Search results for ""Author Katya Balen""

When the mudlarking gang find a mysterious cutlass on the banks of the Thames, they immediately know that something fishy is afoot. When the cutlass vanishes, and Mrs Drummonds disappears too, it's down to Clem and the gang to find them. The mystery leads them to a band of ghost pirates, who will stop at nothing to find their long-lost treasure. With the help from their friends in the Undercity, the gang must set sail on the seven seas, solve riddles and save the day! This is the third instalment in the critically acclaimed series from award-winning author Katya Balen.

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'A thrilling emotionally charged adventure, full of authentic characters, peril, humour and warmth' - Daily Mail'Wild and brilliantly crafted' - Sarah Crossan, author of One and Where the Heart Should BeA sea-soaked story of friendship, community and discovering what it means to carry home in your heart, from Carnegie Medal-winning author Katya Balen.On the Island of Ayrie, everybody knows everyone. They know each other's stories as they know every road, every hill and the coming of the tide. In the summer, there are bonfires to celebrate the migration of the puffins. Everything is familiar, nothing much changes, and for Tilda, nothing ever should - it is beautiful, it is perfect and it is home.When newcomer Albie arrives at the island, Tilda wants to show Ayrie off - Albie wants her to leave him alone. She learns quickly that it'll take more than a tour and some seal viewings to win him around. Then, s

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Following a traumatic accident, a special friendship helps talented musician Annie heal and rediscover her love of music in this stunning novella from celebrated author Katya Balen. The blackbirds’ song uplifts and restores in this captivating novella from one of the most exciting voices in children’s fiction. After a devastating car crash, Annie is unable to play her flute and retreats from the music she’s always loved. She exists in a world of angry silence – furious with her mum and furious she can’t seem to play her beloved flute any more. Then she meets Noah, who shows her the blackbirds’ nest hidden in the scrubland near their flats. As their friendship grows, the blackbirds’ glorious song reignites Annie’s passion for music. But when tragedy strikes again, will her fragile progress be put at risk?

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A thrilling emotionally charged adventure, full of authentic characters, peril, humour and warmth' Daily MailWild and brilliantly crafted' Sarah Crossan, author of One and Where the Heart Should BeA sea-soaked story of friendship, community and discovering what it means to carry home in your heart, from Carnegie Medal-winning author Katya Balen. On the Island of Ayrie, everybody knows everyone. They know each other's stories as they know every road, every hill and the coming of the tide. In the summer, there are bonfires to celebrate the migration of the puffins. Everything is familiar, nothing much changes, and for Tilda, nothing ever should it is beautiful, it is perfect and it is home. When newcomer Albie arrives at the island, Tilda wants to show Ayrie off Albie wants her to leave him alone. She learns quickly that it'll take more than a tour and some seal viewings to win him around. Then, she remembers stories of the old island just an hour's boat ride away from the shore.

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The importance and meaning of home is explored in this thought-provoking new novella from Carnegie Medal winning author Katya Balen.Juno's furious about being sent to stay with her grandfather for the summer. She'll miss all the fun she and her friends had planned for the holidays. She'll also miss her mum, but it's her mum's fault for leaving anyway.Then Juno discovers a long-forgotten little family in her grandfather's attic. As she works to carefully craft a new home for them, can she learn to forgive her mum and understand her reasons for going away?

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Carnegie Medal winner Katya Balen returns with a stunning tale about a fractured bond between father and son – and the injured bird that helps to heal it. Carnegie Medal winner Katya Balen returns with a stunning tale about a fractured bond between father and son – and the injured bird that helps to heal it. When Noah’s dad visits from New York, he and Noah come across an injured nightjar during a walk in the countryside. Noah is determined to save the bird, but his dad believes they should leave it alone to let nature take its course. As father and son argue, it becomes clear that Noah is angry about more than just the bird. He feels abandoned and misunderstood by his dad, who has moved to the US and started a new family there that doesn’t seem to have room for Noah. Can they find a way to build a new relationship and rediscover the common ground between them?

