Search results for ""author weird"

Kay Hutchison had a successful career, a beautiful home, and a loving husband until the day she woke up and said `I'm leaving'. Why on earth did she walk away from it all and turn to a host of weird and wonderful treatment in search of answers to a question she couldn't even articulate? Part memoir, part guide, this is Kay's journey of self discovery as she faces up to her darkest moments via homeopathy, astrology, silent retreats and reiki, whilst also dabbling in past-life regression, sonic therapy, shamanic retreats and many more along the way. My Life in Thirty-Seven Therapies is the frank, funny, moving and ultimately uplifting story of one woman's pursuit of happiness and inner peace.

Read more less

When your boss is the Queen of England, you never know what the day will bring. For Gentleman Investigator for the Crown, Sir Maurice Newbury, it is likely to involve rooftop chases, sword fights, races through the Underground, and the most terrifying case of murders to ever plague London.When an Egyptian mummy is unveiled, a string of mysterious murders follows in its wake, drawing Newbury into a web of occult intrigue. Meanwhile, Miss Veronica Hobbes becomes increasingly perplexed by a growing pool of young women who have disappeared after being used as props in a magician's stage act. But what appears to be a straightforward investigation pulls Miss Hobbes into mortal danger.So begins another thrilling Newbury & Hobbes investigation - a weird and wonderful adventure quite unlike any other.

Read more less

Why 60 seconds in a minute? Who invented zero? What exactly is pi? Why do mathematicians hunt prime numbers? And how can you get a number bigger than infinity? To find out, take a tour through 200 important, fascinating and unusual numbers - the easy and entertaining way to grasp mathematics. Numbers in Minutes demystifies the maths surrounding the key numbers including: zero, 1-40, negatives, percentages, prime numbers, fractions, decimals, pi, exponentials, imaginary numbers, squares and cubes, roots and powers, Fibonacci numbers, the golden ratio, millions and trillions, a googol, 'perfect,' 'kissing,' 'vampire' and 'weird' numbers, infinity, infinity+1 and other sizes of infinity...Every number is explained in a few short paragraphs with a helpful picture, making the maths simple to understand and remember.

Read more less

Motionless now and in absolute silence, she awaited her doom, the moments growing to hours, to years, to ages; and still those devilish eyes maintained their watch. Ambrose Bierce was one of America’s leading writers of the nineteenth century, seen by contemporaries as a successor to Edgar Allan Poe with an authentic grasp of horror based on his experiences fighting for the Union in the American Civil War. Despite his contributions to the genre of supernatural and weird tales, today his name remains unknown to many readers. This new collection presents over thirty of Bierce’s most terrifying and unusual stories, from essential classics such as ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge’ and ‘The Eyes of the Panther’ to the writer’s lesser-known series recounting macabre local legends of haunted houses, mysterious disappearances and chilling encounters with the dead.

Read more less

'Baggini offers us a tempting smorgasbord of some of the most baffling, weird and occasionally downright creepy scenarios ever envisaged... enjoy these mind-boggling tales from the outer limit of thought' Guardian Is it right to eat a pig that wants to be eaten? Are you really reading this book cover, or are you in a simulation? If God is all-powerful, could he create a square circle? Here are 100 of the most intriguing thought experiments from the history of philosophy and ideas - questions to leave you inspired, informed and scratching your head, dumbfounded. A collection of short, accessible philosophical quandaries to stimulate, challenge and entertain. 'This book is like the Sudoku of moral philosophy: apply your mind to any of its "thought experiments" while stuck on the Tube, and quickly be transported out of rush-hour hell' New Statesman

Read more less

Explore the hilarious, surreal, anarchic alien worlds of High on Life in this stunning compendium of concept art, final designs, storyboards, and exclusive commentary.From the mind of Justin Roiland (Rick and Morty) comes High on Life – a hilarious, surreal adventure set in a world where alien invaders have enslaved Earth … so they can use us as recreational drugs. Armed with a pre-loved bounty hunter suit and a bizarre arsenal of talking weaponry, it''s your mission to bring down an intergalactic cartel and free humanity from their clutches – and maybe make a little money on the side. With stunning full-colour illustrations throughout, The Art of High on Life showcases the freaky creatures, weird worlds and grotesque gunplay of the game, featuring expert commentary throughout from its creators, Squanch Games.

Read more less

The perfect book for young curious minds who love to ask WEIRD and WONDERFUL questions.Did dinosaurs beat us to the moon? Is the Loch Ness Monster real?Can imaginary friends come to life?Should we all be learning to speak cat?Want to impress your friends and family with some BANANAS but TRUE facts? Then discover the world of impossible things with fact detective Dan Schreiber. This book will give you the answers to all of your big questions, no matter how silly! From discovering if monsters are real to seeking out haunted sausage rolls, exploring the world''s strangest curses to finding the truth about time travel, this book has everything!With hilarious illustrations and comic strips in every chapter, you won''t want to put this book down!

