A new series from bestselling author Kate Thompson. 'Kate Thompson's wartime novels always strike a chord and Secrets of the Homefront Girls is no exception. You can almost smell the Yardley violets drifting over the factory as the girls live lives complicated by the trials and tribulations of war' My Weekly 'Kate Thompson's put the lives of women working in the Yardley factory during the Blitz at the heart of her latest novel' Woman's Hour Stratford, 1939. Britain may be at war, but on the home front keeping up morale and keeping up appearances go hand in hand. For the young women working on the lipstick production line at Yardley's cosmetics factory, it's business as usual. Headstrong Renee Gunn is the queen of the lipstick belt - although her cheeky attitude means she's often in trouble. When Esther, an Austrian refugee, arrives at Yardley's, it's Renee who takes her under her wing and teaches her to be a true cockney. But outside of the factory, things are more complicated. Lily, Renee's older sister, has suddenly returned home after six years away, and is hiding a dark secret. Meanwhile Esther is finding life in England more difficult than expected, and it's not long before Renee finds herself in trouble, with nowhere to turn. In the face of the Blitz, the Yardley girls are bound together by friendship and loyalty - but could the secrets they are hiding be the biggest danger of all? 'A compelling saga set around the tenacious women of the East End' Daisy Styles 'Kate Thompson is a skillful and humane storyteller who lights up the sooty face of the old East End with tales full of drama and human interest.' Annie Murray
A HOUSE WITH A SECRET An unanswered question: Who is the Creature in the Night? Bobby lives a reckless life smoking, drinking, and stealing cars in Dublin. So his mother moves thefamily to the country. But Bobby suspects their cottage might not be as quaint as it seems. Teens will be captivated by this spooky novel about the darkness that lurks in forgotten corners and tough teenagers.
Inspired by true events, The Wartime Book Club is an unforgettable story of everyday bravery and resistance, full of romance, drama, and camaraderie and a tribute to the joy of reading and the power of books in our darkest hour. The Isle of Jersey was once a warm and neighborly community, but in 1943, German soldiers patrol the cobbled streets, imposing a harsh rule. Nazis have ordered Grace La Mottée, the island's only librarian, to destroy books that threaten the new regime. Instead, she hides the stories away in secret. Along with her headstrong best friend, she wants to fight back. So she forms the Wartime Book Club: a lifeline, offering fearful islanders the joy and escapism of reading. But as the occupation drags on, the women's quiet acts of bravery become more perilous – and more important – than ever before. And when tensions turn to violence, they are forced to face the true, terrible cost of resistance . . . Based on astonishing real events, The Wartime Book Club is a love letter to the power of books in the darkest of times – as well as a moving page-turner that brings to life the remarkable, untold story of an island at war.
An uplifting and inspiring novel based on the true story of a librarian who created an underground shelter during World War II, perfect for readers of The Paris Library or The Last Bookshop in London. London, 1944: Clara Button is no ordinary librarian. While war ravages the city above her, Clara has risked everything she holds dear to turn the Bethnal Green tube station into the country’s only underground library. Down here, a secret community thrives with thousands of bunk beds, a nursery, a café, and a theater—offering shelter, solace, and escape from the bombs that fall upon their city. Along with her glamorous best friend and assistant Ruby Munroe, Clara ensures the library is the beating heart of life underground. But as the war drags on, the women's determination to remain strong in the face of adversity is tested to the limits when it may come at the price of keeping those closest to them alive.
Marcus is a young baker in Ancient Rome, living with his family in the shadow of the murderous Emperor Littleboots. When a slave boy shoves the reins of a sleek, beautiful horse into Marcus's hands seconds before he is killed by a soldier, Marcus knows he's in danger - because the horse is Incitatus, the Emperor's most prized and powerful animal. Will Marcus find a way to keep Incitatus hidden? Are the rumours of Littleboots's death true - or is it all a trick? And how can Marcus save himself, and his family? A fast-paced adventure from the winner of both the Whitbread Children's Book Award and the 2005 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize.
In the secret community where, through genetic experiments, animals can talk and children carry animal genes, an unimaginable alien presence makes its appearance. Vividly described by Christie in his diary, this creature raises terrifying questions. Is it a threat to all civilized life? Can it be destroyed or contained . . . ?Alternating with the diary is the extraordinary story of Ness and Farral. Will their dangerous journey heal the rift that exists between their two communities?In the final exciting novel of The Missing Link trilogy, Kate Thompson, twice winner of the Irish Children's Book of the Year, Bisto Award, raises startling and relevant questions for the twenty-first century.
