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Author & Illustrators

Nick Sharratt Books

Words with rhythm, words with rhyme,

Words to make you feel just fine,

To clap your hands, tap your feet

Or click your fingers to the beat.

Words to make you grow… or cower.

Have you heard the word… WORDPOWER!

Exuberant, funny, full of surprises! Put on a show, find your favourite food, look out for animals, then find monsters, famous people and nursery crimes…. This exciting collection from award-winning and multi-anthologised poet Michaela Morgan is perfectly matched by the witty and wonderful pictures of world-renowned illustrator Nick Sharratt.

I know Mum will be heartbroken if I don’t go with her, but I’m the only family Dad’s got. What am I to do?’

Floss’s parents are divorced, and they’ve got a simple routine – Floss spends five days a week with her mum, her new stepdad and her baby half-brother. The other two days Floss spends with her dad, helping him to run his greasy spoon cafe.

But this arrangement is thrown into disarray when Floss’s mum decides to move to Australia.

Floss makes the difficult decision to stay at home, moving in permanently with her dad. They muddle along happily together, surviving on chip butties and enjoying visits to the local funfair.

Then disaster strikes – Dad’s money troubles catch up with him and they have to move out of the cafe. They’re homeless – but can their new fairground friends help out?

Lily isn’t home ALONE – but she sort of wishes she was.

When Mum goes off on holiday with her new boyfriend and her stepdad fails to show up, Lily is determined to keep the family together and show they can cope without any grown-ups.

But taking care of 6-year-old twins, her 3-year-old sister and the family’s flat feels overwhelming and Lily is worried that school or social services might discover their situation and break up the family.

What could be better than to take all the little ones for a camping adventure in the park? Plenty of space to run about, no carpet to vacuum, and surely no chance anyone will guess they’re there . . .

A brilliant story from the bestselling Jacqueline Wilson.

What kind of a name is Beauty? Well it’s my name for a start, but that doesn’t mean I love it.

Beauty Cookson is no beauty. She’s a plain, timid girl who constantly gets teased by the super-confident, snooty girls at school. Worse than the teasing in the playground, though, is the unpredictable, hurtful criticism from her father. Beauty and her meek, sweet mother live in uneasy fear of his fierce rages, sparked whenever they break one of his fussy house rules.

After an unbearable birthday party and the very real threat of Dad’s out-of-control temper, Mum and Beauty run away. Now in a quiet, idyllic seaside village, their new-found freedom and a moment of culinary inspiration give them a hobby, an income and even a new nickname for Beauty.

Can they begin a happier, sweeter life – without Dad?

A charming, page-turning and heart-warming story from the beloved Jacqueline Wilson.

It’s 1953, the year Elizabeth is to be crowned Queen of England.

Elsie Kettle can’t wait to go to London to see the celebrations on Coronation Day. Elsie lives with her Nan – her mum works as a showgirl, so she’s not around very often. Spirited and imaginative, but often lonely, Elsie longs for a best friend. Luckily, she and Nan are very close; Elsie just wishes she was allowed a cat to keep her company sometimes.

Then tragedy strikes.

Nan and Elsie both fall ill with tuberculosis, and Elsie finds herself whisked away to the children’s ward of the hospital. Confined to bed for months on end, Elsie finds it very hard to adapt to the hospital’s strict regime. But she invents astonishing ways of entertaining the other children on the ward, and for the first time finds herself surrounded by true friends – including Queenie, the hospital’s majestic white cat.

Finally, Elsie is well enough to leave hospital. But before she does, she has one very special, very unexpected visitor…

Marty and her sister Melissa couldn’t be more different.

“That’s the worst thing about my sister. She NEVER misses a chance to wind me up.”

Football-mad Marty loves her Converse and helping her dad with his DIY. Melissa, however, loves all things pink and girly.

So it comes as no surprise that when they have to share a bedroom, Marty and Melissa struggle to get along. But all that changes after a terrible accident, which helps the sisters realise they are closer than they thought…

From bestselling author Jacqueline Wilson, The Worst Thing About My Sister explores sibling rivalry and the importance of family.

September, 1939: At the breakout of the Second World War, ten-year-old Shirley is sent away on a train. She doesn’t know where she’s going, or what’s going to happen to her when she gets there. All she has been told is that she’s going on ‘a little holiday’.

She soon finds herself lodged deep in the countryside, with two boys from the East End of London, Kevin and Archie. But here, living in the strange, half-empty Red House with the mysterious and reclusive Mrs Waverley, the children’s lives will be changed for ever.

Award-winning, bestselling and beloved author Jacqueline Wilson pens an unforgettable story about the confusion and loneliness of a World War II evacuee, with a moving and hopeful friendship at its centre.

“I’ll be famous at something some day, you mark my words.”

Katy Carr is a daredevil.

You’ll always find her outdoors, climbing on the garage roof, or up a tree, cycling, skateboarding… Anything to get away from her new stepmother, Izzie.

But, when Katy’s involved in a terrible accident, her life is changed forever.

Inspired by the much-loved classic, What Katy Did, bestselling children’s favourite Jacqueline Wilson creates an irresistible modern version for the twenty-first-century. As seen on CBBC!

Marigold isn’t like other mums.

“She’s good at spending heaps of money that we haven’t got. She’s good at getting drunk. She’s good at getting completely nutty ideas into her head.”

Dolphin adores her mum – she’s beautiful and vibrant. She’s covered in colourful tattoos and with her bright hair and amazing clothes, Marigold stands out, wherever she goes.

But her sister, Star, feels differently.

Marigold may look great, but living with her unpredictable, fiery moods can be hard. After Marigold has a breakdown, Dolphin starts to wonder…is she the right person to be looking after her?

From bestselling author Jacqueline Wilson, The Illustrated Mum is an optimistic tale about family, mental health and sisterly love. This is a must have book for every young reader.

Hi! I’m Charlie (DON’T call me Charlotte – ever!). History is boring, right? Wrong!

The Victorians weren’t all deadly dull and drippy. Lottie certainly isn’t. She’s eleven – like me – but she’s left school and has a job as a nursery maid. Her life is really hard, just work work work, but I bet she’d know what to do about my mum’s awful boyfriend and his wimpy little son.

I bet she wouldn’t mess it all up like I do . . .

A hilarious, witty and perceptive tale of two girls from very different times but experiencing very similar problems, from award-winning author Jacqueline Wilson.

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