Read more less

''Brilliant, thought-provoking and original.'' BookTrust''Stunning . . . an original and fascinating book!'' Evie, aged 9, ToppstaGo on an amazing journey around the world to discover how animals, plants and microscopic organisms develop fascinating friendships to survive and thrive.Did you know pom pom crabs wear sea anemones as boxing gloves to fight off enemies?And greater honeybirds guide humans to hidden beehives?And bats use pitcher plants as sleeping bags?From ravens and wolves to trees and fungi, learn how these unlikely alliances are formed and find out all the incredible, funny, weird and disgusting reasons why these partnerships work.Every page is beautifully illustrated and packed full of facts that should surprise and inspire us all to overcome our differences and work together more.

Read more less

Mysteries abound in the second book of a new graphic novel series about finding friendship in unexpected places! This fun and funny buddy comedy is perfect for fans of Narwhal & Jelly, emerging readers, and all kids who love comics. Beak & Ally are back, and they’ve got some bedtime jitters! Late at night, the swamp is full of weird noises . . . spooky noises! Like the GUURNT GUURNT! of the horrible Grunty Beast, the CHH CHH CHH CHH of the chilling Chatter Ghosts, and the ZZUMP ZZUMP of the mechanical Zump Monster!How’s Beak the bird supposed to get any rest with all these strange sounds sounding off around him? Thankfully, Ally the alligator has some good ideas about where all the racket is coming from.

Read more less

If Jemma had lived, none of this would have happened. I'd have been too busy to get dragged into this filthy, illegal business...' Since Lindy's baby sister died, her family have been caught in a downward spiral. Her brothers are in prison and her parents have given up. Soon Lindy is out of her depth too, caught in the centre of an international drugs ring, with no way out. Then Lindy finds help from an unexpected ally: weird, mute Karl from school, and together they plan a daring and desperate escape. But when you're in this deep, can you ever be free? Touching, surprising and painfully honest, Illegal is the second in a cycle of three novels by Miriam Halahmy, and the follow up to her acclaimed first novel, Hidden.

Read more less

“Love will have its sacrifices. No sacrifice without blood. Let us go to sleep now.” A prophecy threatens a volcanic upheaval for a star-crossed pair. A forbidden rite binds a dark arts dabbler to a phantom bride. A barstool chancer invites a devilish retribution on the dance floor. Beckoning from this tome are twelve tales of dark romance and undying passions hailing from 1832 to 2022, marrying bewitching classics by Mary Shelley, Wilkie Collins and Angela Carter with twisting modern pieces by Nalo Hopkinson, Tracy Fahey and V. Castro—alongside the classic Gothic novella of sapphic vampire romance Carmilla. Indulging in the strangest eddies of literary love, this new anthology bids you enter a doom-laden yet irresistibly seductive corner of the Weird.

Read more less

A talking watch. An overcoat for two people. A pair of training pants for poodles. In his companion to Weird & Wacky Inventions, Jim Murphy shows kids some additional baffling and utterly silly inventions in the form of a guessing game that is both challenging and fun. What is a finger-supporting device used for? Did the talking watch ever become available for sale in stores? What on earth is a beard grinder? Now for the first time in paperback, with full-color illustrations throughout, Baffling & Bizarre Inventions offers a glimpse into the life of inventors—both good and bad! Whether it’s a device for shaping the upper lip or a life preserver for horses, this parade of unusual inventions is a real treat for trivia lovers, budding artists, and any kid who has an interest in science and inventions.

Read more less

From the ferocious sea monster Ichthyosaurus and the lumbering plated Stegosaurus to Velociratpor, the stealthy two-legged hunter and Quetzalcoatlus, the God of the skies, Dinopedia is a guide to prehistoric beasts. Discover how experts figured out chickens are actually dinosaurs, and explore the answers to the big questions we all want to know about dinosaurs: What did dinosaurs sound like? How did dinosaurs really move? What colour were dinosaurs? Lovingly brought to life by the illustration duo behind Mythopedia and Return of the Wild, Good Wives and Warriors, this book shows dinosaurs as they''ve never been presented before.Let the weird and wonderful creatures of the past spark your child''s imagination and inspire them to learn about the Earth as it was millions, and millions, and MILLIONS of years ago.

Read more less

The Worst Witch Saves the Day is the fifth adventure in the much-loved Worst Witch series by Jill Murphy, in which lovable but disaster-prone Mildred Hubble is in trouble once again. She is possibly the worst witch ever to go to Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches . . .'What this cat needs is to pull himself together!'Something is up at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches: Mildred Hubble's new form teacher is really weird. Or is she? Investigating isn't easy, especially when Mildred's potions go wrong, the class know-it-all insists on being 'helpful' and her beloved cat is having a meltdown . . .'A lovely, sparkly book' - Observer

Read more less

With her red hair flowing, her yellow eyes glinting like embers, and her face streaked with blood, Jirel is strong, fearless, and driven by honor. The fierce, proud, and relentless commander of warriors, standing tall above her enemies and simmering with rage, Jirel bids farewell to the world of treacherous men and walks through a forbidden door into Hell itself in pursuit of freedom, justice, and revenge.These are the classic tales of blood and honor that catapulted C.L. Moore into the legendary ranks of such acclaimed writers as Robert E. Howard and Edgar Rice Burroughs in the golden age of sword and sorcery. First published in the magazine Weird Tales in the 1930s, Moore's fantastic medieval adventures are heightened by a savage, romantic vision that helped define the genre, earning her recognition as a Grand Master for lifetime achievement by the World Fantasy Convention.