DIVDIVDIVTess is a Switcher, able to change shape at will—and it’s time for her to choose her final form/divDIV Tess can morph into any creature, including ones thought to be imaginary. Within days, she will turn fifteen and lose her power, remaining locked into a single shape. But what shape should she choose? As she tries to decide, Tess travels to her uncle Maurice’s farm in County Clare. She’s distracted from her weighty decision by the feeling that there’s something strange about the woods near the farm. Why is Uncle Maurice so eager to sell the land? And what does the secret in the woods have to do with Tess’s choice? Her journey will take her to places she never could have imagined as she approaches once and for all her final Switch./div/div/div
Danny has always believed that his scientist mother is dead. But when a talking dog tells him it isn't true, Danny sets out on a mission to find his mother and her hidden laboratory in Fourth World. But Danny is locked in his own world, so he will need the help of his step-brother Christie, if he is to succeed. After a long and difficult journey the boys discover that Danny's mother is involved in some complex genetic engineering, and she holds the key to Danny's past and his future.
The unsung and remarkable stories of the women who held London's East End together during not one, but two world wars. _____________ Minksy, Gladys, Beatty, Joan, Girl Walker. While the men were at war, these women ruled the streets of the East End. Brought up with firm hand in the steaming slums and teeming tenements, they struggled against poverty to survive, and fought for their community in our country's darkest hours. But there was also joy to be found. From Stepney to Bethnal Green, Whitechapel to Shoreditch, the streets were alive with peddlers and market stalls hawking their wares, children skipping across dusty hopscotch pitches, the hiss of a gas lamp or the smell of oxtail stew. You need only walk a few steps for a smile from a neighbour or a strong cup of tea. From taking over the London Underground, standing up to the Kray twins and crawling out of bombsites, The Stepney Doorstep Society tells the vivid and moving stories of the matriarchs who remain the backbone of the East End to this day.
The author of the Switchers Trilogy “creates a convincing fantasy world” in this magical novel of a girl who sets out on a daring journey (Publishers Weekly). Everyone in Rilka’s village knows about the beguilers: the golden-eyed, wailing creatures that come out after dark and lure people to their doom. Rilka astonishes her fellow villagers when she reveals that her Great Intention—her first act as an adult—is to capture a beguiler. During her dangerous quest to the cloud mountain, the rumored lair of the beguilers, Rilka discovers truths about the beguilers—and herself—that will change her life and her village forever.
1942: Sixteen-year-old Poppy Percival arrives at the gates of Trout's clothing factory in Bethnal Green, ready to begin a new life as an East End seamstress. Forced to leave her quiet countryside home, and banished to a war-ravaged London, Poppy harbours a dark secret - one that tore her away from all she knew. By day, the East End women of Trout's play their part in the war effort, stitching bandages and repairing uniforms for troops on the front line. But Poppy's new friends at the factory are hiding some painful truths.
While making his daily deliveries, a baker’s son suddenly finds himself holding a stallion’s golden lead. Soon the boy discovers that this isn’t just any horse, it’s the most powerful creature in all of Rome. What will the mad emperor do if he finds the boy with his prized horse?Cut off his head? Or worse?
Times are hard in the village of Lissamore on Ireland's West Coast. So it's lucky that free-spirited Cat Gallagher knows a thing or two about breaking and entering.
Hello," said Alice, trying her best to sound friendly. "What are you doing up here?" "I'm talking to the ghost," said Jenny. Jenny has been making some strange friends lately. She's been walking barefoot through the wilds, talking to a huge white goat that wanders the Irish countryside. She's been chatting with the ghost of a young boy that guards the stone beacon at the top of the mountain. Her father, J.J. Liddy, knows these beings are connected somehow to the forces that are gathering around his homeland, plotting to destroy mankind. But will he be able to unravel the puzzles in time? Will he be able to secure the future of the last of the high kings? And is J.J. guarding some dark secrets of his own?
Fifteen-year-old Christie and his older stepbrother, Danny, travel to the home and mysterious laboratory of the elder boy's scientist mother, where they learn a shocking truth about the nature of her experiments.