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From the author of October, October, winner of the Yoto Carnegie Medal, comes a heartbreaking and heart-warming story about sisterhood, found family and accepting love in the most unusual and unknown places. Fen and Rey were found curled up small and tight in the fiery fur of the foxes at the very edge of the wildlands. Fen is loud and fierce and free. She feels a connection to foxes and a calling from the wild that she's desperate to return to. Rey is quiet and shy and an expert on nature. She reads about the birds, feeds the lands and nurtures the world around her. They are twin sisters. Different and the same. Separate and connected. They will always have each other, even if they don't have a mother and don't know their beginning. But they do want answers. Answers to who their mother is and where she might be. What their story is and how it began. So when a fox appears late one night at the house, Fen and Rey see it as a sign - it's here to lead them to their truth, find their real family and fill the missing piece they have felt since they were born. But the wildlands are exactly that: wild. They are wicked and cruel and brutal and this journey will be harder and more life changing than either Fen or Rey ever imagined ...

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From the author of October, October, winner of the Yoto Carnegie Medal, comes a heartbreaking and heart-warming story about sisterhood, found family and accepting love in the most unusual and unknown places.Fen and Rey were found curled up small and tight in the fiery fur of the foxes at the very edge of the wildlands. Fen is loud and fierce and free. She feels a connection to foxes and a calling from the wild that she''s desperate to return to. Rey is quiet and shy and an expert on nature. She reads about the birds, feeds the lands and nurtures the world around her.They are twin sisters. Different and the same. Separate and connected. They will always have each other, even if they don''t have a mother and don''t know their beginning. But they do want answers. Answers to who their mother is and where she might be. What their story is and how it began. So when a fox appears late one night at the house, Fen and Rey see it as a sign - it''s here to lead them to their truth,

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_______________ 'Original, compulsive, uplifting: this is another triumph for Balen' - Alex O'Connell, The Times Children's Book of the Week 'Balen's best book yet: ambitious, funny, spirited, moving, heartfelt and bold all at once. She's a force to be reckoned with' - Ross Montgomery _______________ From the author of October, October, winner of the Yoto Carnegie Medal 2022, comes a life-affirming story about blended families and learning to find room in your heart for new life and new love. Tom is still quiet and timid, even though his dad has been gone for nearly two years now. Zofia is the opposite. Inside her there’s a raging storm that makes her want to fight the whole world until she gets what she wants. And what she wants is for scaredy-cat Tom to get out of her life. Tom hates loud, unpredictable Zofia just as much, but he’s moving into Zofia’s house. Because his mum and Zofia’s dad are in love … and they’re having a baby. Tom and Zofia both wish the stupid baby had never happened. But then Tom’s mum gets ill, and it begins to look horribly like their wish might come true … A story of learning to trust, trying to let go and diving into the unknown with hope in your heart, with a stunning cover illustrated by CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal winner Sydney Smith. _______________

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An exciting new adventure series for young readers from Carnegie Medal winner Katya Balen, author of October, October and The Light in Everything Clem and her friends Ash and Zara are members of the Thames and Tide Club! Every weekend they go mudlarking by the river, searching for treasures that have washed up on the shore. Clem has found old things, new things and a whole heap of rubbish. But one day, she finds something really special. Something magical that belongs in the river and must be returned to its rightful owner … or else. Before they know it, the Thames and Tide Club are on the weirdest, wildest, underwater-iest adventure they could possibly have imagined on a mission to save Underwater London!

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_______________ WINNER OF THE YOTO CARNEGIE MEDAL 2022 WINNER OF THE YOTO CARNEGIE SHADOWERS’ CHOICE AWARD 2022 _______________ 'A very special new addition to the shelf and deserves classic status' - The Times Children's Book of the Week 'A modern classic ... relevant, comforting and life-affirming' - Scotsman 'The perfect Autumn read' - Primary Teacher Bookshelf _______________ A classic in the making for anyone who ever longed to be WILD. October and her dad live in the woods. They know the trees and the rocks and the lake and stars like best friends. They live in the woods and they are wild. And that's the way it is. Until the year October turns eleven. That's the year October rescues a baby owl. It's the year Dad falls out of the biggest tree in their woods. The year the woman who calls herself October's mother comes back. The year everything changes. Written in Katya Balen's heart-stoppingly beautiful style, this book is a feast for the senses. And, as October fights to find the space to be wild in the whirling chaos of the world beyond the woods, it is also a feast for the soul.