Read more less

Winner of the 2009 Asian American Literary Awards in Poetry and 2010 American Book Award The first team sport in human history was played with a ball made of stone, on courts that have been found from the Mayan ruins of Central America to Arizona. Thus, we find a soccer dad walking the sidelines of a scuff ed LA field, its goal lines swirling, nets strung loosely between daylight and the spirit world--Sesshu Foster's inimitably fierce and powerfully evocative mix of the fantastic and the mundane. World Ball Notebook is a hybrid genre mixed text, composed of extracts from travel notebooks, email poems, postcard jottings, letters and blog posts, a record of the written moment compiled, refracted, prismatic. Poet Sesshu Foster is the author of the highly acclaimed City Terrace Field Manual and Atomic Aztex, a novel. "What playing field are we on exactly? The game gets hotter more interesting and 'stranged' as Sesshu Foster expands the metaphor in this dizzying collection of 'high energy constructs'. A delicious mongrel mix of cross-cultural underbelly reveries, anecdotes, observations, snapshots, histories, politics. He is one of our wittiest, wide-awake, astute, 21st century raconteurs. 'Take me out to the ballgame...I don't care if I never come back...'" --Anne Waldman, The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics "World Ball Notebook is Sesshu Foster's breakthrough book, in which he raises the trenchant deadpan observations of City Terrance Field Manual and the alternative-universe hijinks of Atomik Aztex to a new and even more potent level. (Beware, dear reader: the contents of this book are radioactive.) Always surprising and incisive, Foster now finds the marvelous in the ordinary, banal, and abject, and, in the words that dance and tremble, he conveys the sheer (and often terrifying) wonder that one is alive in a weird and terrible time. It is this wonder--this sense of seeing everyday life for the first time, and embracing every part of it without exception--that places Foster at the forefront of innovative and daring writing. This book is exhilarating, and I am grateful to the author for giving me a chance to see the world this way." --John Yau Sesshu Foster taught composition and literature in East LA for twenty years. He won the 2010 American Book Award for World Ball Notebook, the 2009 Asian American Literary Award for Poetry for World Ball Notebook, the 2005 Believer Book Award for Atomik Aztex, the 1990 American Book Award for Invocation LA: Urban Multicultural Poetry, and was a finalist for a PEN Center West Poetry Prize and for the Paterson Poetry Prize for City Terrace Field Manual.

Read more less

★ “DeNiro’s novel is a lyrical, emotionally powerful story . . . of queer parenthood, of the reality of the sharp fear of trans lives, and of complicated self-discovery.” — Booklist (starred review) In this playful and aching short novel, an unnamed trans woman is on an epic journey to find the place where she belongs. As she navigates her many realities, she must wrestle with anxieties and fears about the world. Her son and her ex live in another state. Environmental disasters are being outsourced to the Midwest. She can’t decide whether or not to unbox the companion automaton under her bed. And some of her friends may not just be ghosting her, they might not even be real.OKPsyche is a fever-pitched odyssey through the joys, fears, and weirdness of trans adulthood, parenthood, and selfhood in the contemporary world.

Read more less

Anouk Ricard's bold and colourful comics of this quirky, grumpy gang of pals are delightfully weird yet thoroughly reaslistic in their honest and hilarious portrayal of friendship. Anna, Froga, Christopher the worm, Ron the cat, and Babu the dog continue their non-adventures with bickering, needling, cajoling, and honest friendship. No white lie goes unexposed, no small embarrassment goes unrevealed, no secret is kept, everyone's foibles are fodder for jokes. Anna and Froga: Completely Babu collects all five volumes of the acclaimed Anna and Froga series into an accessible paperback. Ricard's virbrant world shines with visual puns and deft animal caricatures, making Anna and Froga enjoyable for kids and their parents alike.

Read more less

Winner of the Sunday Times short story prizeWinner of the Edge Hill short story prizeA kiss that just won't happen. A disco at the end of the world. A teenage goth on a terror mission. And OAP kiddie-snatchers, and scouse real-ale enthusiasts, and occult weirdness in the backwoods...Dark Lies the Island is a collection of unpredictable stories about love and cruelty, crimes, desperation, and hope from the man Irvine Welsh has described as 'the most arresting and original writer to emerge from these islands in years'. Every page is shot through with the riotous humour, sympathy and blistering language that mark Kevin Barry as a pure entertainer and a unique teller of tales.