DIVDIVDIVJack is about to discover how to make gold—but the secret art will come at a price/divDIV The year is 1720, and Jack, a London blacksmith’s apprentice, is fleeing the punishment of his master. Now a runaway, Jack’s wanderings take him to the Thames River, where he plucks a curious little pot out of the water. Hoping that his find will prove valuable, Jack discovers that it belongs to a practitioner of the forbidden art of alchemy. The alchemist agrees to take Jack on as an apprentice and teach him his secret craft, which will lead not to shelter or security, but to something far more wonderful and perilous. Jack’s quest will take him to unexpected places where he’ll learn that there’s more to alchemy than he bargained for. But will learning the secrets of making gold come at too great a cost? /div/div/div
DIVDIVDIVA special three-in-one edition of Kate Thompson’s Switchers fantasy trilogy, including Switchers, Midnight’s Choice, and Wild Blood/divDIV /divDIVIn Switchers, thirteen-year-old Tess has a secret power—and it just might save the world from disaster.She is a Switcher, able to change into any animal at will. No one knows her secret, or so she thinks. But one day, a strange, scruffy boy named Kevin follows her home from her Dublin bus stop. He’s a Switcher, too, and he convinces Tess that their powers are needed to stop the snowstorms that are rapidly advancing from the Arctic. Tess and Kevin will have to stretch their abilities to the very limit to try to save the world from frozen destruction./divDIV /divDIVIn Midnight’s Choice, Tess believes she has experienced everything her powers have to offer—until she meets Martin, another Switcher, who seems to have a mysterious power over the Dublin rats. Martin’s gift is dangerous and terrifying, but also exciting, and Tess can’t resist the temptation to explore his dark and thrilling world. Will she find the strength to resist, or will she be pulled permanently into darkness?/divDIV /divDIVIn Wild Blood, it’s time for Tess to choose her final form.Within days, she will turn fifteen and lose her power, remaining locked into a single shape. But what shape should she choose? As she tries to decide, Tess travels to her uncle Maurice’s farm in County Clare. She’s distracted from her weighty decision by the feeling that there’s something strange about the woods near the farm. What does it have to do with Tess’s choice? Her journey will take her to places she never could have imagined, as she approaches once and for all her final Switch./div/div/div
The rider sprang off as light as a cat and pulled the reins over the horse's head. Then he marched straight over to me and put them into my hand. "Hold the mare for me, lad. And when I come back, I'll give you a golden guinea." A dark stranger leaves his magnificent horse in the care of a boy he's never met. As dusk falls, others offer to pay the boy handsomely for the animal. Then soldiers arrive, demanding to know where the horse's owner has gone. Could the stranger be the notorious Dick Turpin, known for his daring holdups and amazing exploits? Is the horse the legendary Black Bess? And will the boy ever see the reward he's been promised? There's mischief in the air, but it isn't entirely clear who's causing it.
A bright and fun superhero story that normalizes fear and celebrates the potential in all of us to be brave and bold. Maisie dreams of being a superhero because they never get scared--right? But when she learns that even the biggest superheroes feel afraid sometimes, she realizes that it's perfectly ok to be fearful, and that you can still be brave, too. Perfect for kids who love Superman, Spider-Man, the Black Panther, and Wonder Woman--and also for kids who just need a reminder of how strong they are inside.
Golden girl Calypso O'Kelly is used to getting what she wants. As a powerful casting director, she calls the shots. Closet romantic Dannie Moore is mistress of her own destiny. Having had her fingers burned once by her war correspondent partner, she's determined never to fall in love again. Devoted single mother Rosa Elliot dreams of a brand new life of freedom from tyrannical, sexist bosses. But she finds that casting caution to the wind isn't necessarily the best way of making her dreams come true... Three strong women, working hard to make life as perfect as possible. Until Calypso relinquishes control to a demon lover, Dannie discovers that destiny lies in the stars, and Rosa's dreams of freedom end up in the trash. Can they ever reassemble the shards of the lives they've so recklessly shattered?
The world is drowning. Freak storms and devastating hurricanes sweep across the countryside. No one has enough food or firewood—electricity is an option only for the tyrannical Commander—and then the Commander begins stealing young children away. Pup's little brother is one of the missing. Determined to save his brother, Pup confronts the Commander and finds himself “volunteered” for a special force. One that will slip through the barriers of time into a land where the sun never sets . . . just as another boy from Kinvara did long ago. With the future of both realms at stake, the fairies and humans must take drastic measures to stop the destruction. But not everyone wants the human race to survive. . . . The thrilling conclusion to the story that began in the acclaimed The New Policeman.
I wonder, my little one, who will you be when you're out in this world, big and wide? A bundle so precious and tiny and loved, you will carry my heart by your side . . . A beautiful and inspiring letter of hope and love to a child taking their first steps into the big, wide world. This heartwarming book expresses every parent or carer's hope that their child will be kind to others, caring to the world and, above all else, true to themselves. With gorgeous illustrations throughout, this is the perfect book to share together to help children find their way in the world and to give parents the confidence to guide them as they grow. With stunning, dreamy artwork by new illustrator Kitty Harris, and a lyrical rhyming text by an exciting new voice in picture books, Kate Thompson. “An exquisite snuggle of a book!” Frances Tosdevin, author of The Bear and her Book “All I Hope For You is more than just a picture book—it’s a keepsake, a book to be treasured” Clare Helen Welsh, Books That Help
Secrets of the Sewing Bee tells the story of the defiant and courageous women on the home front, from Kate Thompson, author of Secrets of the Singer Girls. Orphan Flossy Brown arrives at Trout's garment factory in Bethnal Green amidst the uncertainty of the Second World War. In 1940s London, each cobbled street is strewn with ghosts of soldiers past, all struggling to make ends meet. For the women of the East End, their battles are on the home front. Flossy is quickly embraced by the colourful mix of characters working at Trout's, who have turned their sewing expertise to vital war work. They fast become the family that Flossy has always longed for. Things aren't so easy for Peggy Piper, another new recruit at the factory. She's used to the high life working as a nippie in the West End, and is not best pleased to find herself bent over a sewing machine. Dolly Doolaney, darling of the East End, sets up a sewing circle and the ladies at Trout's play their part in defending the frontline as they arm themselves with their needles and set about stitching their way to victory. But as the full force of the Blitz hits London, the sewing bee are forced to shelter in the underground tube stations on a nightly basis. In such close quarters, can Dolly manage to contain the secret that binds them all? And how will Peggy and Flossy cope as their lives are shaped and moved by forces outside of their control?
