Archie’s Unbelievably Freaky Week – by Andrew Norriss, illustrated by Hannah Shaw

They’re back in another lol book: the accident prone Archie Coates with a gift for getting into scrapes, Cyd, the omniscient friend with a gift for sorting things out and Archie’s Mum, the maternal Victor Meldrew who despairingly refuses to believe the amount of trouble that one child can get into. Join them in a series of hilarious new adventures that will have you doubled up with laughter.

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The Onion’s Great Escape – by Sara Fanelli

The Onion’s Great Escape, the latest children’s book written by the gifted and multi-award winning artist, Sara Fanelli and published by Phaidon, is not just one picture book; rather like the onion which it depicts, it is actually several layered books functioning simultaneously between one set of covers.

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The Hunger Games – by Suzanne Collins

Published by Scholastic in 2008, this dystopian novel aimed at young adult readers sold nearly 1 million copies in its first 18 months. Now part of a trilogy, it has won multiple awards and in March 2012 became an instant box office hit when it was released as a film. It poses some thought-provoking questions – how far would you go to survive and protect the people that you love? Would you show mercy or allow yourself to feel compassion if doing so made you vulnerable?

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Charles Dickens: A Lifetime of Storytelling; A Legacy of Change

Published by Templar and written by Catherine Wells-Cole, this detailed book is a cornucopia of information which will satisfy even the most inquisitive young mind. It forms part of Templar’s Historical Notebook series.

 

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Spirit of the Titanic – by Nicola Pierce

Produced by O’Brien Press, this story takes a unique angle on the enduring Titanic story. The central character, Samuel Scott, worked at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast where Titanic, the pride of the White Star Line, was built. Of the seventeen men who died during its construction, it is believed that Samuel, aged just 15, was the first to die after he fractured his skull in a fall. Just a couple of months after this book was published in May 2011, his unmarked grave in Belfast City Cemetery was given a headstone, 101 years after his death.

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Charles Dickens: Scenes from an Extraordinary Life – by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom

Anyone who is familiar with Manning and Granstrom’s work will welcome this book as yet another stunning example of their meticulous research, detailed art work and highly informative text.  Each opening describes part of the story of Charles Dickens’ life, from his birth in Portsmouth via his father’s incarceration in Marshalsea debtor’s prison to the development of his career from reporter to world-famous author.
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I Don’t Believe it, Archie! – by Andrew Norriss, illustrated by Hannah Shaw

To borrow the parlance of the texting generation, this is an lol book – every page will make you laugh out loud.  It recounts just one eventful week in the life of Archie, a week in which he leaves home to run simple errands and finds himself embroiled in one adventure after another.  He unwittingly saves his local library from closure, but only after being super glued to the door handles.

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Taff in the WAAF – by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom

This book is every bit as absorbing as its companion volume Tail-End Charlie.  Written in the first person, it tells the story of Mick Manning’s mother, who decided to leave her greengrocer’s job in Wales to join the WAAF, eventually becoming a listener in the Bletchley Park code-breaking team. After sixty years of silence, she now tells her compelling and very personal story. Read Full Review

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Too Much Trouble – by Tom Avery

Unspoken menace stalks almost every chapter of this book. A modern day version of Oliver Twist, it tells the story of brothers Emmanuel and Prince Anatole and deals with the very contemporary issues of child immigration, gun crime and street survival. The brothers find their secure lives suddenly dislocated when violence threatens their African homeland.

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Titanic: A Very Peculiar History, with added iceberg – Jim Pipe, illustrated by David Antram

Prepare for an information explosion with every turn of the page when you read Titanic, A Very Peculiar History. If you like facts, lots of facts, then this is definitely a book for you. The story of the Titanic from planning to building to sinking is told in narrative form. Interspersed text boxes provide information about everything from the design and construction of the ship to the vast quantities of food which were taken on board, the animals who travelled and those few lucky people who missed the boat and so lived to tell the tale.
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