Read more less

Because the future is getting weirder everyday, we give you XINO—an intra-ocular lozenge of subversive, surrealist science fiction to cure your awful awareness of it all. Try not to worry—the insertion process will be guided by the megawatt brilliance of comics’ brightest talents as they slowly tune your hopes, dreams, desires, paranoia, alienation, anxiety, and adrenaline to produce the desired results. Join Melissa Flores (The Dead Lucky, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) and Daniel Irizarri (Judge Dredd) as they surgically activate the hidden dimensions of the human senses; cult phenoms Christopher Condon (That Texas Blood) and Nick Cagnetti (Pink Lemonade) debut the world's first intravenous video game system; underground radicals Jordan Thomas (Weird Work) and Shaky Kane (Bulletproof Coffin) surveil the suburbs for signs of covert infiltration; plus much, more from a startling cast of megawatt talents, including Phil Hester (Gotham City: Year One), David Lapham (Stray Bullets) and Maria Lapham force our collective psyche into unrecognizable new dimensions; award-winning and bestselling author Alex Segura (Secret Identity) and Zander Cannon (Kaijumax) embark on an intergalactic journey of revenge; François Vigneault (Titan) and Artyom Trakhanov (First Knife) deliver bleeding-edge technology to Paleolithic man; Dan McDaid (DEGA) takes weaponized incompetence to the next level; Connor Willumsen (Bradley Of Him) digs deep into our capacity for self-delusion—which doesn’t seem to be getting any better.

Read more less

Join the hunt for some weird and wonderful sharks! Make reading your superpower with DK’s beautiful, leveled nonfiction.Use your reading superpowers to learn all about sharks, from the whale shark to one that glows in the dark - a high-quality, fun, nonfiction reader - carefully leveled to help children progress.Little Sharks, Big Sharks is a beautifully designed reader all about fourteen different sharks, and what makes each one unique. Think you know sharks? Read on! The engaging text has been carefully leveled using Lexile so that children are set up to succeed. A motivating introduction to using essential nonfiction reading skills. Children will love to find out about the different sharks in our oceans, and what makes each unique.

Read more less

Sometimes I dream about myself and in my dream I m someone else But also, I am me becoming the horse that I want to be. Was it always like this? What if your self portrait was a collection of weird shapes? Have you ever felt like an abstract painting? Do you ever simultaneously wish and worry that the boundaries of your body will melt away and you ll become a magnificent horse? Becoming Horses is a book about squinting hard and looking from the right angle to find that everything around you sparkles just a little and the shapes of things are not firm but fuzzy. The You you know may shift and take form as a beautiful horse, a sunset, or something so special, so huge that you could never describe it.

Read more less

Did you know that there are tigers, bulls and even angels in the seas and oceans? That is, there are tiger sharks, bull sharks and angel sharks. There are also whale sharks and cookie-cutter sharks. From the angel shark to the zebra shark by way of the great white shark, hammerhead shark and megamouth shark, A-Z of Sharks presents 26 weird and wonderful marine creatures to be explored. Each shark is illustrated with an outstanding colour artwork, with boxes of text highlighting key features. There is also a guide to the pronunciation of each shark’s name. Whether huge or tiny, deadly or harmless, each shark is explored over one page. From a lemon shark to a nurse shark to a velvet belly lantern shark, A-Z of Sharks is informative fun about some of the most fascinating animals in the ocean.

Read more less

Going off to university is always a time of change and growth, but for Esther, Susan, and Daisy, things are about to get a little weird.Their freshman year is finally coming to a close and Daisy, Susan, and Esther say goodbye to Catterick Hall forever. Literally forever. It’s being bulldozed and re-purposed as a luxury dorm next semester. But as one door closes, another opens and between end of semester hookups, music festivals, and moving into their first home together, the life experiences are just getting started. Written by Eisner Award nominee John Allison (Bad Machinery, Scary Go Round) and illustrated by Max Sarin, Giant Days Volume 5 finishes off freshman year in style, collecting issues #17-20 of the Eisner and Harvey Award-nominated series.

Read more less

Cheese puffs. Coffee. Sunscreen. Vapes. Hand sanitiser. George Zaidan reveals the weird science behind everyday items that may or may not kill you, depending on whom you ask. If you want easy answers, this book is not for you. But if you’re curious which health studies to trust, what dense scientific jargon really means, and how to make better choices when it comes to food and health – dive right in! Zaidan makes chemistry more fun than potions class as he reveals exactly what science can (and can’t) tell us about the packaged ingredients we buy in the supermarket. He demystifies the ingredients of life and death – and explains how we know whether something is good or bad for you – in exquisite, hilarious detail at breakneck speed.

Read more less

When twelve-year-old, UFO-obsessed, Lucy Sladan sneaks out in the middle of a thunderstorm to investigate the unexplained disappearances in her hometown of Sticky Pines, she finds more than she bargained for: a huge hairy creature, a thirteen-year-old stranger named Milo Fisher and a deep-rooted secret. Together, Lucy and Milo become entwined in a mystery that threatens to engulf the whole town of Sticky Pines and its weird and wonderful residents.Sticky Pines: The Bigwoof Conspiracy is the debut novel for children by the talented Dashe Roberts.UFO-obsessed Lucy sneaks out in a thunderstorm to investigate unexplained disappearances, and finds more than she bargained for. First in a funny, fast-paced series aimed at aspiring "Stranger Things" fans. - Bookseller

Read more less

Olga, the animal-loving girl scientist returns in a second laugh-out-loud adventure for fans of Tom Gates, Barry Loser and Timmy Failure.Olga’s trip to outer space is postponed when her possibly-alien but definitely-cute pet, Meh, comes down with a case of the Pink-Pox. Meh is acting weird. She won’t eat olives. She sleeps for 12 hours at a time. She’d rather pee on the rug than go for a walk in the park. And she smells bad – REALLY bad –worse than usual! But the vet is a silly human, and Olga does NOT trust humans. Can she solve Meh’s mystery illness herself? Girl power, wacky jokes, kooky science facts and an adorable furry pink alien blob – resist if you can!

