Primary English

Whether it's waking up to find toads in their shoes, becoming trapped on the roof, or searching for cheese when their cow only makes lemonade, the Pepin family always seems to get into the most bizarre scrapes. Lucky for them, they have an author with large psychic antennae and great problem-solving listeners who can join the Pepins on their hilarious adventures. And they need all the help they can get!

Richard Peck is a master of stories about people in transition, but perhaps never before has he told a tale of such dramatic change as this one, set during the first year of the Civil War. The whole country is changing in 1861, even the folks from a muddy little Illinois settlement on the banks of the Mississippi. Here, 15-year-old Tilly Pruitt frets over the fact that her brother is dreaming of being a soldier and that her sister is prone to supernatural visions.

The shock of icy water as a boat crashes onto rocks feels real; so does the castle high above him that is almost hidden in the mists. And what about the number 11 woven into all those dreams? The papers Sam finds in the locked box in the attic may hold the answers - if only he could read them.

Little Willy has a big job to do. When his grandfather falls ill, it is up to Willy alone to save their farm from the tax collector. He enters the National Dogsled Race, where he must beat the Indian Stone Fox and his five beautiful Samoyed dogs.

The first British major success of World War II was when the Royal Navy forced the preying pocket battleship, Graf Spee, to scuttle at sea. Hitler had ordered a blockade of the British Isles and for some months German U-boats and warships caused havoc among allied merchant shipping carrying vital supplies.

My story starts the day that my parents told me we must leave our adopted home forever. Because of the soldiers and the drought we barely had enough to eat and we could no longer stay to help the people in our village.

Growing up in far-off India, wealthy young heiress Lady Victoria Arbuthnot is accustomed to handling her own affairs. But in her sixteenth year, Vicky is unceremoniously shipped off to London to find a husband. She may be in a strange new city, but Vicky knows one thing: her own mind. And she has decided that handsome, worldly Hugo Rothschild will suit her needs admirably in the matrimonial department.

Kevin is trying to remember what he's supposed to do if there's an intruder in the house: stay calm, don't look scared, call 911. At the same time, he's doing his best to figure out how the heck some guy with a bow and arrow got into the room. The archer's explanation - "I lost my balance, fell off the tiger, and landed here" - just adds to Kevin's bewilderment.

This classic children's story is written from the view point of the horse. Ben Fogle, children's television presenter on animal programmes, gives it an enthusiastic read. Great for all children who love horses.

This is a full-cast performance with comprehensive commentary and analysis, enabling any student to fully understand and appreciate the novel. Orwell's political fable is told from the viewpoint of its key characters, the animals, who are quizzed and questioned about how "some animals are more equal than others" in this vibrant guided drama.

Olivia Kidney's new apartment building is crazy! Talking lizards crawling everywhere. An exiled princess haunting the hallways. A tropical rainforest growing in 7B. Even an apartment made entirely of glass!

Amen "Amie" McBee, the youngest of five sisters, gobbles up words the way other children gobble up sweets. She couldn't be more different from her elder twin sisters Arabella and Annabella, called the Bellas. The mischievous Bellas constantly frighten Amen with stories of Mr. Tominski, the old recluse who lives in the woods nearby and mysteriously tends to a flock of doves.

Toby Stephens takes us back to the world of cunning, adventure, mishap, and fun. Sheherezade, night after night, weaves her tales and Aladdin and his Magic Lamp, Sinbad the Sailor, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, and other tales come alive. The unforgettable music of Rimsky-Korsakov sets the scene perfectly. A delightful treat for young listeners.

Twelve-year-old Rory is an artist like her father. Through a hundred drawing lessons, he has guided her hand, trained her eye, taught her how to mix colors and achieve perspective. Together they plan to paint a beautiful mural for Rory's mother, maybe a sunset, because she always misses the real sunset while she's at her job, supporting the family. Rory goes to find her father in his studio so she can show him her sketch for the mural. But when she arrives, she finds him kissing his model.

Nicholas's father grew up in Brooklyn, but you'd hardly know it. An Italian dinner at Nicholas's house in the suburbs is whole wheat pasta, organic tomato sauce, and, if he's lucky, a tofu meatball. And Brooklyn? Well, Brooklyn is the place his father left and never talks about. Nicholas has never been there, and he doesn't want to go now.

A tattered scarecrow stands in the middle of a muddy field, taking no notice of the violent thunderstorm around him. But when a bolt of lightning strikes him, fizzing its way through his turnip head and down his broomstick, the Scarecrow blinks with surprise, and comes to life.

Esme tells us about the night she and her mother became "egg vigilantes" against an illegally parked car; her freewheeling first school, where kids sat on sofas instead of at desks and could choose disco dancing instead of math; her dangerous neighborhood, which her father made seem friendly and wondrous; the Passover dinner when she stole a matzoh right out from under a rabbi; the awe-inspiring, life-threatening Chicago snowstorms; and lessons about love from tea-reading gypsies and Popeye cartoons.

I'm Lucy Rose, and here's the thing about this summer: I am big on fun and big on plans. I am desperate to make a lanyard keychain, and Jonique is feeling the same about potholders. Plus I have to get rid of 78 or more squirrels that are climbing all over Madam and Pop's apricot tree and taking bites out of the puny fruits and flinging them to the ground which is maddening to Madam who wants to make them into jam. The apricots, not the squirrels.

Specky comes face to face with a tough, talented player by the name of Derek "Screamer" Johnson. He was responsible for having Specky sent off during a game last season. The two boys become bitter rivals, and when a popular TV show runs a nationwide football contest, Specky is relieved when everyone except Screamer decides to enter.

Pattie Mae adores and admires Uncle Buddy. He unsettles the dust and brings fresh ideas to Rehobeth Road. But when Buddy's deliberate inattention to the protocol of 1947 North Carolina lands him in jail for a crime against a white woman that he didn't commit, Pattie Mae and her family are suddenly set to journeying on the long, hard road that leads from loss and rage to forgiveness and pride.