New Releases by Michelle Magorian

Super sporty tale with a strong message of self-belief and a lovely inter-generational friendship at its heart, from the award-winning author of Goodnight Mister Tom. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 7+ Ben knows he''s taking on a lot, offering to do the first hundred lengths of the swimathon himself, but he''s desperate to impress Jack and Harry. But as he swims - and swims - Jack realises that his ''friends'' aren''t going to show. Now he either has to forfeit or swim another hundred lengths! But support and encouragement come from an unlikely quarter and Ben pushes his way to victory. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 7+

The holiday was supposed to give them a break, a chance to get away and heal after the loss of the baby. But Hannah''s parents are still listless and distracted, and her toddler brother doesn''t understand what''s going on. And worst of all, something feels wrong in Hannah''s room. Her mum and dad don''t understand what she''s trying to tell them, so one stormy night Hannah sneaks out to find someone who can tell her the truth about the Front Room ...

Seventeen-year-old Rose is looking forward to a summer of freedom with her sister Diana. But the war has turned everything upside down and she finds herself battling with first love, prejudice and duty. Uncovering an extraordinary love story from another war, Rose discovers a secret that will change everything.

After World War II, Henry misses his father who died a war hero, but learns to cope with his loss when he discovers an old film camera and unravels the mystery behind its contents.

Originally published: London: Methuen Children''s, 1994.

12-year-old Josie attends a finishing-style stage school where she is firmly told she has no acting ability. Fortunately she finds herself cast by a boy in an American comedy - but mistaken for the star she is kidnapped and imprisoned in a dockside warehouse. Managing to escape, she and a fellow runaway take refuge in the Theatre Royal, Stratford. They are offered work by the legendary Joan Littlewood, founder of the Theatre Workshop Company. Much to Josie''s surprise this leads to a role in a Saturday-morning film. However, the kidnappers haven''t given up yeat and they are on Josie''s trail.

Puffin Classics: the definitive collection of timeless stories, for every child. Tom tucked a blanket round him, drew up a chair by the fire and watched Willie fall asleep. The tales he had heard about evacuees didn''t seem to fit Willie. ''Ungrateful'' and ''wild'' were the adjectives he had heard used, or just plain ''homesick''. He was quite unprepared for this timid, sickly little specimen. Britain, 1940. With World War Two raging all around, young children are being sent from their homes in the city to the countryside for safety. When eight-year-old Willie Beech first arrives on Tom Oakley''s doorstep, neither are quite sure what to make of each another. Brought up in terrible poverty, Willie is terribly shy, and totally unprepared for village life - but the gruff-but-gentle ''Mister Tom'' quickly takes him under his wing. Neither he nor Willie could ever have predicted the journey they will go on together - nor the unbreakable bond that will be formed. Winner of the Guardian Children''s Fiction Award, and rightly hailed as a true classic of children''s literature, Goodnight Mister Tom is a beautifully told, deeply moving story about the power of friendship, kindness, hope - and love. ''Everyone''s idea of a smash-hit novel: full-blown characters to love and hate, moments of grief and joy, and a marvellous story that knows just how to grab the emotions'' - Guardian

What would you rather, parents whose dreams are bigger than yours, or parents who have no dreams for you at all? How would you cope in a small boat with eight angry people giving you a bellyful of flack? Who''d you prefer to have as a friend, an old wrinkly who''s there for you or a couple of mates who make you feel small? Ages 10+.

A seventeen-year-old girl in 1940''s England spends an unchaperoned summer at a cottage in a seaside village, where a series of diaries by the cottage''s most recent inhabitant, together with some intense personal experiences, open up her life to reveal her true wants and priorities.

In Back Home, Michelle Magorian, author of the bestselller Goodnight Mister Tom, tells the powerful and unforgettable story of Rusty, returning to England after being evacuated to America for five years in the Second World War. After five happy years in America, Rusty must return to England: the place she used to call home. But it doesn''t fell like home. Rusty''s mother is like a stranger, her little brother doesn''t know her and why does the food taste so bad? Rusty just can''t get used to the rigid rules and rationing and her strict new boarding school. Lonely and homesick, Rusty makes friends with Lance, another returned evacuee, and her indomitable spirit leads her into a dramatic and devastating rebellion. . . Guardian Children''s Fiction award-winning Michelle Magorian is the author of the iconic war-time children''s book, Goodnight Mister Tom. Also by Michelle Magorian: Goodnight Mister Tom; Back Home; Waiting for my Shorts to Dry; Who''s Going to take Care of Me?; Orange Paw Marks; A Little Love Song; In Deep Water; Jump; A Cuckoo in the Nest; A Spoonful of Jam; Be Yourself; Just Henry

London is poised on the brink of World War 11. Timid, scrawny Willie Beech -- the abused child of a single mother -- is evacuated to the English countryside. At first, he is terrified of everything, of the country sounds and sights, even of Mr. Tom, the gruff, kindly old man who has taken him in. But gradually Willie forgets the hate and despair of his past. He learns to love a world he never knew existed, a world of friendship and affection in which harsh words and daily beatings have no place. Then a telegram comes. Willie must return to his mother in London. When weeks pass by with no word from Willie, Mr. Tom sets out for London to look for the young boy he has come to love as a son.