Read more less

Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross and listen to the tales of this ancient county. Hear how a King and his knights were turned to stone at the mysterious Rollright Stones; how Dragon Hill got its name; take the Devil's Highway to the End of the World - if you dare; or spend a night on the weird Ot Moor; listen in on the Boar's Head Carol; walk the oldest trackway in Europe in the footsteps of a Neolithic pilgrim; pause to try the Blowing Stone; leave a coin for the enigmatic blacksmith to shoe your horse at Wayland's Smithy; eavesdrop upon the Inklings in the Eagle and Child; and meet that early fabulist, Geoffrey of Monmouth in the city of dreaming spires. This collection will take you on an oral tour across the county - on the way you'll meet gypsies, highwaymen, cavaliers, a prime minister and a devilish mason.

Read more less

Exactly 500 years after its first publication by the great Venetian printing house Aldus Manutius, Francesco Colonna's weird, erotic, allegorical antiquarian tale, Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, was translated into English and reprinted in full, together with all of its 174 original - and enchanting - woodcut illustrations. It is one of the most important documents of Renaissance imagination and fantasy, and its woodcuts are a primary source for Renaissance ideas on both buildings and gardens. This translation was first published in 1999 in a large format that exactly matched the original in size, design and typography. This new, smaller paperback edition retains all the text and illustrations and is easy to handle and read. Long prized by bibliophiles, pored over by generations of scholars, this classic book may now gain the wider audience its melancholy genius merits.

Read more less

A Waterstones science book of the yearA book of the year for The Times and Sunday TimesNew York Times editor''s choice Winner of the Giles St Aubyn Award for Non-Fiction''The book that might change the world ... This is luxury-class science writing'' TELEGRAPH''One of the best books of any genre that I''ve read in 2023, this superbly-written book ... will fascinate absolutely everyone'' FORBES''A delight. To learn more about phages is to discover fascinating details about a hidden world'' NATURE''Outstanding'' CLIVE MYRIEThe viruses that do us harm are vastly outnumbered by viruses that can actually save lives. These good viruses are called ''phages'', and they are the most abundant life form on Earth.The Good Virus reveals how these weird and wonderful microbes shape our health, support our ecosys

Read more less

This is the first in-depth look at Reginald LeBorg, the quintessential Hollywood contract director, who worked constantly during the 1940s and 50s at such studios as Universal, PRC, and Monogram, making a series of beautiful and resonant films under severe constraints of time and budget. Here, in a book-length interview recorded a year before his death in 1989, LeBorg looks back at all his work—Destiny, Calling Doctor Death, Weird Woman, The Flight That Disappeared, Jungle Woman, Diary of A Madman, San Diego I Love You, and many others, and discusses his impatience with "fans" who don't bother to screen his more interesting non-Gothic films, describes studio life during the 1940s, and gives the reader insights into his personal life. With stills and a thorough filmography.

Read more less

Knight Sir Louis, champion knight at Castle Sideways, has been sent on another important mission – he must face the dastardly, double-headed dragon, Borax! And his mission isn't made any easier with the tricksy jester Merry-Jingles trying to steal his thunder. Things are about to get hot, then hotter, then boiling ...Luckily, Louis has great friends who can help - a flying robot horse, Clunkalot, an adventurous boar called Catalogue, and Pearlin, the brilliant wizentor. That's bound to help, right?The second adventure in the hilarious series about Knight Sir Louis, including lots of different storytelling, fabulous comic strip illustrations and lots and lots of jokes!______________‘I love this book SO much! Mr Gum levels of weird and brilliant’ – Jo Nadin

Read more less

Flowing between Devon and Cornwall, the beauty of the River Tamar is ever changing. Every turn brings something new; deer, otters, seals, stoats and, in the past, even the occasional dolphin. Rich with trees, flowers and insects, there is something wonderful to be found with every season. Spring brings new growth and colour with bluebells and daffodils. Wildlife flourishes and bees and butterflies appear, along with many other weird and wonderful insects.In the summer everything thrives and then the wonderful shades of autumn cloak the banks of the river. In the winter we see stormy weather, snow flurries and heavy rain. Various industries flourish along the Tamar including boat building, fishing and farming together with many activities such as yacht racing, regattas and fetes. This lavishly illustrated book will appeal to anyone who loves this beautiful waterway.

