New Releases by Gillian Cross

Homer''s great story is retold with simplicity and style, and brought to life in stunning illustrations. It charts the ten year epic voyage of Odysseus as he returns from the Trojan War to his homeland of Ithaca. On his journey he encounters all manner of perils, from the man-eating Cyclops to the deadly lure of the Sirens.

When a princess is sent away to begin a new life, little does she know what lies in store . . . Discover how this heroine, cruelly tricked by her evil maid, struggles to prove her innocence to the handsome prince she is destined to marry. This story is a magic bean. It may not look much like a bean, but I can promise you that it is. For if you plant it in a young mind, it will grow into a love of story and reading. These beans are favourite fairytales and legends that will delight, thrill and thoroughly entertain. Each story has been brilliantly crafted by one of the best-loved writers for children. This story was published by David Fickling Books as part of the Magic Beans anthology. The complete anthology is available in hardback and in ebook format.

Khadija ist schön. Und fremd in London, wo sie arbeitet, um ihre Familie in Somalia zu unterstützen. Doch dann wird das Mädchen mit dem Kopftuch auf der Straße angesprochen - von einer englischen Designerin, die sie als Model engagieren möchte. Für eine originelle Show, die mitten in der somalischen Wüste stattfinden soll. Khadija steckt in einem Zwiespalt: Als somalisches Mädchen darf sie sich nicht präsentieren, doch die hohe Gage ist allzu verlockend ... Eine bewegende Geschichte über ein Mädchen, das zwischen den Kulturen lebt, und ihren Weg finden muss

When Ashley climbs up and graffiti tags a wall in the middle of the night, she has no idea how serious the consequences will be. Someone sees her, someone dangerous. Now Ashley is being watched... and followed. This classroom favourite by Gillian Cross is now available in a Rollercoasters edition.

Identity and secrets. People smuggling and kidnapping. Family alliances and bitter enmity. Fashion and falsehoods. In this powerful coming-of-age novel three friends will have to face harsh truths about their world. However painful or dangerous it may be...

A compilation of three slightly chilling tales includes "Dracula''s Daughter," in which a family adopts the baby on their doorstep and enjoys bringing her up, though her teeth grow sharp and pointed until Dracula comes to claim her for his own.

Word count 10,300 Suitable for younger learners

The thrilling conclusion of a groundbreaking trilogy has arrived. Robert journeyed through a strange parallel world with the help of a tiny band of fellow survivors. Now home, Robert, with his best friend, Tom, and sister, Emma, are desperate to save the others before winter sets in and cold destroys their fragile existence. But the three friends discover a sinister connection between their own and the parallel world?a darkness that will test their courage, their friendship, and their hope for the future. Seamlessly blending fantasy with a hard-hitting tale of love and survival, Gillian Cross weaves the final tale in a startlingly original, spellbinding series.

Brother Aelred loved singing and looking after the pigs. But it was his secret weapon that stopped invading Vikings from getting the monastery''s treasure.

Robert has come back from a horrible ordeal in a strange parallel world. Now he can’t stop thinking about the people he left behind to face a winter that most won’t survive. When Robert sees a chance to save his friend Lorn, he is desperate to succeed. But is he prepared for the realities of her world? Meanwhile, Lorn struggles to lead the little band of survivors, even as she feels herself drawn to a secret tunnel where an unknown menace lurks. Seamlessly blending fantasy with a hard-hitting survival tale, Gillian Cross has created a completely original psychological thriller.

Robert macht sich Sorgen um die Gemeinschaft der äWinzlingeä, denen ein eiskalter todbringender Winter in ihrer unterirdischen Höhle bevorsteht. Ob er sie zusammen mit seiner Schwester und seinem Freund Tom, der ihm erst kein Wort glaubt, retten kann? Ab 11.

The House that Jack Built - Jack builds a new house for his family. But is it big enough? Sam Sorts it Out - Sam likes inventing things to sort out problems. Batter, Splatter! - An important visitor comes to school when the children are making pancakes. Something So Big - The flowerpot hasn''t been watered so Bill Hooley sets off to find out why. The Samosa Thief - Who keeps stealing the samosas? The twins find a way to discover the thief. The Mole who was Scared of the Dark- Most moles like living in long, dark tunnels. But one little mole was scared. * Bookbanded for easy classroom management. * Reading notes for parents/carers on the inside covers. Guided reading cards and teaching notes also available

Two young people discover unknown strengths inside themselves when one is kidnapped and the other tries to save him.

