When a king and a queen promise to marry their daughter Lucia to the man who can show them the most wonderful thing in the world, suitors descend on the palace bearing gifts. Roses, jewels and exotic birds; dancing girls, wind machines and mythical beasts – but nothing feels quite right. As the last suitor leaves, his weapons of mass destruction rejected, the king and queen are exhausted. But when a shy, young man, who isn’t a suitor at all, steps forward, they finally understand what the most wonderful thing in the world really is. Vivian French’s masterful retelling of a forgotten story is both funny and heart-warming, and Angela Barrett’s breathtaking illustrations give life to an enchanting and romantic fairytale city.

    

    And this is her folk tale. And pretty much everything you need to know about how good this is, is there on that absolutely gorgeously delightful cover above. By the end of it, you’ll have exactly the same smile as Hilda has.”— Forbidden PlanetHilda sits in her tent listening to the thunder passing overhead when she hears a bell. As she hurtles towards the vanishing tinkling sound, Hilda unwittingly embarks on an adventure into strange worlds ruled by magical forces. Luke Pearson tells this exciting tale for kids and adults alike.

    Before long he began to see things differently from the other bats who from dawn to sunset never opened their eyes. The Bat-Poet is the story of how he tried to make the other bats see the world his way.With illustrations by Maurice Sendak, The Bat-Poet—a New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book selection—is a collection of the bat's own poems and the bat's own world: the owl who almost eats him; the mockingbird whose irritable genius almost overpowers him; the chipmunk who loves his poems, and the bats who can't make heads or tails of them; the cardinals, blue jays, chickadees, and sparrows who fly in and out of Randall Jarrell's funny, lovable, truthful fable.

    We weren't even meant to be outside, not in a blackout, and definitely not when German bombs had been falling on London all month like pennies from a jar.*WINNER* BOOKS ARE MY BAG MIDDLE GRADE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017*WINNER* LEEDS BOOK AWARDS 2018WATERSTONES CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE MONTH MAY 2017THE BOOKSELLER EDITOR'S 9-12 PICK OF THE MONTHTHE TIMES CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEKFebruary, 1941. After months of bombing raids in London, twelve-year-old Olive Bradshaw and her little brother Cliff are evacuated to the Devon coast. The only person with two spare beds is Mr Ephraim, the local lighthouse keeper. But he's not used to company and he certainly doesn't want any evacuees.Desperate to be helpful, Olive becomes his post-girl, carrying secret messages (as she likes to think of the letters) to the villagers. But Olive has a secret of her own. Her older sister Sukie went missing in an air raid, and she's desperate to discover what happened to her. And then she finds a strange coded note which seems to link Sukie to Devon, and to something dark and impossibly dangerous.

    If her life were fictional, she'd magically know how to deal with the fact that her best friend, Anibal Gomez, has abandoned her in favor of being a "hipster." She'd be able to take care of everyone when her dad has to spend time in the hospital. And she'd certainly be able to change her family's secret.Seventh grade is not turning out the way Mysti had planned. With the help of a hot-air balloon, her new friend Rama Khan, and a bright orange coat, can she find the courage to change?

    HIJKLMNOP spell all the words for the things we see. QRSTUV, W's a tricky one, then XY and Z !Captivate and cultivate the imagination while teaching the letters from A to Z. Curious kids can take a trip through the alphabet stopping to see amazing asteroids and big-bellied bats, to row down a rainbow river and meet a yellow yak along the way!A great tool to teach the alphabet at home or in the classroom. Full page, colour pictures where all letters appear in upper and lower case with a fun example of both, easy to remember and identify. ABCs have never been so fun and interesting.WORDS: 105PAGES: 28LEVEL: Toddler, Pre-school, Primary School

    How she wished her hair was straight and smooth like Amma’s and Appa’s and her brother Avnish’s. Their parents had adopted the two of them when she was three-and-a-half years old and Avnish a six-month-old baby. Avantika often wonders if their birth mother had curly hair.There are so many questions in her head, the school year has started with hair-raising troubles and Amma is busy at work. Avantika finds a confidante in the mysterious paati she meets in the park.

    Perfect for fans of Alvin Schwartz and anyone who relishes a good creepy read-alone or read-aloud story. Features an introduction and commentary by the curators, and illustrations and decorations throughout.

    His curiosity is kindled by hydro-turbines and a tidal-powered city where he attends school. Earth's endless clean power drives his intellect; while the hills free his adventurous spirit. Susie, the cat, narrates as the watchful conscience to Andy. But, has Andy's love of adventure taken him too far this time?

    Explore the many ways these women built, enriched, and saved the wizarding world, and get inspired by their stories in this compelling handbook--a must-have for fans!

    In the seaside village of Frip live three families: the Romos, the Ronsens, and a little girl named Capable and her father. The economy of Frip is based solely on goat’s milk, and this is a problem because the village is plagued by gappers: bright orange, many-eyed creatures the size of softballs that love to attach themselves to goats. When a gapper gets near a goat, it lets out a high-pitched shriek of joy that puts the goats off giving milk, which means that every few hours the children of Frip have to go outside, brush the gappers off their goats, and toss them into the sea. The gappers have always been everyone’s problem, until one day they get a little smarter, and instead of spreading out, they gang up: on Capable’s goats. Free at last of the tyranny of the gappers, will her neighbors rally to help her? Or will they turn their backs, forcing Capable to bear the misfortune alone? Featuring fifty-two haunting and hilarious illustrations by Lane Smith and a brilliant story by George Saunders that explores universal themes of community and kindness, The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip is a rich and resonant story for those that have all and those that have not.

    When the 77 dwarfs who live there invite her to stay, it seems like a perfect solution--at first. But with 77 dinners to make, 77 lunches to pack and 77 little hats to wash, Snow White begins to wonder if she's bitten off more than she can chew...

    One day as she delivers lace to the palace, she is almost trampled by a crowd of courtiers -- only to be rescued by Marie Antoinette. Before Isabelle can believe it, she has a new job -- companion to the queen's daughter. Isabelle is given a fashionable name, fashionable dresses -- a new identity. At home she plies her needle under her grandmother's disapproving eye. At the palace she is playmate to a princess.Thrown into a world of luxury, Isabelle is living a fairy-tale life. But this facade begins to crumble when rumors of starvation in the countryside lead to whispers of revolution. How can Isabelle reconcile the ugly things she hears in the town with the kind family she knows in the palace? And which side is she truly on? Inspired by an actual friendship between the French princess and a commoner who became her companion, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley offers a vivid portrait of life inside the palace of Versailles -- and a touching tale of two friends divided by class and the hunger for equality and freedom that fueled the French Revolution.

    The smoothly told story contains the familiar details and a happy ending in which Cinderella forgives her stepfamily." - The Horn Book Club -"This satisfying tale never grows old. Koopman's illustrations are jewel-toned and Cinderella herself is attractive as a person and figure." - Yellow Brick Road -