The author of this book guides the reader through developing journal writing to use as a therapeutic tool. Keeping a journal can help the writer to develop a better understanding of themselves, their relationships and the world around them, as well as improve skills of problem-solving, decision-making and planning. As such, journal writing can be a powerful complement to verbal therapy, offering an effective and affordable way of extending support to troubled clients. The book includes advice on working with individuals, facilitating a therapeutic writing group, proposed clinical applications, practical techniques, useful journal prompts, exercises and case vignettes.
DIVDIVDIVMichael is inexplicably drawn to Annie, but a deep and mysterious river divides them/divDIV Michael Duggan feels lost. After the death of his younger sister in a riding accident, his parents have relocated their family and their horse-dealing business to Scotland. Days and nights are taken up with caring for the horses and ponies, showing them to buyers, and competing in shows. School is a blur—Michael has no friends and no clear sense of who he is. He feels completely alone in the world, until he meets Annie, a girl who, like him, seems to want to flee from something; a girl who has dark secrets of her own. Michael desperately wants to be with Annie. But she lives on the opposite side of the treacherous Annan Water . . . /div/div/div
Home is where the heart is... Free spirit Rio Kinsella finds herself settled in the picture-postcard village of Lissamore on Ireland's West Coast. It's where she took her first step, had her first kiss and conceived her beloved son Finn. But now Finn's spread his wings and flown the nest, what's to keep her here? An old flame and a new prospect may provide the answer... City girl Dervla is poles apart from her bohemian sister. A businesswoman with a quick mind, a hard heart and a nose for a good deal, she has no time for love. But is there anywhere she can really call home? And will the arrival of a new client throw her glossy magazine life-style into disarray? Torn apart by a long-standing feud, the Kinsella sisters are reunited upon the death of their wayward father. But on clearing the family home, they discover a secret so intriguing it could change their lives forever... Welcome to blissfully unpredictable Lissamore. It's guaranteed you'll never want to leave...
Expressive writing is life-based writing that focuses on authentic expression of lived experience, with resultant insight, growth, and skill-building. Therapists, coaches, healthcare professionals, and educators have known for decades that expressive writing is a powerful tool for better living, learning, and healing. But until now, few have had access to practical applications that have proven successful. In this groundbreaking collection, you’ll discover: how expressive writing can call us into healing community exciting new discoveries about how writing can support neuroplasticity and actually help change our brains—and thus our thinking and behavior new research on the role of expressive writing for prevention of compassion fatigue in RNs how transformative writing can create art from the ashes of trauma the role of journal writing for emotional balance sensible ideas about the synergy of expressive writing and play therapy for children, teens, and adults interventions and strategies for the use of expressive writing in acute psychiatric care how interactive expressive writing helps deaf teens communicate inarticulate feelings and thoughts how cancer survivors can use expressive writing to reclaim identity and strength post-treatment the role of expressive writing in developing the roots of resilience for practitioners
12 year old Tess has an amazing secret. She is able to turn into any animal she wishes. When she meets Kevin she finds out she's not the only Switcher in the world, but can Tess and Kevin save the world from the grokes before Kevin loses his powers?
There's something strange about Martin, and Tess can't work out what it is. He's a Switcher, with the same amazing powers that she has, but there's a sinister side to him. As Tess begins to unravel the awful secret Martin is hiding, she is dragged into the dark night-time world in which he lurks. And there she is faced with the most terrifying choice of her life.
In the secret community where, through genetic experiments, animals can talk and children carry animal genes, an unimaginable alien presence makes its appearance. Vividly described by Christie in his diary, this creature raises terrifying questions. Is it a threat to all civilized life? Can it be destroyed or contained . . . ? Alternating with the diary is the extraordinary story of Ness and Farral. Will their dangerous journey heal the rift that exists between their two communities? In the final exciting novel of The Missing Link trilogy, Kate Thompson, twice winner of the Irish Children's Book of the Year, Bisto Award, raises startling and relevant questions for the twenty-first century.
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