Read more less

Two classic Roald Dahl stories brought to life as audiobook readings by House star Hugh Laurie, and Sir Quentin Blake.The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me, read by Hugh LaurieBilly dreams of turning a weird old wooden house into a wonderful sweet-shop.But a giraffe, a pelly and a monkey already live inside!Soon they are friends, and when they meet the richest man in England, Billy's scrumptious-galumptious dream just might come true . . .Esio Trot, read by Quentin BlakeMr Hoppy loves Mrs Silver.Mrs Silver loves Alfie the tortoise.Sometimes Mr Hoppy wishes he could become a tortoise.Until one day he finds a way to win Mrs Silver's heart, with the help of some magic, and some cabbage . . .

Read more less

What if the key to saving the future lay in a technology that makes love visible—even after death? Lexa Andromeda is just a normal twelve-year-old girl, until the day her dog dies. She's at a loss—until she discovers pranking. It's fun, it's easy, and it gives her something to do while she mourns. But when one prank goes too far, Lexa finds herself sent to Thistleton Academy—a prestigious boarding school for "Highly Creatives" like her. And that's when things start getting weird. Lexa soon discovers a sinister plot that could lead to a mass extinction event. Join Lexa, her friends, and a mysterious time traveler as they navigate the dangerous halls of Thistleton and work to reveal the truth and save the world before it's too late.

Read more less

Get your umbrella, your sun hat and your snowshoes ready for this thrill-packed journey through the world of weather. Find out about different climates and weather patterns; discover the processes that drive them; learn the secrets of forecasting the weather and read about record-breaking weather and weird weather events, such as 'animal rain', 'ice bombs', 'ball lightning’ and much more. This title also looks at the hot topics of pollution and climate change - how human activity can affect the weather, the impact of global warming and, most importantly, what we can all do to help. It's packed with fascinating facts and stories that will bring the extraordinary world of weather to life, making it perfect for budding meteorologists, young and old!Contents includes: Daily Weather Seasons and Climate Extreme and Amazing Weather Using the Weather The Weather is Changing About Lonely Planet Kids: Lonely Planet Kids - an imprint of the world's leading travel authority Lonely Planet - published its first book in 2011. Over the past 45 years, Lonely Planet has grown a dedicated global community of travellers, many of whom are now sharing a passion for exploration with their children. Lonely Planet Kids educates and encourages young readers at home and in school to learn about the world with engaging books on culture, sociology, geography, nature, history, space and more. We want to inspire the next generation of global citizens and help kids and their parents to approach life in a way that makes every day an adventure. Come explore!

Read more less

Vananka Darmont’s life has sucked since his Indian father stuck him with such a weird name before disappearing. When he comes home from his soul-draining job to find his mother dead from an overdose, he decides to abandon the $31k in debt she left him to find a new life in Mexico. But trouble follows him like a shadow, and he soon finds himself wrapped up in a world of drug smugglers, white supremacists, and federal agents. In the middle of all that, however, is perhaps the one good thing ever introduced to his life: Leila. And when she’s kidnapped, rescuing her becomes his single purpose. A psychedelic mix of BREAKING BAD, DESPERADO, and a just whisper of APOCALYPSE NOW.

Read more less

Just how humdrum is 10-year-old Aldo Zelnick's life right now? So humdrum that he sets out to measure which January day will be the most boring. So humdrum that Jack and Bee succeed in getting him to try some weird hobbies. So humdrum that his recurring Hawaiian dream has become way more enticing than real life. So humdrum that even unathletic Aldo agrees to downhill ski with his superjock brother, Timothy -- and finds that hotdogging it on the slopes can be hazardous to your health. The humorous plot and lively drawings in this book will captivate enthusiastic and reluctant readers alike. This eighth installment in an A-to-Z alphabet series also includes a glossary of fun and challenging "H words," such as harbinger, hyperbole, and hogwash.

Read more less

Petunia the platypus heads to her first party since arriving from Australia. She has the present, a party hat, and a pavlova, but it's a costume party and she doesn't have a costume! Everyone asks what she's supposed to be: 'Are you a duck?' 'Do you have webbed feet?' 'Can you lay eggs?' Even without a costume, Petunia stands out, and all of the other party guests give her a full-on identity crisis! Will she, with her weird quirks, ever fit in? For anyone who has ever felt out of place - from moving to a new country to moving to a new school - Quacks Like a Duck is a charming tale of acceptance and individuality that will have you laughing and embracing your own quirks and differences with pride.

Read more less

Big Cat for Little Wandle Fluency has been developed in collaboration with Wandle Learning Trust and Little Sutton Primary School. It consists of a range of chapter books with increasing word counts across 10 fluency levels aimed at children in Year 2 and 3. Each book builds reading confidence, stamina and speed and nurtures a love for reading. Fluency 3 books have a word count of 3840 words with an expected reading rate of 80 words per minute. Have you ever felt like running down a hill after a rolling wheel of cheese? Or swimming as fast as you can down a muddy bog? Learn about the world's most weird and wonderful competitions. Who knows, you might find your new favourite sport!

