New Releases by Lesley Howarth

You know when you''re off school and ill in bed and everything seems kind of large and nightmarish? Welcome to Lesley Howarth''s fevered imagination and a world where the bizarre, the strange and the downright weird are just a heartbeat away.

You know when you''re off school and ill in bed and everything seems kind of large and nightmarish? Welcome to Lesley Howarth''s fevered imagination and a world where the bizarre, the strange and the downright weird are just a heartbeat away.

Will Dudgeon is 13 years-old when his body is stolen. Suddenly he''s the oldest man he''s ever seen, with all the aches and pains that go with that. At least he''s in the right job. At Nettlefold and Dad Funeral Directors he can offer full-on, superfine funerals - but for how much longer?

Nick, Alex and Indie are delighted to be chosen to star in a hot new reality TV show, ''Kids Rule UK''. They will be fixed up with cameras to broadcast their lives for 12 hours every day. Viewers will be able to see how other people react to being on television and, in particular, howtelevision empowers the siblings to make things the way they want them to be.But before filming even begins, Mum leaves home. Then the Kids soon realise that being a celebrity isn''t all it''s cracked up to be. The power they suddenly have sometimes seems overwhelming. Nick in particular finds it hard to handle. He withdraws further and further into himself, dropping outof school, stuffing himself with food and becoming increasingly violent.Things come to a head when he discovers that the TV company has been manipulating the family, making things as stressful for them as they can. This makes ''good'' television - but it is the Kids'' reactions that will make the most compelling viewing of all . . .

Nathan and his sister Lennie are on holiday in Greece with their parents. Nathan finds a small Colossus figure, which legends tell him is made from the melted-down metal of the great Colossus of Rhodes. He feels it brings him luck. When he subsequently loses it, he is bereft, but a local boyhe meets, Stefan, helps him to find it again. Stefan then encourages him to complete a series of daring feats, including an epic swim across the harbour. Although Nathan doesn''t know it, Stefan is putting him through three mythical tests. The blend of mythology and adventure leads to an upliftingending, with the overall message that we can all make our own luck.* Lesley Howarth has won the Smarties Book Prize and the Guardian Children''s Fiction Award. Her first novel was shortlisted for the Whitbread Award.

Teenager Luke has moved to the city from a small village - and has become a small fish in a big pond. He''s fascinated by rumours of the Crockers, the mafia-like family who rule the area and whose trademark is a white hat. Little does Luke know, but his girlfriend, Carmen, is actually a Crocker. Carmen is trying to get away, and to stop her brother, Ben, from stealing cars. Gradually, from his involvement with Carmen, and his finding of the Crockers'' cache of dodgy cars, Luke gets pulled into the world of the Crockers. At one point he''s even leading a double life as their cousin Louis! But Luke is very much his own person; he manages to sort out what he wants from life and to start heading in the right direction.

This book is suitable for reluctant readers of 13-16 with a reading age of eight years. It is printed on cream paper, which is proven to be more restful on the eye. The font is specially designed to encourage a smooth and easy read. There are frequent page breaks, short, headed chapters and illustrations on almost every page. A wide range of specialists, including children themselves, have read and commented on the book prior to publication.

Set in a country village, the story follows a group of young teenagers through a summer. Told mainly through the eyes of Luke as he starts a carwash business to earn money for life''s essentials - discman, playstation, etc. Additional commentary is from Bix, his next-door neighbour, who spends most of her time up a tree. Soon the shifting pattern of relationships within the group is laid bare. Luke is in a constant power struggle with his younger brother, Danny, and in the throes of helpless passion for Bix''s sister, the older, cooler Liv. Liv has to face up to pregnancy but this is not the main core of the book. Relationships are tested and become more real as summer progresses.

How was anyone to know that one day the sun would just burn up their lives? Rat runs of tunnels link home compounds to town and no one goes out any more. Why bother when you can live day and night in your own alternative cyberspace reality? But Violet Niles is going outside. She thinks she knows a way. She thinks she''ll be safe. She thinks the only danger out there is the sun - but Vi has no idea how dangerous reality can be. Computer games are no preparation for the games real people play.

An intriguing rites-of-passage tale about a space-obsessed boy. Thomas Moon is a space freak, he sends daily e-mails to Junior NASA and hunts the web sites for space news and stories. Imagine his excitement when he recieves a mysterious e-mail, addressed to Mister Spaceman, suggesting he''s been selected for astronaut status.

This book is suitable for reluctant readers of 8-13 with a reading age of eight years. It is printed on cream paper, which is proven to be more restful on the eye. The font is specially designed to encourage a smooth and easy read. There are frequent page breaks, short, headed chapters and illustrations on almost every page. A wide range of specialists, including children themselves, have read and commented on the book prior to publication.

The second in a series of stories set in parallel worlds, over-brimming with fantastic oddities and bizarre happenings.

Anything you want, ask Paulina, says George when Sissy and her family swap their cottage in England for his luxurious home in New England. But it''s what Paulina wants that worries Sissy until she realises - there are two Paulinas and one of them is very, very dead. And is she ever mad at Sissy.

Now thirteen, MapHead must use his special powers to perform an honorable task. MapHead moves in with Jack Stamp''s family, but being only half-human, has trouble fitting in as a typical teenager. He also wonders how he will know if he has completed his mission. Sequel to "MapHead" (EB67580). Grades 5-8

Ben and his cousin Robin visit a medieval house. Looking through the squint, the spy hole in the wall of the Great Hall, Ben becomes angry. Who is that sitting in his place at the table? All of a sudden, Ben finds himself back 500 years in the past with his life in danger.

Graphic novel. 89 Basilisk St. is home of Omnivore Enterprise - some visitors never come out again. Reluctant readers. 8 yrs+

In England in 1999, thirteen-year-old Telly organizes her fellow climate observation club members to calm the planet''s turbulent weather.

George is a dreamer. He''s always drifting off into a world of his own. One moment he''s in the kitchen watching grandma make his favourite biscuits, the next moment he''s in a desert with the French Foreign Legion

Twelve-year-old MapHead, a boy with strange powers from an alternative world, travels to England in search of his human mother.

After his daughter discovers the Iceman, an eminent archeologist theorizes about Stone Age culture, greatly irritating someone who was alive in 7650 B.C.