The Tin Snail


Book Description

"Half-silly, half-serious and full of human interest."--The Wall Street Journal Get ready for a wild ride with this classic and fun World War II adventure about a boy who helps invent a car the Nazis would love to get their hands on! Thirteen-year-old Angelo knows that his father’s job is in jeopardy. Only one thing can save it: inventing a car the world has never seen before. On vacation in the French countryside, Angelo gets an idea. So far, cars have only been made for the rich. Someone should create a car for everyday working people. Angelo thinks he’ss up to the challenge! After a lot of failures, and some rather painful crashes, Angelo, with help from his friend Camille and some other villagers, builds a prototype that just might work. But testing it won’t be easy—especially when war is declared and he finds out the Nazis are planning to steal his design! This funny adventure will have you speeding through the pages. So buckle up and enjoy the wild ride! "Kids will appreciate Angelo's confident, headlong enthusiasm and his hilarious mishaps driving across pocked fields, while adults will enjoy the new angle on both automotive and war history."--Kirkus Reviews "An unusual look at a much-studied historical period . . . Black-and-white chapter-heading illustrations are a charming addition."--Booklist "A feel-good story about the French Resistance that might very well inspire more than a few designers and engineers.--School Library Journal “A captivating book for young people of all ages.” —T.E. Carhart, bestselling author of The Piano Shop on the Left Bank “Charming.” —The Guardian “A thoroughly engaging read.” —The Spectator “Feel-good, funny, romping, filmic adventure.” —The Sunday Times “A fantastic family read.” —Mr Ripley’s Enchanted Books “Refreshingly different and very engaging.” —Reading Zone “A delightful book.” —Historical Novel Society “Unusual and delightful.” —Parents in Touch “I loved this delightful novel. It’s intended for middle grade readers but people of all ages will love it.” —The Bookbag




From the Diary of a Snail


Book Description

Probably the most autobiographical of his novels, From the Diary of a Snail balances the agonising history of the persecuted Danzig Jews with an account of Grass's political campaigning with Willie Brandt. Underlying all is the snail, the central symbol that is both model and a parody of social progress, and a mysterious metaphor for political reform. From the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature and author of The Tin Drum.




The Quokkas, the Snails, and the Land of Happiness


Book Description

Two quokkas, two snails, one strawberry patch . . . Suzy and Sam Snail live in the Land of Sadness, constantly working hard to feel loved. But their gloomy lives just might change when they meet two friendly quokkas who tell them all about the Creator and what life is like in the Land of Happiness. Will the Snails remain sad and empty? Or will they eagerly journey to a new land where grace, joy, and contentment grow instead? Join these four quirky friends in the strawberry patch, and let this parable-style story offer your family a powerful conversation starter and a celebration of God’s gift of grace.




The Demon Undertaker


Book Description

Bolt your doors! Do not dare to sleep! A kidnapper known as ‘The Demon Undertaker’ is on the loose in London! Yesterday he continued his reign of terror in his most chilling crime yet – kidnapping Lady Grace Davenport from under the very noses of her family! A barrage of bullets could not stop the blood-thirsty ghoul from escaping in his black hearse – is he man or vampyre? Young Thomas Fielding, nephew of the Chief Magistrate, stumbled across the villain and gave chase. Can Thomas and his team of Bow Street Detectives save Lady Grace and catch the Demon Undertaker before he snatches his next victim?




How to Be an Explorer of the World


Book Description

From the internationally bestselling creator of Wreck This Journal, an interactive guide for exploring and documenting the art and science of everyday life. Artists and scientists analyze the world around them in surprisingly similar ways, by observing, collecting, documenting, analyzing, and comparing. In this captivating guided journal, readers are encouraged to explore their world as both artists and scientists. The mission Smith proposes? To document and observe the world around you as if you’ve never seen it before. Take notes. Collect things you find on your travels. Document findings. Notice patterns. Copy. Trace. Focus on one thing at a time. Record what you are drawn to. Through this series of beautifully hand-illustrated interactive prompts, readers will enjoy exploring and discovering the world in ways they never even imagined.




