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Topic: Literacy

Chapter book

Bobbie is thrilled that a golden eagle has settled in the forest near her family’s farm. She loves to walk the hills with her granny and watch the bird soar through the sky. But not everyone shares Bobbie’s awe for the spectacular bird. When her granny’s beloved dog is killed by poisoned bait, it soon becomes clear that someone is out to get the eagle – and they’re ready to take down anything, and anyone, that gets in their way. Bobbie is determined to save the eagle but is it worth the risk? A stunning new wildlife adventure from multi-award-winning author Gill Lewis. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant or dyslexic readers aged 8+

Non-fiction

An exciting, laugh-a-minute guide to every Olympic and Paralympic sport

From boxing to boccia, find out just what it takes to become an Olympic and Paralympic star in this hilariously informative guide to the games. For each sport you’ll discover why it’s great, why it’s not so great, what skills and equipment you’ll need to start practising and even how to sound like a pro! You’ll learn about some of the greatest Olympians in history, events that might appear in the future and there’s a helpful guide to your chances of becoming a champion.

With bold, energetic illustrations and a text packed with weird, wonderful and wildly hilarious facts written by former sports journalist Scott Allen, this gift book is the funniest guide you’ll find to the next Olympics!

Poetry

A collection of the absurd, ridiculous, sublime and characteristically anarchic verse from the brilliant Spike Milligan. With his very own illustrations, this collection, which includes the famous On the Ning Nang Nong will make you laugh from the bottom of your belly – just like Spike did.

The legendary and iconic figure, Spike Milligan was born at Ahmednagar in India in 1918. He received his first education in a tent in the Hyderabad Sindh desert and graduated from there, through a series of Roman Catholic schools in India and England, to the Lewisham Polytechnic. He then plunged into the world of Show Business, seduced by his first stage appearance, at the age of eight, in the nativity play of his Poona convent school. He began his career as a band musician, but became famous as a humorous scriptwriter and actor in both films and broadcasting. He was the creator, principal writer and performer of the infamous Goon Show . Spike received an honorary CBE in 1992 and Knighthood in 2000. He died in 2002.

Non-fiction

Pandemics, war, terror, natural disasters – the world seems to be full of bad news and it can all feel, well, a little bit scary. But this is just part of the story. There are in fact tons of great things happening, from robots improving health care and trees healing the planet, to everyday people helping their community with acts of kindness and the businesses fighting for good in the world.

In Good News, children will learn to become fake news detectives, sussing out what’s real and what isn’t. They’ll discover the good news – the amazing anecdotes, case studies and figures around the globe that are making a difference. And they’ll learn that if we all continue to work together, things can only keep getting better and better.

Empowering, reassuring and confidence-boosting, this book is a positive antidote for testing times.

Chapter book

Friday January 2nd
I felt rotten today. It’s my mother’s fault for singing ‘My Way’ at two o’clock in the morning at the top of the stairs. Just my luck to have a mother like her. There is a chance my parents could be alcoholics. Next year I could be in a children’s home.

Meet Adrian Mole, a hapless teenager providing an unabashed, pimples-and-all glimpse into adolescent life.

Writing candidly about his parents’ marital troubles, the dog, his life as a tortured poet and ‘misunderstood intellectual’, Adrian’s painfully honest diary is still hilarious and compelling reading thirty years after it first appeared.

Non-fiction

A colourful celebration of costumes and cultures from around the world.

Celebrate world dress with this beautifully illustrated compendium of clothing. From colourful kimonos to dazzling flamenco dresses, this book takes you on a journey through the continents to discover the incredible variety of traditional dress.

With vibrant artwork by Chaaya Prabhat, this is a colourful celebration of clothing and cultures around the world.

Graphic Novel

When naughty George and Harold hypnotise their headteacher, they accidentally create the greatest superhero in the history of their school — Captain Underpants! His true identity is so secret that even HE doesn’t know who he is…but he’s fighting for truth, justice, and all things pre-shrunk and cottony!! If you’re a naughty villain like the diabolical Dr Diaper, watch out! Captain Underpants has wedgie-power on his side, and he’s coming your way.

Non-fiction

Wild Child: A Journey Through Nature is a beautiful gift book, illustrated in full colour by Barry Falls, and divided into five sections: looking out of the window, venturing out into the garden, walking in the woods, investigating heathland and wandering on the river bank.

Dara pauses to tell you about each habitat and provides fantastic facts about the native birds, animals and plants you will find there – including wrens, blackbirds, butterflies, tadpoles, bluebells, bees, hen harriers, otters, dandelions, oak trees and many more.

Each section contains a discovery section where you will have a closer look at natural phenomenon such as metamorphoses and migration, learn about categorization in the animal kingdom or become an expert on the collective nouns for birds.

Each section finishes with an activity to do when you get home: plant wild flowers, make a bird feeder, try pond dipping, make a journey stick and build a terrarium.

Dara ends the book with advice for young conservationists.

Non-fiction

Welcome to FACTopia! A wonderland of crazily connected facts. Did you know that a squid has a brain shaped like a doughnut? Or that some butterflies drink turtle tears? Every Britannica-verified fact in the book is connected to the next in an ingenious trail of information. Hop from topic to topic in unexpected and hilarious ways, and discover extraordinary facts about space, bones, dinosaurs, goats, spiders, crocodiles, sharks, robots, Ancient Rome, kings and queens, pharaohs, and more. But there’s not just one trail through these pages: sometimes your path branches and you can choose to jump to a totally different (but still connected) part of the book. Discover where your curiosity will take you! This wittily illustrated book is the perfect gift to inspire and delight curious kids.

Non-fiction

Often human scientists try and solve a problem or invent a new tool and they realise that animals have already invented it for them. In this book you will meet the animal inventors who have shared their super inventing powers to make amazing things for humans.

We have invented ways of solving problems, making unbelievable materials, ways of getting around and working out how to survive on our own for millions of years. Sometimes when a human inventor gets stuck, they come to the animal kingdom to see if we can help them out. In this book you will meet the creme de la creme of animal innovators who have created or are in the process of inventing things that people use every day.

Meet the shark who invented a pair of swimming shorts so fast, they were banned from the Olympic games. And meet the snail who has invented a house that stays cool inside even in the desert.

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