Search results for ""author ali sparkes""

Night after night Elena, Matt, and Tima wake at exactly the same time, with no idea why. It's messing them up and fracturing their lives . . . until they venture out into the dark and find each other. And then the sleepless trio realize their astounding power - they can speak any language; they can even communicate with animals. But something is happening over on the industrial estate-something which is emitting sounds that only they can hear, and killing any winged thing that crosses its path. There's nobody to fight it but themselves, for only they can possibly understand it and what it means to do . . . A new edge-of-your-seat series from award-winning author, Ali Sparkes, with huge appeal for both boys and girls. Fast-paced action adventure about contemporary children with mysterious powers, told with Ali's classic humour and lightness of touch.

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Spin has always dwelled in the darkness. He was happy to lurk alone, until Elena, Matt and Tima came to disrupt his night-time world. Elena, Matt, and Tima are Night Speakers. They wake up at the same time, every night, and since the beginning of these wake-up calls they have all had the power to speak any language. And that doesn't stop with humans. Something weird is going on at the hospital-children are going in, and not coming out. The Night Speakers are investigating, but even they, with their incredible powers of communication with the animal world, are struggling to find out the truth. But Spin's got a ringside seat. Because Spin's got a secret, and he's about to come out of the shadows The third standalone book in the Night Speakers series - action adventures about contemporary children with extraordinary powers, told with award-winning author Ali Sparkes's classic humour and energy.

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What if your new best friend was a ghost? Getting struck by lightning whilst huddling under a tree isn't exactly the way Alisha and Theo would have chosen to get out of sports day . . . Surviving the strike makes them see life differently. It also makes them notice Doug and Lizzie. Struck by lightning under that same tree on the common in 1975, the two teenagers have been hanging out there ever since. Doug and Lizzie are funny, clever, brave - and quite happy about making friends with a pair of ten-year-olds. OK, fair point, they are dead, and Doug's trousers are worryingly flared. But you can't have everything. But something sinister is going on at school - although only Theo and Alisha seem to be able to see it. What can it mean when ragged faceless entities keep staring in through the windows? Not all ghosts are friendly like Doug and Lizzie . . . but are these phantoms really the harbingers of doom for all the kids at Beechwood Junior? A fun and fast-paced ghostly mystery with lightning strikes, floating phantoms, and four fantastic friends just trying to get on with their everyday lives . . . or deaths . . . From the prize-winning author of Frozen in Time, the Shapeshifter series, and many more!

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It's not every day a couple of eagles pay you a visit in the middle of the night and tell you your friend, who happens to be hundreds of miles away, is in terrible danger. But Matt and Elena are not everyday people. They're Night Speakers, with the ability to communicate with animals, and an uncanny habit of getting into save-the-world situations. But what is shaking the birds' world so much that it would drive them to fly hundreds of miles? Something huge and horrifying is happening, and Tima is in the middle of it. Can Matt and Elena get to her in time? Something is going on below the surface, and only the Night Speakers can stop us all from falling into the cracks. . . The fourth standalone adventure in the Night Speakers series - action adventures about contemporary children with extraordinary powers, told with award-winning author Ali Sparkes's classic humour and energy.

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Jack Mattingly is a genius. He has an IQ of 170. He speaks fluent Mandarin and Latin. And he can calculate the square root of 1,673,549 in his head. But when Jack's parents' car is hi-jacked, with him inside it, for once he's as clueless as the rest of us. The car-jacker doesn't know Jack's in the car - yet. But it's only a matter of time before he's discovered. And then anything could happen. Only one thing's for sure: Jack's in for the thrill-ride of his life . . . A high-octane adventure from the winner of the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award.

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Adventure, conspiracy and shapeshifting - X-Men meets Alex Rider. Dax Jones is an ordinary schoolboy . . . until something extraordinary happens. Whilst frightened for his life, he inexplicably changes into a fox! He is offered a place at a secret government school where he can develop, and learn to control, his powers. But if Dax accepts, on no account can he tell anybody. Dax jumps at the chance of getting away from his unhappy home. But before long he begins to wonder who exactly is behind the school, and what they want from the pupils there. Suddenly Dax's fox senses are on high alert . . .

