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Age Group: KS2

to-wee-or-not-to-wee

To Wee or Not to Wee

Chapter book

Hamlet could NEVER make his mind up about ANYTHING. And one time he actually went to school in just his pants and got sent home because he couldn’t decide what to wear. When Izzy (star of The Spy Who Loved School Dinners) is asked to tell her friends some HILARIOUS and SCARY stories she knows exactly where to look: Shakespeare, the king of SUPER dramatic stuff.

After learning about Macbeth (a STRONG solider who ate four bowls of porridge and twenty pieces of toast every morning) her friends want more. So Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Romeo and Juliet all get the Izzy treatment. There’s blood and guts, ghosty stuff, and plenty of people wandering around in their nighties.

The perfect introduction to the Bard!

trip wrecked

Tripwrecked: Tempest Terror

Chapter book, Dyslexia-friendly

Only a sensible, level head can save the day when disaster strikes on a school trip in this hilariously slapstick introduction to Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

Frank and his drama club are off on a dream school trip to perform The Tempest at a festival. But it turns into a nightmare when their ferry is hit by a terrible storm! Half of the actors wash up on a sandy shore and they can’t believe their eyes.

Is this a desert island? Why is there strange music coming from the forest? Where are the rest of the cast? To Frank, it all sounds strangely like the plot of The Tempest and he hasn’t got a clue how they’re going to get out of this mess. One thing’s for sure … they’ve been tripwrecked!

Ira Aldridge book

Ira Aldridge: The Shakespearean Actor

Chapter book

I Was There… Ira Aldridge tells the exciting story of the African-American actor, Ira Aldridge, who rose to fame on the London stage. Brilliantly imagined, readers aged 7+ will love this first-hand account of a child’s experience of nineteenth-century London and the vibrant life of the theatre. Amazing black-and-white illustrations throughout bring the story to life.

 

William Shakespeare childrens book

William Shakespeare: Scenes from the life of the world’s greatest writer

Non-fiction

The life of William Shakespeare is vividly depicted, from his birth in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564, childhood and schooldays, through an apprenticeship at his father’s glove-making shop, his marriage to Anne Hathaway, and then the move to London – where Will hones his skills as an actor-playwright for The Lord Chamberlain’s Men. When the newly-built Globe Theatre opens in 1599, Will Shakespeare is a key member of the company, and many of Shakespeare’s most famous plays are first performed here. By his death in 1616, William Shakespeare is acknowledged as the master playwright of his age – and ever since as one of the greatest writers of all time.

With lively graphic-novel descriptions of many of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, Henry V, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello and The Tempest, and drawing on the latest biographical research, this is the perfect introduction for children to the life and works of William Shakespeare.

A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories

A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories

Short story collection

Step on to a stage full of stories with this beautiful anthology of 12 stories from Shakespeare, rewritten to be accessible to children aged 7+. Including favourites such as The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Othello, each story is stunningly illustrated by collage artist Alice Lindstrom.

the brain book

The Brain Book

Non-fiction

A fun, fact-packed introduction to the brain and nervous system for young science enthusiasts.

The brain – a wrinkly, spongy mass the size of a cauliflower that sits in our heads and controls everything we do! Discover what its made of, how it works and why we even need one in this fun, fact-packed introduction to the brain.

Inside the pages of this STEM book for children aged 7-9, budding young scientists will discover:

– An age-appropriate introduction to the brain, what it is, what it does, how it works, and how it evolved
– All about how scientists study the brain and nervous system
– Introduces concepts like how we think, what consciousness is, and how the brains of other animals are different
– Encourages young readers to develop an interest in STEM fields – including biology, medicine, and science
– Each page is filled with engaging photographs and artworks with easy to understand text

Filled with colourful illustrations and bite-sized chunks of information, this book covers all your questions on everything from the anatomy of the brain and nervous system, to how information is collected and sent around the body. Also, explore questions about the brain that we don’t know the answers to yet!

Fantastically Great Women Scientists and Their Stories

Fantastically Great Women Scientists and Their Stories

Non-fiction

Prepare to be inspired with this fantastically great new series for young readers from bestselling author Kate Pankhurst, a descendent of suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst. In this first book, read the true stories of amazing scientists and discover things that are out of this world!

Women have been responsible for many of the world’s most groundbreaking scientific discoveries. These are the stories of incredible female scientists whose hard work and persistence changed our understanding of science, and transformed people’s ideas of what women can do.

Including comic strips, family trees, maps and more, Fantastically Great Women Scientists and Their Stories is a celebration of women who made some of the world’s most important scientific breakthroughs.

world of food

World of Food

Non-fiction

What did the ancient Romans snack on? Where does chocolate come from? And how has the humble potato shaped history? There is a whole world of food to discover!

Everywhere on our planet where people can be found, there are different foods that we enjoy, and different ways of preparing and eating them, too. From fruits, vegetables, cheeses and grains to spices, honey, chocolate and foods of the future, find out where foods come from, and what we grow, farm, forage and cook in order to eat. Explore more than 100 dishes and food traditions from every corner of the globe, and what people ate for lunch 5,000 years ago. Roasted hedgehog, anyone?

Bursting with colour and fascinating facts, the World of… looks at what we have in common, and celebrates our differences.

animal sidekicks book

Animal Sidekicks

Non-fiction

Heard about the fish that clean shark teeth? Or the frog that lives with a tarantula? Welcome to the weird world of symbiosis – where animals form incredible relationships.

Macken Murphy introduces his favourite symbiotic relationships in his first kids’ non-fiction book. Along the way he explains the cool science behind the baffling behaviour of some animals – from friendly alliances to pesky parasites.

You’ll even find out about symbiotic relationships including YOU! (Hint – is your head ever itchy?) By the end of the book you won’t look at nature in the same way again!

Curious-about-crocodiles

Curious About Crocodiles

Non-fiction

Did you know that crocodiles can live to be over 100 years old, and can climb trees to sunbathe? They can even sense the vibrations from a single drop of water falling from the mouth of a drinking wildebeest over twenty metres away.

Sink your teeth into this fascinating illustrated guide to the largest reptiles on Earth, full of juicy facts on crocodile behaviour, biology and myth, and packed with details on how we can live with and protect our scaly companions.

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Stone Girl Bone Girl

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