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Topic: Crime and Punishment

Chapter book

Fact meets fiction in this thrilling story of 18th century smuggling and intrigue!

Kitty Cask is a smuggler’s daughter. In the Cornish coastal village of Minnock, Kitty and her family make their living as “free traders” – secretly bringing contraband goods into the country while evading the corrupt Redcoats who work for the King. Kitty isn’t supposed to be involved in any of her father’s schemes… but she’s very good at creeping out at night, and before too long she is caught in the thick of the action – salvaging shipwrecks, staging prison-breaks, and staying one step ahead of the tyrannical excisemen!

With an exciting story and brilliant illustrations, and filled with amazing facts and historical trivia, you won’t be able to put this SECRET DIARY down!

Chapter book

Fresh off the boat from England, Vita Marlowe has a job to do. Her beloved grandfather Jack has been cheated out of his home and possessions by a notorious conman with Mafia connections. Seeing Jack’s spirit is broken, Vita is desperate to make him happy again, so she devises a plan to outwit his enemies and recover his home.

She finds a young pickpocket, working the streets of the city. And, nearby, two boys with highly unusual skills and secrets of their own are about to be pulled into her lawless, death-defying plan.

Katherine Rundell’s fifth novel is a heist as never seen before – the story of a group of children who will do anything to right a wrong.

Poetry

The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor, And the highwayman came riding- Riding-riding- The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.

In Alfred Noyes’s thrilling poem, charged with drama and tension, we ride with the highwayman and recoil from the terrible fate that befalls him and his sweetheart Bess, the landlord’s daughter. The vivid imagery of the writing is matched by Charles Keeping’s haunting illustrations which won him the Kate Greenaway Medal. This new edition features rescanned artwork to capture the breath-taking detail of Keeping’s illustrations and a striking new cover.

Chapter book

I bet no other school gives you the chance to chase super villains through hidden tunnels!’ That’s what Milly Dillane has to say about life at Blaggard’s, A.K.A Gangster School. Milly and her new friend Charlie have just started at Blaggard’s. But what’s it like to be in a school that teaches lying, kidnapping and stealing instead of Maths and English? Their parents and teachers are master criminals and want them to follow in their footsteps…but are Milly and Charlie just too…dependable? In this funny and exciting adventure, smart Milly and super-hacker Charlie face some of the worst villains around, including the cold-hearted Pecunia Badpenny and her sidekick: Wolf the evil electronic dog. Can Milly and Charlie beat Badpenny and her demonic plans? And are they criminal enough to keep their place in a school they’ve come to love? Kate Wiseman’s brilliant Blaggard’s is like Hogwarts for criminal kids!

Chapter book

A rip-roaring historical adventure set at the time of the Guy Fawkes’ Gunpowder Plot – winner of the Historical Association Young Quills Award! England, 1605: 12-year-old Tom must save his father from hanging.

He falls in with a mysterious stranger – the Falcon – who promises to help him in exchange for his service.

But on the long journey to London, Tom discovers the Falcon’s true mission – and a plot to blow up Parliament with barrels of black powder.

Tom faces a terrible decision: secure his father’s release, or stop the assassination of the king …

A rip-roaring, action-packed life-and-death quest, packed with history and adventure

Set at the time of the Gunpowder Plot and featuring Guy Fawkes – perfect for Bonfire Night and beyond

Ideal for readers aged nine and up

Chapter book

All her life, Moss has lived in the Tower of London with her father, who serves as the executioner for King Henry VIII. Prisoners condemned to death must face Pa and his axe–and Moss catches their severed heads. Her father insists he has no choice: if he leaves the Tower, he will be killed. But Moss can’t bear to be the executioner’s daughter any longer. When she finally finds a way out of the Tower, she discovers the river holds more dangers than she imagined–including the Riverwitch’s curse. The Riverwitch once helped Moss’s family in exchange for a terrible bargain; now she expects Moss to pay the debt.

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