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Tyrone Lewis is messing about in the woods, trying to keep out of trouble, when he stumbles upon something weird . . . a glowing lump of rock or metal or something. Whatever it is, it gives him an amazing power. Which is cool at first, until Ty's new powers start attracting attention, and soon he's being followed by two sinister agents who seem intent on 'collecting' him. But Ty has no intention of letting that happen. So now he's got to RUN . . .

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A group of special teenagers, each with an incredible power. They live together and learn how to use their abilities, protected from those who wish to harm them. Now, for one short week they are let out into the world, with strict instructions that they must not use their powers. But good intentions are easy . . . following them through is a different matter. Gideon and Luke are spending some quality family time, playing at being normal teenagers for once. They have no real reason to use their telekinetic powers in the small seaside town, and there are enough bodyguards around to keep them safe, right? Wrong. Someone is stalking them. A man with the cool, calm air of a brutal killer and Gideon and Luke are in his sights.

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1.34 a.m. It's always 1.34 a.m. Every night without fail, at 1.34 a.m. on the dot, Elena, Matt, and Tima wake up. Except, something's changed. The beam that gave them the ability to communicate telepathically with animals has started to come through early. And that's because the Earth is slowing down. Just one second's delay is causing freak tidal waves, forest fires, chaos in the skies. And it's only getting worse. Do Elena, Matt, and Tima have the power to get the Earth back on track? Or could this mean the end of everything? Find out in the gripping finale to this electrifying series.

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Ava and Zeb decide to make a racetrack outside, but things spin out of control. Will Grandad Doug be able to help them? A Magnet for Mayhem is at Oxford Reading Level 11. It is for readers aged 7 to 11 years old who are working below expected standard in their reading. The Readerful Rise series ensures that older struggling readers have books with age-appropriate content and topics, that look like the books their peers are enjoying, but are written at a level they can read successfully.

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When Eddie discovers a secret passage in Wookey Hole caves, he just has to find out where it goes. But his amazement quickly turns to horror when he gets lost in the dark. He's underground, on his own, and nobody knows where he is . . . Until a hand reaches out of the blackness. A strange, pale girl helps Eddie get back to the surface, but she can't seem to leave the caves herself. Who is she? Or rather . . . what is she? And what other secrets is she hiding? Only one thing is certain - this is a summer Eddie will never forget. A captivating adventure from the author of Frozen in Time - winner of the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award!

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1956 Freddy and Polly are used to helping their father with his experiments. So they don't mind being put into cryonic suspension - having their hearts frozen until their father wakes them up again. They know it will only be for an hour or two, so there's nothing to worry about . . . Present Day Ben and Rachel have resigned themselves to a long, boring summer. Then they find a hidden underground vault in the garden containing two frozen figures, a boy and a girl. And when Rachel accidentally presses a button, something unbelievable happens . . . Can Polly and Freddy adapt to the twenty-first century? Will their bodies survive having been in suspension for so long? And most important of all, what happened to their father - and why did he leave them frozen in time?

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Do you long to be an actor, a fashion designer, or even an author writing a book like this one? Read the interviews in this book to find out what these jobs are really like and what you can do to work towards your goal. Reflect is a series of emotionally powerful fiction and non-fiction with realistic settings, carefully crafted to promote thoughtful discussions and develop higher-level reading comprehension. Written by top authors and developed with Literacy expert Nikki Gamble, these are books you can trust to engage, entertain and support children's personal development and wellbeing. The books are finely levelled, making it easy to match every child to books with the right depth and complexity, and helping them to progress. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children deepen their understanding and support their reading comprehension. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links to Relationships Education and support literacy skills.

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When the ground opens up underneath Bella, it's only the start of her adventures ... Oxford Reading Tree All Stars is an engaging chapter fiction series which combines age-appropriate content with imaginative stories, perfect for inspiring and stretching able infants. The series develops comprehension skills and provides a wide variety of fiction topics and styles, alongside illustrations that aid understanding. All the books in this series are carefully levelled, so it's easy to match every child to the right book - one which will develop their reading skills and fuel their love of reading. Help with children's reading development is also available at www.oxfordowl.co.uk.

