New Releases by James Riordan

Siberia. From this strange and beautiful land comes an oral tradition that has altered little in two thousand years. Here is a true spiritual democracy and purity of folk art rarely found in traditional tales.

Book Band: Turquoise (Ideal for ages 6+) A delightful retelling of a classic story with a twist, ideal for children practising their reading at home or in school. The little swan is not quite like his brothers and sisters. He''s small and brown and just doesn''t fit in. So he sets off alone into the big, wide world. Will the ugly little swan find a friend? Will he discover who he truly is? This heartwarming fairytale with a twist from well-known author James Riordan is perfect for children who are learning to read by themselves and for Key Stage 1. It features engaging illustrations from Brendan Kearney and quirky characters young readers will find hard to resist. _______________ Bloomsbury Young Readers are the perfect way to get children reading, with book-banded stories by brilliant authors like Julia Donaldson. The series is ideal for both home and school, with gorgeous colour illustrations, tips for parents, and fun activity ideas. Online guided reading and teaching notes, written by the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE), are available at bloomsburyreaders.com. ''Every child needs a Bloomsbury Young Reader. Fun, stretching, just the right length, full of adventurous vocabulary and punctuation.'' - Julie-Ann McCulloch, Teacher

HISTORICAL FICTION (CHILDREN''S / TEENAGE). It''s 1930s America and the Depression has ripped the nation apart. Poverty is rife and families are starving. Fourteen-year-old Molly has no one to rely on but herself. She has to find work - any work. But with millions of people unemployed the competition for jobs is stiff, and the only way to find work is to travel. Riding the freight trains in search of a square meal, Molly sees the misery of the Depression at first hand. Part of a unique collection of fictional stories about young people caught up in real-life conflicts and disasters. Through their eyes we experience the day-to-day hardships and dangers of living through troubled times from throughout history. Ages 9+

Jack vertelt aan zijn kleinzoon hoe hij als jonge soldaat meevocht in de Eerste Wereldoorlog. Als het Kerstmis is besluit een groepje soldaten niet te vechten, maar te voetballen. Vanaf ca. 13 jaar.

Harry e Jack. Due compagni di scuola. Due amici. Due aspiranti calciatori. Fino a quando nelle loro vite irrompe la Prima guerra mondiale: è il 1914 e l''Inghilterra manda al fronte anche i più giovani. Così, in poco meno di un mese, Harry e Jack diventano due soldati: combattono fianco a fianco, intorno a loro il suono incessante delle esplosioni e delle pallottole. In mezzo al campo di battaglia, però, può esserci speranza: un giorno di tregua in cui tutto tace, i soldati non sono più divisi tra amici e nemici, e al posto delle armi si usano i piedi e un pallone, per una partita indimenticabile. È proprio Jack, quarant''anni dopo, a raccontare questa storia a suo nipote. Attraverso lo sguardo di una generazione interrotta, James Riordan narra la storia vera della notte in cui il calcio fermò la guerra. Un autentico classico della letteratura inglese, pubblicato in Italia per la prima volta.

Three bestselling novels in one powerpack! Includes Rick Riordan''s THE 39 CLUES: THE MAZE OF BONES, James Dashner''s INFINITY RING: A MUTINY IN TIME, and Brandon Mull''s SPIRIT ANIMALS: WILD BORN! Available together for the first time, three novels that each launched a blockbuster series. This powerpack includes:THE 39 CLUES #1: THE MAZE OF BONES by bestselling author Rick Riordan. Are you ready to save the world?INFINITY RING #1: A MUTINY IN TIME by bestselling author James Dasher. Fix the past. Save the future.SPIRIT ANIMALS #1: WILD BORN by bestselling author Brandon Mull. The legend lives in you.Three unforgettable adventures are waiting for you....

Meet Grace Barry in Grace the Pirate. Grace is a wild young girl; she is captured by pirates and marooned on a desert island. But nothing can stop Grace for long... TreeTops Fiction contains engaging novels from top authors and illustrators with the variety children need to develop a love of reading!

Petrushka is part of Russian folklore, but is not a folk tale. It is in the European tradition of ''Harlequin'' and ''Punch'', performed in a puppet theatre at travelling fairs. Petrushka is tired of being a clown in a puppet show. He wants to save pretty ballerina from Strongman and take her in his arms far, far away. His mind is made up and, encouraged by Skeleton, the next day he challenges his rival to a duel. But he''s no match for Strongman and ends up in a lifeless, crumpled heap. ''That old ragdoll needs chucking out,'' says the showman. But Petrushka has other ideas...

