WHY YOU SHOULD READ CHILDREN'S BOOKS, EVEN THOUGH YOU ARE SO OLD AND WISE

CARTWHEELING IN THUNDERSTORMS

Wilhelmina Silver's world is golden. Living on an African farm with her horse, her monkey, and her best friend, every day is beautiful. But when her home is sold and Will is sent away to boarding school in England, the world becomes impossibly difficult. Lions and hyenas are nothing compared to packs of vicious schoolgirls. Where can a girl run to in London? And will she have the courage to survive?

THE EXPLORER

Fred has always dreamed of becoming an explorer, but when his plane crashes into the Amazon Jungle, he is suddenly left without a choice. With no hope of rescue, the chance of getting home, with the three other children he was travelling with, feels impossibly small. Except, it seems, someone has been there before them...

THE GOOD THIEVES

Fresh off the boat from England, Vita Marlowe has a job to do. Her grandfather has been cheated out of his home and possessions by a notorious conman with Mafia connections. So she devises a plan to outwit his enemies and recover his home. A young pickpocket, working the streets of the city, and two boys with highly unusual skills and secrets of their own are about to be pulled into her lawless, death-defying plan.

IMPOSSIBLE CREATURES

Christopher is stunned when he discovers a passage to the Archipelago: a cluster of magical islands where all the creatures of myth still live and breed and thrive in their thousands. There he meets Mal: a girl from the islands, who is in possession of a flying coat and a baby griffin, and who is being pursued by a killer. Together they embark on an urgent quest to discover why the creatures are suddenly perishing, voyaging across the wild splendour of the Archipelago, where sphinxes hold secrets and centaurs do murder, in a bid to save both the islands and the world beyond them from a rising evil - before it's too late.

ONE CHRISTMAS WISH

It's Christmas Eve, and Theo - left at home with a babysitter - sees an odd-looking star out of his window and decides to make a wish. He wishes that he had some friends to keep him company. Moments later the Christmas decorations begin to disentangle themselves from the tree behind him, ready to wreak a little havoc....

ROOFTOPPERS

Everyone tells Sophie she was orphaned in a shipwreck. But Sophie is convinced her mother also survived. So she sets out to prove them wrong. On the run from the authorities, Sophie finds the rooftoppers - children who live in the skies of Paris. Will they help her find her mother, before it's too late?

SKYSTEPPERS

High above the streets of Paris live the rooftoppers, a secret gang of children who eat, sleep and tumble amongst the chimney pots. But for Matteo and Mercedes the adventure is only just beginning, as the pair find themselves on a wild hunt across Paris - tearing over the roofs in search of hidden treasure in a race against an enemy who would seek to destroy that which they love best.

THE WOLF WILDER

Feodora lives in the snowbound woods of Russia. Feo's mother is a wolf wilder, she teaches tamed animals to fend for themselves, and to fight and to run, and to be wary of humans. When the murderous hostility of the Russian Army threatens their very existence, Feo is left with no option but to go on the run.

THE ZEBRA'S GREAT ESCAPE

Mink doesn't believe in rules. She loves running wild and free. So, when a zebra appears in the square where she lives and she finds out that his parents have been captured by the evil Mr Spit, she knows that it's up to her to help. So begins a grand adventure to rescue a whole menagerie of animals - an adventure that will take all of Mink's courage and determination. Written with generous helpings of warmth and humour, this is a timeless book about bravery, friendship and the importance of taking action.