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Oxford Reading Tree Story Sparks is an emotionally-engaging fiction series that will fire children's imaginations. These original stories will get children thinking, and develop and deepen their comprehension skills. The variety of authors and illustration styles broadens children's reading experience, with something to appeal to every child. This pack contains six of each of the following original stories: Stanley Manners, Rhyme Slime, Out of Control, Do Tigers Have Nine Lives?, Julia Caesar, Agent Blue and the Swirly Whirly. All the books in the series are carefully levelled, so it's easy to match every child to the right book for them. They also contain inside cover notes, to enable parents and teachers to support children in their reading. Help with children's reading development is also available at www.oxfordowl.co.uk.

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Which animal do you think would be the most help in an emergency? Step Away from the Kitten! is a hilarious look at some of history's most helpful (and cutest!) animals. TreeTops inFact is a non-fiction series that aims to engage children in reading for pleasure as powerfully as fiction does. The variety of topics means there are books to interest every child in this compelling series. The series is written by top children's authors and subject experts. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book.

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Anita can't help speaking in rhyme and it's quite inconvenient to rhyme all the time. When she gets to school she finds that it's worse. The whole of her class can only speak in verse! Oxford Reading Tree Story Sparks is an emotionally-engaging fiction series that will fire children's imaginations. These 36 original stories will get children thinking, and develop and deepen their comprehension skills. The variety of authors and illustration styles broadens children's reading experience, with something to appeal to every child. All the books in the series are carefully levelled, so it's easy to match every child to the right book for them. They also contain inside cover notes, to enable parents and teachers to support children in their reading. Help with children's reading development is also available at www.oxfordowl.co.uk.

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Do you scream over spiders or bolt from bats? In Scratch's Bad Reputations, Scratch the rat looks at animals that have a reputation for being scary but are they really bad, or just misunderstood? Oxford Reading Tree inFact is a non-fiction series that aims to engage children in reading for pleasure as powerfully as fiction does. The variety of topics means there are books to interest every child in this compelling series. The series is written by top children's authors and subject experts. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book.

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Build your child’s reading confidence at home with books at the right level Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available. Nothing mysterious happens in Puggle … that is until Dev finds a pebble – a pebble with a painting and the word “HELP” on it. Intrigue builds as more and more pebbles appear around the village. Who keeps sending them? And why? Join Dev and his friends as they seek to solve the Pebble Puzzle in this humorous mystery story by Ali Sparkes. White Plus/Band 10+ books provide challenging plots and vocabulary as well as opportunities to practise inference, prediction and reading stamina. Pages 46 and 47 allow children to re-visit the content of the book, supporting comprehension skills, vocabulary development and recall. Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.

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Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Levelled for guided and independent reading, each book includes ideas to support reading. Teaching and assessment support and eBooks are also available. Prince Francis is going to marry Princess Frieda and everyone in the kingdom is rejoicing. Except Prince Francis. He used to be a frog until the princess kissed him. Now, thanks to her fairy godmother’s spell, he’s a handsome prince. Only… he never asked to be. But if he won’t do as he’s told, learn his wedding vows and be more princely, everyone he ever loved in the pond could be lost… Lime/Band 11 books have longer sentence structures and a greater use of literary language. Pages 30 and 31 allow children to re-visit the content of the book, supporting comprehension skills, vocabulary development and recall. Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.

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Savannah is having a kite-making party for her birthday. Hattie thinks her kite is the worst one. Then she has to use it to help Savannah. Using the world's largest known database of writing for and by children, our experts have defined 300 ambitious words to help children succeed at school. We've combined these with finelly levelled books that help you develop support comprehension and fluency, while inspiring and engaging your young readers.

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Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available. Nobody at Puggle School would ever believe Katy’s phobia. Some of her friends are scared of spiders. Some of them are scared of snakes. But no-one is scared of a kitten! Katy can’t even think about a kitten without breaking out in goose bumps. It would be OK if only her best friend hadn’t invited Katy to come and play after school… and meet Fluffy! How can Katy get over her fear? Will everyone think she’s totally weird if she tells them? Perhaps she’d be surprised by the fears they have if she ever did … This story about overcoming fears is written by Ali Sparkes. White Plus/Band 10+ books provide challenging plots and vocabulary as well as opportunities to practise inference, prediction and reading stamina. Pages 46 and 47 allow children to re-visit the content of the book, supporting comprehension skills, vocabulary development and recall. Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.

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