Search results for ""author cathy hirano""

On a magical moonlit night, Akiko and her Teddy look for his missing button eye. The garden at midnight is a strange, mysterious place. Can Mee-Chan the cat help them? Or perhaps Mrs Crow? Don't worry! By morning Teddy will be as good as new.

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A comic-style chapter book about sibling rivalry and a child’s impulse to run away from home—and come back again! “When my potato-faced baby brother arrived, I realized I needed a new family. No one seemed to mind when I packed my bag. I took a box and used my best handwriting to write ‘FREE KID’, then waited for some new parents to take me home.” Waiting in a box like an abandoned pet and encountering the passersby changes the girl’s perspective. At the end of the day, when her parents pretend they need an older sister for their new baby, she is ready to leave her box and go happily back home. This comical twist on sibling rivalry is translated from an enduring Japanese bestseller, now in its 31st edition and at last available in English. This accessible story is perfect for children starting on independent reading and is illustrated in a graphic comic style that captures childlike subversive humour. Ideal for fans of Charles Schulz’s Peanuts comic strip. A useful book to teach young children about welcoming a new baby sibling to the family, or exploring playful sibling relationships, through funny and lighthearted storytelling.

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Ten years have passed since the events of The Beast Player. Elin and Ialu are married, with a young son, living a quiet, peaceful life when one day Elin is called upon to investigate a matter of great urgency: the fearsome Toda are dying and nobody knows why. As Elin investigates, she uncovers a deadly plot and a brewing invasion. Can she protect her homeland without allowing her beloved beasts to be used as weapons of war, or will she have to compromise her principles to save her family?

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Elin's family have an important responsibility: caring for the fearsome water serpents that form the core of their kingdom's army. So when some of the beasts mysteriously die, Elin's mother is sentenced to death as punishment. With her last breath she manages to send her daughter to safety. Alone, far from home, Elin soon discovers that she can talk to both the terrifying water serpents and the majestic flying beasts that guard her queen. This skill gives her great powers, but it also involves her in deadly plots that could cost her life. Can she save herself and prevent her beloved beasts from being used as tools of war? Or must she face the terrible battles to come?

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Giraffe is bored, as usual. Hed love a friend to share things with. So he writes a letter and sends it as far as possible across the other side of the horizon. There he finds a pen palPenguin. Giraffe knows nothing about penguins and his letters are full of questions. Where is a penguins neck? Can a penguin fly? Penguin answers as best he can. But no one expects what happens when the pen pals come face to face at last. Yours Sincerely, Giraffe is a funny tale of mistaken assumptions and friendship.

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