London, she arrives looking rather like a princess, with trunks full of the finest clothes. Yet, despite having her own pony and carriage, private room and personal maid, Sara is never a snob to her fellow pupils. Instead, she is kind, thoughtful and generous, and soon she is friends with all the girls there. But when the terrible news of her father's death and failed financial investments arrives, Sara is suddenly left a penniless orphan. She is allowed to stay at the school, but as a servant, and the cruel Miss Minchin starves and ill-treats her. Faced with day after day of endless, exhausting work, Sara relies on her friendships and her imagination to get her through the misery of her circumstances. However, when Mr Carrisford and his assistant Ram Dass arrive from India and move in next door to the school, and warm blankets and delicious food mysteriously begin to appear in Sara's little room in the attic, it looks like her life is about to change for ever... Beautifully illustrated by Peter Bailey, this new edition contains extra material for young readers.

Featuring wonderful new illustrations from Peter Bailey, this intriguing and exciting tale of chance and misfortune by multi award-winning Philip Pullman, is perfect for readers young and old.

I was a Rat! Roger insists, and insists . . . In fact, when Bob the cobbler and his washerwoman wife, Joan, find the young boy abandoned on their doorstep, these are the only words he says. And he does have ratty behaviour, it's true.

Staying with Bob and Joan, however, Roger learns quickly to behave more like a human child. They try to find his parents, but the orphanage, police and hospital all have nothing on their records about a lost boy in the city. What is the truth? As more and more people find out about Roger the mysterious rat-boy he faces more and more danger. But sometimes help comes from the most unexpected of places . . .

Includes brilliant baboon facts! Akimbo loves his life in Africa and the animals that live there. In this newest Akimbo story, a lady comes to study the baboons in the game reserve where Akimbo's father is the head ranger. Akimbo is keen to help and find out all he can about baboons - and in so doing comes closer to a much more dangerous animal

Joan Aiken is justly famous for her Wolves of Willoughby Chase series of novels, but her greatest love was for short stories, which she wrote prolifically throughout her long career: 'Favourite stories, like unexpected presents, are things that you can keep and cherish all your life, carry with you, in memory, in your mind's ear, and bring out, at any time, when you are feeling lonely, or need cheering up, or, like friends, just because you are fond of them.' From a princess who turned into a pirate parrot, to a procession of Father Christmases being chased down Fifth Avenue by a rackety horse and cart; from the ghost of a crusader's dog, to a captured mermaid in a flying machine, there is something for everybody in this enthralling collection. These stories showcase Aiken's unique talents - the way she mixed magic and myth with humour to create a kind of modern fairytale. Her stories will appeal to readers of all ages for many years to come.

The story of a naughty wooden puppet who has a penchant for lying and dreams of becoming a real boy, The Adventures of Pinocchio has entered our collective imagination and fascinated generations of young and adult readers since its first publication in 1883. Part fable, part coming-of-age novel, part cautionary tale, Pinocchio’s rollicking exploits through an unforgiving and often incomprehensible world – populated by unforgettable characters such as the Talking Cricket, Candlewick, Mangiafuoco and the Fairy with Turquoise Hair – have had a profound impact on our culture and attained universal significance as a mirror of the human condition. Here presented in a brand-new and lively translation by Stephen Parkin and illustrated beautifully by Peter Bailey, this edition of The Adventures of Pinocchio brings extra sparkle to one of the greatest and most celebrated works of children’s literature.

After her parents die of cholera in India, Mary Lennox is sent to live with her uncle in his gloomy house in Yorkshire, where she leads a lonely and neglected life, with nothing to do apart from exploring her surroundings. One day she discovers a walled garden which has been locked up, and becomes determined to enter it and find out its secret and the source of the mysterious crying sound that can be heard nearby. A powerful tale of regeneration and personal transformation, The Secret Garden has become one of the most popular children's classics, and has continued to delight generations of young readers.

This lively and highly innovative book reconstructs the texture and meaning of popular pleasure in the Victorian entertainment industry. Integrating theories of language and social action with close reading of contemporary sources, Peter Bailey provides a richly detailed study of the pub, music-hall, theatre and comic newspaper. Analysis of the interplay between entrepreneurs, performers, social critics and audience reveals distinctive codes of humour, sociability and glamour that constituted a new populist ideology of consumerism and the good time. Bailey shows how the new leisure world offered a repertoire of roles that enabled its audience to negotiate the unsettling encounters of urban life. Bailey offers challenging interpretations of respectability, sexuality, and the cultural politics of class and gender in a distinctive, personal voice.

Dora, Oswald, Dicky, Alice, Noel and Horace Octavius ("H.O.") Bastable are desperate to help their widowed father to restore the family's fortunes after his business fails. Their moneymaking schemes, from digging for treasure in their South-London garden to becoming highwaymen on Blackheath, mainly lead to a good deal of trouble, until one adventure promises to change everything...

Four stories of myth, magic and adventure from the master teller of tales

• The Firework Maker's Daughter
• I Was A Rat!
• Clockwork
• The Scarecrow and His Servant

Featuring wonderful new illustrations from Peter Bailey, this brilliantly funny and moving tale by multi-award winning Philip Pullman, is perfect for readers young and old.

One night, during a terrible thunderstorm, a boy named Jack shelters in a barn. The following morning he is confused to find a scarecrow with a turnip head calling out to him. For a moment he thinks he is imagining it. But he isn't, the scarecrow has been struck by lightning in exactly the right way to bring him completely to life.

Jack becomes the scarecrow's personal servant and together they decide to set out and see the world. It is a journey that neither of them could have possibly imagined, filled with adventure - and it will change them both in ways they never expected . . .