Franklin has more than one secret-if possible, the second more hideous than the first. As a serial killer who murders young prostitutes in particularly gruesome ways, Franklin also works with a friend, who helps covers his tracks. The only compensation required from his friend is watching the killings . . . and taking a few pictures that he shares with a couple of his friends. In turn, those friends share their pictures and stories of other murders, creating a horrific network of murder used as entertainment. Detective Carl Peterson''s first mistake in being assigned to the Kankakee serial killer case is thinking that he''s simply looking for a serial killer . . . acting alone. When Carl seeks help from his computer statistician girlfriend, Laurie, she discovers that various murders in four different states have similarities that can''t be ignored. Carl teams up with FBI profiler Bob Rathburn, and together they track down the killer. But then, the murders continue . . . And the more Carl discovers, the more the unthinkable connections become a staggering reality.

A collection of books seven, eight, and nine in the Christian supernatural series Forbidden doors.

Samuel''s parents and young sister, innocent bystanders during an uprising, are killed by South African police. Samuel is sent to live with his uncle, a tribal chief in the Bantu homeland, while his brother vows to join the African National Congress armed struggle and avenge his family''s deaths. In the h omeland, Samuel discovers he can run faster than anyone and before long begins to train under his English-educated uncle. Years later, after the end of Apartheid, Samuel is selected as the token black South African athlete to run in the Olympics. President Nelson Mandela is there when he wins his gold medal, and Samuel dedicates it to ''a very special man... I was running for the President. I was running for my country.'' This powerful and moving story portrays what it was like for blacks growing up in South Africa aunder Apartheid and the different ways in which they struggled to gain their freedom. For some, like Samuel''s brother, it was an armed struggle, but for Samuel it was the opportunity to prove he could run better than any white man.

Previously published as four separate books, the exciting series can now be found in one volume. In "The Elijah Project," Zach and Piper aren''t the only ones to notice their little brother Elijah''s supernatural gifts. Something evil is also paying attention.

An appealing fairy tale with a twist, illustrated in full colour and perfect for young readers aged 5 to 7 years.

Stalingrad snipers were a legend in their time. Their patience, keen eyes and ruthlessness helped win the Battle of Stalingrad and turn the tide of the Second World War. This is the true story of a teenage sniper recruited in 1942 by Vasily Zaitsev to seek out and shoot German officers. To begin with, the youngster finds it almost impossible to kill, but after a shocking discovery, goes on to ''snap as many as 84 German sticks'', and following capture and a daredevil escape, leads a handpicked unit on a hazardous mission to seize Field Marshall Paulus, the Commander-in-Chief of the invading army. But this sniper is no ordinary marksman. The author first visited Stalingrad in 1959, and made subsequent visits in 1963 and, most recently, in 2006, when he met Tania Chernova, the heroine of this novel. Having studied Russian in Birmingham and Moscow, James Riordan lived, worked and travelled extensively in Russia for five years, and has presented several BBC radio programmes on Russia. He is currently Emeritus Professor of Russian at the University of Surrey.

Zach and Piper, with divine assistance, continue to seek their kidnapped parents and protect their little brother, Elijah, from the evil Shadow Man, who places temptation in their path in the form of a beautiful runaway.

Sinbad''s adventures are the most fantastic of the stories in The Thousand and One Nights. During his twenty years as a merchant adventurer, Sinbad encounters a Rookh''s egg, a valley of diamonds, streams of amber, a terrifying sea-monster, an ogre''s feast, the Cave of the Dead, the Old Man of the Sea and much, much more... For this vibrant retelling, James Riordan has drawn particularly on Sir Richard Burton''s remarkable translation. Shelley Fowles tackles the illustrations with gusto and her comic touch gives these classic stories a highly contemporary feel.

A historical tale set during World War I. It''s Christmas 1914 and in No Man''s Land a unique game of football is being played - between British and German troops.

Abena is a rebellious Ashanti girl sold into slavery on the notorious Transatlantic route from West Africa to Jamaica. Mungo is an English orphan who becomes a cabin boy, only to be kidnapped and sold as a white slave. Fate brings the two together and Mungo, risking life and limb, saves Abena from a terrible death. Together they escape and set out towards the Blue Mountains - where rumours tell of a stronghold of runaway slaves ruled by a legendary leader called Nanny. But can Abena and Mungo slip through the hordes of Redcoats and baying bloodhounds sent to drag them back?? Based on historical events, the novel unflinchingly describes the conditions of black and also white slavery in the 18th century, when profits took precedence over human life, and ends on a strong note of hope.

Petrushka is part of Russian folklore. We know it best from Stravinsky''s ballet. Petrushka is tired of being a clown. He wants to save pretty ballerina from Strongman and take her in his arms far, far away. His mind is made up and, encouraged by Skeleton, the next day he challenges his rival to a duel. But he''s no match for Strongman and ends up in a lifeless, crumpled heap. ''That old ragdoll needs chucking out,'' says the showman. But Petrushka has other ideas...;