Read more less

'Dark, funny and wild.'- Chloe Ashby, author of WET PAINT'As ballsy as you'd hope' - Grazia'The words just sizzle off the page' - Glamour'Another triumph for feminism' - Red'Set to be one of the best books of 2022' - Red'A thrilling, bisexual romcom that doubles as a smart skewering of social media' - Evening Standard'... enjoyable first novel...' '...easy-to-read story...' - Independent'... the voice of her generation' '... the face of the future' - The Times Magazine'It's Carrie Bradshaw's columns in Sex and the City on steroids.' - The Times'Everything is IMMEDIATE. Emphasised.' - The Times'It's a kind of rags-to-unexpected-riches-to-devastating-realisation-back-to-older-wiser-rags type tale, almost 18th century in progression, except set in a thoroughly modern, even slightly futuristic world where life online is even more all consuming than we know it now.' - Sunday Independent'A hot debut novel with a dash of relatable existential dread' - Cosmopolitan'Seriously hot' - Cosmopolitan'Girlcrush is a funny, filthy and furious exploration of sexuality, identity and the expectations on us all. It's a rare combination - a page turner with a message.' - Daisy Buchanan'It feels like a ball of energy coming right for you. I loved this debut.' - Emma GannonGIRLCRUSH is a dark feminist retelling of Jekyll & Hyde by bestselling author Florence Given.In Given's debut novel, we follow Eartha on a wild, weird and seductive modern-day exploration as she commences life as an openly bisexual woman whilst also becoming a viral sensation on Wonderland, a social media app where people project their dream selves online.The distance between her online and offline self grows further and further apart until something dark happens that leads her into total self-destruction, forcing Eartha to make a choice; which version of herself should she kill off?Warning this book does include storylines that some readers may find triggering.*Also by Florence Given*Women Don't Owe You Pretty

Read more less

'Immensely, cheerily silly' Guardian Dog lost in space? Grown an extra head and don't know why? Pocket money stolen by a green blob? You need the Space Detectives! Connor and Ethan are spending their summer holidays aboard the world's first orbiting city, Starville (basically Beverley Hills in space!). The amazing space station is bursting with celebrities and the mega-rich. But Connor and Ethan are too busy selling ice cream to see the sights. However, neither of our heroes can resist a mystery and when they discover the space station is hurtling on a collision course with the moon (eep!) they know they need to step in. This is a case for the SPACE DETECTIVES! Can Connor and Ethan find the culprit and save Starville from its impending doom? LOOK OUT FOR SPACE DETECTIVES: EXTRA WEIRD CREATURES

Read more less

‘Funny, anarchic, original and gloriously silly.’ ― Richard Osman‘Ted and Nancy are my favourite funny foxes EVER.’ ― Liz Pichon, author of Tom Gates‘I CACKLED ALOUD on practically every page. Comic gold, tinged with such tenderness.’ ― Kiran Millwood Hargrave ‘Grimwood is like Winnie-the-Pooh written by the Pythons, and so madly inventive and funny I was howling with laughter by the third page. This is about to become a fundamental part of 21st century childhood’ ―​ Caitlin Moran Laugh your head off with this fully-illustrated new series from award-winning Nadia Shireen. Perfect for readers age 7 to 107, fans of Dog Man, Roald Dahl, Mr Gum and David Walliams, and anyone who loves to laugh. Fox cub siblings Ted and Nancy are on the run from Princess Buttons, the scariest street cat in the Big City. They flee for Grimwood, expecting to find refuge in the peaceful countryside. Instead, they are met with thieving eagles, dramatic ducks, riotous rabbits and a whole host of unusual characters. Grimwood is . . . weird. But when Princess Buttons tracks them down, Nancy and Ted and the animals of Grimwood must unite in a mind-bending race against time . . . This memorable, distinctive and warm-hearted comedy series will have kids begging to read more.Grimwood: Attack of the Stink Monster! the must-read third Grimwood adventure​ OUT NOW! Nadia Shireen has won awards for her picture books including the UKLA Book Award for Good Little Wolf, and her latest, Barbara Throws a Wobbler, has been described as a ‘little doorway of joy’ by Caitlin Moran. She’s also been shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize and the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, and has been Writer-Illustrator in Residence for BookTrust. Grimwood is her first series for older readers.PRAISE FOR GRIMWOOD: 'Grimwood is where I want to be. A carnival of crazed confused comical critters that is more real than real life. Lots of things make me laugh but Grimwood makes me laugh out loudest.' ― Frank Cottrell-Boyce 'Gloriously anarchic, properly funny and highly illustrated with dynamic black-and-white art, this is a quirky delight for children – and their parents, too.' ― The Bookseller 'Dark, original and laugh-out-loud funny' ― The Times 'This book made my face hurt! Relentlessly funny.' ― Rob Biddulph 'Like Watership Down, but funny. You’ll laugh hysterically on every page.' ― Caitlin Moran 'Fantastic.' ― Lauren Laverne 'Pure genius!' ― Louie Stowell 'Made us laugh out loud.' ― Jim Smith, author of Barry Loser 'You’re in for a treat!' ― Selom Sunu, illustrator of Look Both Ways 'Utterly HILARIOUS' ― Sophy Henn, author-illustrator of Pizazz ‘Every page of the book zings with invention and joie de vivre’ ― The Financial TimesPRAISE FOR NADIA SHIREEN: 'Shireen’s latest book confirms her as one of the brightest and best picture book creators working in Britain today ... Sensational.' ― Observer