Everyone at school is trying to win the computer game, Octopus dare. Dinah is the only one good enough to beat the computer but she forgets who she is when she looks into the eyes of the octopus. 8 yrs+

A trip to brush his teeth in an airplane bathroom ends with Robert waking up naked in a strange, cold jungle having been shrunk to a diminutive size.

All the knowledge in the world is being snatched away by the Green Hand organisation. When Dinah and SPLAT investigate, they discover the Hyperbrain, a machine with a controller who sounds horribly like the Demon Headmaster.

William and his brother are desperate to have a tree house in the grand old tree at the bottom of the garden. Their father has to go away, but is determined that the tree house should be built. So every month he sends a parcel home to the boys - a parcel containing things they''ll need for the tree house. But will their father be home in time for Christmas - in time to join them in the tree house to eat the chestnuts that are growing there . . . Gillian Cross has won many major awards including the Carnegie Medal, the Smarties Prize, and the Whitbread Award.

Buddy hates to write and is unhappy about having to keep a nature diary for a week until he decides to survey the night sky and discovers something weird in his neighbor''s backyard that makes for a truly interesting diary.

When John, an explosives expert, dies in an accident in Russia, his sister Hayley and his friend Annie go there to mourn. Before long they begin to suspect that there is more to John''s death than meets the eye, and that certain people are desperately trying to keep them away from the truth.They say that John had been drinking and made a mistake with the explosives. But Annie doesn''t believe that, and she is determind to find out what really happened.Their search for the truth takes them deep into the country, following the signal of John''s satellite phone. What they eventually find raises as many questions as it answers, and there are no easy solutions for any of them.

From critically-acclaimed author Gillian Cross comes this riveting psychological thriller about a teenage girl threatened by a mysterious stalker, now in paperback.

Paula is thrilled when her explorer father pulls her out of school to climb the mountains of Peru. But as they penetrate the jungle, her father''s decisions no longer seem sound, and their native guide dies as a result. Why won''t he turn back?

Hannah and Stephen lead an unusual life in an ancient house with their crazy relatives. When they find a room full of old mechanical toys, Hannah decides to restore a toy guillotine to working order. Little do they know of the evil unleashed by the French Terror. ALA Notable Book.

Finch is alone in a motorway cafe when she meets a scruffy bunch of lads who say they are a rock band - Finch can sing and before she knows it she has joined the band - Fame follows, but there is always the strange, brooding figure of Christie for her to try to understand.

Crumble Lane School is so dull that the spiders on the ceilings yawn. The school uniform is grey, the classrooms cold and bare and the teachers as dull as dust. The only happy person there is Natalie, who spends all her time doing what she loves best: maths. But then, enter Posh Watson, with his purple jacket, giant sunglasses and pink musical trainers, saying things like abso-doodle-utely and hoo-doodle-ray. And, before you can say fan-doodle-tastic, everyone is copying him - except Natalie, who thinks that the whole school has gone mad

For 12 year old Jem, the coming of the railways was the most spectacular thing he had ever seen. However it meant that the old way of life was threatened, and people didn''t want things to change. As the tension grew between the villagers and the navvies, Jem was caught in the middle.

These are the titles for the OLW fiction strand for upper Key Stage 2, (Y5 and Y6) designed to fit the National Literacy Strategy. Year 5: "The Treasure in the Mud" by Gillian Cross - an historical story set in Victorian Britain "The River Runs to the End of Time" by Frances Usher - a story about friendships during the English civil war "How Did the World Begin?" by Rosalind Kerven - creation myths from around the world "The Legend of King Arthur" by Mick Gowar - a retelling of part of this famous legend "Lennox and the Casa Montego Smugglers" by Errol Lloyd - Lennox and his grandfather discover a smuggling ring while on holiday in Jamaica "Cloud Forest" by Mark Leyland - children in Equador lay a ghost to rest