Hitler's War


Book Description

A stroke of the pen and history is changed. In 1938, British prime minister Neville Chamberlain, determined to avoid war, signed the Munich Accord, ceding part of Czechoslovakia to Hitler. But the following spring, Hitler snatched the rest of that country, and England, after a fatal act of appeasement, was fighting a war for which it was not prepared. Now, in this thrilling alternate history, another scenario is played out: What if Chamberlain had not signed the accord? In this action-packed chronicle of the war that might have been, Harry Turtledove uses dozens of points of view to tell the story: from American marines serving in Japanese-occupied China and ragtag volunteers fighting in the Abraham Lincoln Battalion in Spain to an American woman desperately trying to escape Nazi-occupied territory—and witnessing the war from within the belly of the beast. A tale of powerful leaders and ordinary people, at once brilliantly imaginative and hugely entertaining, Hitler’s War captures the beginning of a very different World War II—with a very different fate for our world today. BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Harry Turtledove's The War that Came Early: West and East.




Diary of Latoya Hunter


Book Description

Lively, poignant, and utterly winning, The Diary of Latoya Hunter is a timely portrait of adolescence--about the universal challenges of youth and about the ways it is shaped by the inner city. It is also a lively introduction to a delightful girl whose humor and idealism are inspirational.




The Inner Coast


Book Description

Prize-winning essays on our changing place in the natural world by the best-selling author of Moby-Duck. Writing in the grand American tradition of Annie Dillard and Barry Lopez, Donovan Hohn is an “adventurous, inquisitive, and brightly illuminating writer” (New York Times). Since the publication of Moby-Duck a decade ago, Hohn has been widely hailed for his prize-winning essays on the borderlands between the natural and the human. The Inner Coast collects ten of his best, many of them originally published in such magazines as the New York Times Magazine and Harper’s, which feature his physical, historical, and emotional journeys through the American landscape. By turns meditative and comic, adventurous and metaphysical, Hohn writes about the appeal of old tools, the dance between ecology and engineering, the lost art of ice canoeing, and Americans’ complicated love/hate relationship with Thoreau. The Inner Coast marks the return of one of our finest young writers and a stylish exploration of what Guy Davenport called “the geography of the imagination.”




Pip and Posy: The Friendly Snail


Book Description

Pip and Posy are friends (most of the time!) in the newest title in this series about the dramas of toddler life. Pip and Posy are spending the afternoon outside, but Pip wants to do some quiet gardening and Posy wants to have fun playing noisy games. When Posy’s racket frightens Pip’s new snail friend back into its shell, Pip gets mad at her . . . Oh dear! But then a bird tries to take Pip's snail, and it turns out Posy’s loud voice can be quite useful after all! A heartwarming, relatable story about valuing one another’s differences.




Sully the Seahorse


Book Description

Sully the Seahorse is a heart-warming, beautifully illustrated rhyming picture book which encourages children to believe in themselves and to be proud of who they are. It's the day of the Sea School Stars annual talent contest and little Sully really wants to win!! Oh, how he longs to be a super-fast fish or a gigantic, strong whale. Poor Sully never wins ANYTHING! This heart-warming story follows Sully on his race for victory - where he comes across a BIG challenge and discovers his own very special talents. ON YOUR MARKS, READY......GET SET GO!!! The ocean is buzzing with excitement practising their performances for the competition....all except for Sully who doesn't feel very good at anything at all. "The contest starts soon," reminded Miss Trout. Sully felt worried and started to shout: "Do I have to take part, Miss? Please say no." "Yes," she replied. "You should give it a go." Poor Sully becomes disheartened as he loses some of the races, but the contest comes to a halt when a dark shadow descends upon Sea School and threatens to change Sully's future forever! Will Sully find his sparkle before it's too late? The book explores the issue of self-esteem in a fun and heart-warming way and encourages children to celebrate differences and appreciate their own talents and qualities. It's sometimes hard for children to understand that they can't always be the best at everything. One of life's most important lessons is learning how to deal with making mistakes and being able to lose! Children sometimes find it difficult to understand why they came last in the race, or why they never win the writing contest. Sully discovers in the story that if you keep on trying then you'll find your own special talents - and that's the message for children too - just keep trying and be proud of who you are! It encourages children to become resilient so that they can bounce back from challenges and failure. This is the second book in my Sea School Stories series. The first book, Monty the Manatee, focuses on kindness and anti-bullying and has sold thousands of copies around the world.