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The mudlarkers of the Thames and Tide Club are about to face Squidmageddon in a funny and fast-paced adventure for young treasure hunters. When the director of the mudlarking museum goes on holiday for a week, he leaves three members of the Thames and Tide Club – Clem, Zara and Ash – in charge. They’re determined that nothing will go wrong on their watch, but they haven’t planned on an invasion of squid who will stop at nothing to take over the world … Join the club and dig for treasure in the wildest adventure you could imagine!

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_______________ 'A brave and beautiful book with a big heart. I loved it' - Jenny Downham 'A tear-jerker about family that shows us things that are important and true, and promotes compassion' - Nicolette Jones, Sunday Times Children's Book of the Week _______________ FROM THE WINNER OF THE YOTO CARNEGIE MEDAL 2022 We are her world and her universe and her space and her stars and her sky and her galaxy and her cosmos too. Frank is ten. He likes cottage pie and football and cracking codes. Max is five. He eats only Quavers and some colours are too bright for him and if he has to wear a new T-shirt he melts down down down. Sometimes Frank wishes Mum could still do huge paintings of stars and asteroids like she used to, but since Max was born she just doesn’t have time. When tragedy hits Frank and Max’s lives like a comet, can Frank piece together a universe in which he and Max aren’t light years apart? This jaw-dropping, heartbreaking and hopeful novel from Katya Balen will remind you we are all made of stardust. For fans of thought-provoking, moving middle grade from Wonder to Skellig. _______________ 'Sensitive, heartbreaking ... a wonderful narrative voice' - Guardian 'A moving, absorbing novel about a pair of brothers - one is autistic, one is not, and I came to love both of them' - Joanne Limburg, author of The Autistic Alice 'Invigorating, enlightening and exciting' - James Sinclair, Autistic & Unapologetic _______________

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Book Band: Dark Blue (Ideal for ages 9+) An inspiring fantasy story from Katya Balen, author of The Space We’re In and October, October. Maggie wants her dad to take her birdwatching like he promised but he’s too busy and she ends up at the zoo with her auntie and her annoying cousins. There, she sees a strange bird and takes one of its beautiful silver feathers home. Little does she know, that this is the start of a magical adventure in the moonlight… This magical story features black-and-white illustrations by Pham Quang Phuc. The Bloomsbury Readers series is packed with book-banded stories to get children reading independently in Key Stage 2 by award-winning authors like double Carnegie Medal winner Geraldine McCaughrean and Waterstones Prize winner Patrice Lawrence. With engaging illustrations and online guided reading notes written by the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE), this series is ideal for home and school. For more information visit www.bloomsburyreaders.com. 'Any list that brings together such a quality line up of authors is going to be welcomed … Bloomsbury Readers are aimed squarely at children in Key Stage 2 and designed to support them as they start reading independently and while they continue to gain confidence and understanding.' Books for Keeps

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_______________ 'Original, compulsive, uplifting: this is another triumph for Balen' - Alex O'Connell, The Times Children's Book of the Week 'Balen's best book yet: ambitious, funny, spirited, moving, heartfelt and bold all at once. She's a force to be reckoned with' - Ross Montgomery _______________ From the author of October, October, winner of the Yoto Carnegie Medal 2022, comes a life-affirming story about blended families and learning to find room in your heart for new life and new love. Tom is still quiet and timid, even though his dad has been gone for nearly two years now. Zofia has a raging storm that makes her want to fight the whole world until she gets what she wants. And what she wants is for scaredy-cat Tom to get out of her life. Tom hates loud, unpredictable Zofia just as much, but he’s moving into Zofia’s house. Because his mum and Zofia’s dad are in love... and they’re having a baby. Tom and Zofia both wish the stupid baby had never happened. But then Tom’s mum gets ill, and it begins to look horribly like their wish might come true... A story of learning to trust, trying to let go and diving into the unknown with hope in your heart, with a stunning cover illustrated by CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal winner Sydney Smith. _______________

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