Read more less

Jennifer L. Armentrout (also known as J. Lynn), New York Times bestselling author of the Wait for You saga, delivers a new novel of first love, second chances, and scorching chemistry. Eleven months ago, bartender and weird-shirt-wearing extraordinaire Roxy and Officer Reece Anders had a one night stand. Well, kind of. She's been in love with him since she was fifteen, and he wishes that night they shared never happened. She's sworn him off forever, but the past and future collide, forcing her to rely on the one man who broke her heart not once, but twice. Her best friend since birth has been in a long-term care facility since he became a victim of a hate crime years ago, and the person who put him in there is out of prison and wanting to make amends with him and Roxy. She's not sure she has room for forgiveness in her and when she begins to receive frightening messages and is on the receiving end of escalating violence, she thinks she knows who is to blame. The man who already destroyed one life already. But Reece isn't convinced. The threats are too personal, and even if Roxy doesn't believe him, he's not willing to let anyone hurt her. Including himself. He's already messed up more than once when it comes to Roxy and he's not going to let history repeat itself.

Read more less

Perfect for fans of Stuart Gibbs and James Ponti, this “absolute blast” (Jarrett Lerner, author of the EngiNerds series) of a middle grade sci-fi adventure set in 1980s Ohio follows a young girl who makes incredible discoveries about family and belonging while chasing a kidnapping robot.It’s the summer of 1983, and one by one, the kids of Far Flung Falls are disappearing. With sheer drop-offs at every turn, the woods behind Molly McQuirter’s house have always been a dangerous place—even before something big and metal started lurking in them. But when Molly’s little brother is snatched up before her eyes, she has no choice but to follow. Sure, Wally tends to ruin everything, and his finger practically lives up his nose, but she isn’t about to let him be abducted by some unknown enemy, especially since their mom ran off to Florida two years ago and their dad, who’s slowly morphing into a couch potato, won’t be any help. If Molly wants to protect the family she has left, Wally’s rescue is going to be up to her. So, aided a crew of unusually determined pets, Molly sets off on Pink Lightning—her tricked-out bicycle—on a chase through the hills of southern Ohio. Finding the robot culprit only creates more questions, however, and when the unlikely mastermind behind the robot is uncovered, a new story begins to unfold—one of lost love, family bonds, and some seriously weird science.

Read more less

Perfect for fans of Stuart Gibbs and James Ponti, this “absolute blast” (Jarrett Lerner, author of the EngiNerds series) of a middle grade sci-fi adventure set in 1980s Ohio follows a young girl who makes incredible discoveries about family and belonging while chasing a kidnapping robot.It’s the summer of 1983, and one by one, the kids of Far Flung Falls are disappearing. With sheer drop-offs at every turn, the woods behind Molly McQuirter’s house have always been a dangerous place—even before something big and metal started lurking in them. But when Molly’s little brother is snatched up before her eyes, she has no choice but to follow. Sure, Wally tends to ruin everything, and his finger practically lives up his nose, but she isn’t about to let him be abducted by some unknown enemy, especially since their mom ran off to Florida two years ago and their dad, who’s slowly morphing into a couch potato, won’t be any help. If Molly wants to protect the family she has left, Wally’s rescue is going to be up to her. So, aided a crew of unusually determined pets, Molly sets off on Pink Lightning—her tricked-out bicycle—on a chase through the hills of southern Ohio. Finding the robot culprit only creates more questions, however, and when the unlikely mastermind behind the robot is uncovered, a new story begins to unfold—one of lost love, family bonds, and some seriously weird science.

Read more less

A ground–breaking experiment at a new research farm quickly grows out of control in this modern take on Day of the Triffids from master of creepy sci-fi Dan Smith. When Pete, Krish and Nancy read a story in the local paper about weird gunk being found in a field where sheep have gone missing next to Hilltop House, they’re sure there’s a mystery to be investigated. The new research farm at Hilltop is working on the creation of new bio-fuels, but when a storm knocks out the power in the local area and something escapes from the farm, it’s clear that the research has gone horribly wrong … Can the brave trio save the village in their most terrifying adventure yet?

Read more less

'Had me giggling all the way through . . . I loved it!' Jasbinder Bilan'Action-packed and bursting with fun' Sinéad O'HartWelcome to Little Snoddington, where nothing is normal and every day is magic . . .Nine-year-old Alfie Blackstack's parents have met a very unfortunate end. Now he's living in the SUPER CREEPY Switherbroom Hall with his mad-haired Aunt Gertie and warty Aunt Zita. The thing is, Alfie's aunts aren't just weird - they're WITCHES!When the circus arrives in town Alfie makes his first ever friend, the FEARLESS Calypso Fagan. But when Calypso's little sister Nova disappears, they must face the TERRIFYING Head Witch in a race to find Nova and stop the next Witch War.

Read more less