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Adventure
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Two Wolves by Tristan Bancks One afternoon, police officers show up at Ben Silver's front door. Minutes after they leave, his parents arrive home. Ben and his little sister Olive are bundled into the car and told they're going on a holiday. But are they? It doesn't take long for Ben to realise that his parents are in trouble. Ben's always dreamed of becoming a detective - his dad even calls him 'Cop.' Now Ben gathers evidence and tries to uncover what his parents have done. The problem is, if he figures it out, what does he do? Tell someone? Or keep the secret and live life on the run?Call Number: ADVENTURE Bancks
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300 Minutes of Danger by Jack Heath 10 stories. 10 dangerous situations. 10 brave kids. 30 minutes to escape.Call Number: SHORT STORIES HEATH
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CHERUB Book Series by Robert Muchamore The CHERUB series follows the life of a character named James Adams (formerly James Choke) and his younger half sister Lauren Adams (formerly Lauren Onions), a member of CHERUB (Charles Henderson's espionage research unit B), a top-secret branch of the British Secret Service. The organisation recruits orphan children and trains them as intelligence officers. Once qualified, they are used to investigate targets ranging from international terrorists to gang leaders. As children, they are considered innocent by their targets. CHERUB agents start basic training at aged 10. Basic training is a 100-day course that prepares CHERUBs for the dangers they may face during missions. CHERUB agents are then eligible for missions. Once passed basic training, agents take part in missions, before retiring at age 17.Call Number: ADVENTURE MUCHAMORE
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Liars Series by Jack Heath Summary: The Truth App is the latest craze in the town of Kelton. It listens to everyone around you and tells you if they're lying. When the app goes viral, its teenage creator, Jarli, becomes famous overnight. But being a celebrity can be dangerous. Especially when you've just exposed everyone's deepest, darkest secrets. Now everyone is out to get Jarli. Kids at school. Teachers. The police. Even his own family. And the secret network of criminals based in Kelton have just added Jarli to their hit list. The truth doesn't always set you free.Call Number: ADVENTURE HEATH
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Agent 21 SERIES by Chris Ryan The main character in Chris Ryan’s Agent 21 series of books is called Zak Darke a teenager whose parents were killed in a mass murder and it is suspected that it may have been a terrorist attack. The story follows Zak through his life, which is changed forever when he is approached by a Government agent. There are five books in the series starting with Agent 21 which is the beginning of the story and each book follows on from the last one.Call Number: ADVENTURE RYAN
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Mission Survival SERIES by Bear Grylls Mission: Survival series is written by popular TV personality, Bear Grylls. The books in the series are adventurous in nature aimed at young adventure lovers. Children love to read stories about adventures and Bear Grylls is an expert adventurer. Bear Grylls is a real-life survival expert who has undergone numerous missions for the benefit of others. He is a highly famous television presenter with numerous wilderness survival television series in the US and the UK. In appreciation of his success in various missions, he was appointed as the Chief Scout in the UK at a very young age of 35. The boy scouts of the country look upon Bear Grylls as an inspiration. To inspire the young generation and let them enjoy a taste of adventure, Bear Grylls has written the Mission Survival series.Call Number: ADVENTURE GRYLLS
Suspense
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Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Green Budo is Max's imaginary friend. But though only Max can see him, he is real. Budo and the other imaginary friends watch over their children until the day comes that the child stops imagining them. And then they're gone. Budo has lasted a lot longer than most imaginary friends - four years - because Max needs him more. His parents argue about sending him to a special school. Then Max mysteriously disappears from the school. Budo knows he must find him and rescue him.Call Number: SUSPENSE GREEN
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Fletcher Smith, Sports P.I. SERIES by Jonathan Harlen Fletcher Smith tackles corruption and foul play in the world of professional sport. It's a dangerous game.Call Number: SUSPENSE HARLEN
Classics
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The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Wild child Huck has to get away. His violent drunk of a father is back in town again, raising Cain. He won t rest until he has Huck s money. So the enterprising boy fakes his own death and sets out in search of adventure and freedom. Teaming up with Jim, an escaped slave with a price on his head, the two fugitives go on the run, travelling down the wide Mississippi River. But Huck finds himself wrestling with his conscience. Should he save Jim, or turn his friend over to a terrible fate?Call Number: CLASSICS TWAIN
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Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift This is the classic story of Gulliver's voyages to Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Laputa and the country of the Houyhnhnms, where he ranges from being a giant among the people of Lilliput, to a midget in comparison to the people in Brobdingnag, and sees that the Houyhnhnms have the status of humans.Call Number: CLASSICS SWIFT
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Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe The original tale of a castaway struggling to survive on a remote desert island, and one of the first novels in English The sole survivor of a shipwreck, Robinson Crusoe is washed up on a desert island. In his journal he chronicles his daily battle to stay alive, as he conquers isolation, fashions shelter and clothes, enlists the help of a native islander who he names 'Friday', and fights off cannibals and mutineers. Written in an age of exploration and enterprise, it has been variously interpreted as an embodiment of British imperialist values, as a portrayal of 'natural man', or as a moral fable. But above all is a brilliant narrative, depicting Crusoe's transformation from terrified survivor to self-sufficient master of an island. This edition contains a full chronology of Defoe's life and times, explanatory notes, glossary and a critical introduction discussing Robinson Crusoe as a pioneering work of modern psychological realism. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.Call Number: CLASSICS DEFOE
Fantasy
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Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend Morrigan Crow is cursed. Born on an unlucky day, she is blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks - and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on Eventide.But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor.Call Number: FANTASY TOWNSEND
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Harry Potter SERIES by J.K. Rowling Harry Potter thinks he is an ordinary boy until he is rescued by an owl, taken to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, learns to play Quidditch and does battle in a deadly duel. The reason: Harry Potter is a wizard.Call Number: FANTASY ROWLING
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Percy Jackson and the Olympians SERIES by Rick Riordan Percy Jackson & the Olympians, often shortened to Percy Jackson, is a pentalogy of adventure and fiction books written by Rick Riordan. Five supplementary books, along with 3 graphic novels, have also been released. More than 45 million copies of the books have been sold in more than 35 countries.Call Number: FANTASY RIORDAN
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Ranger's Apprentice SERIES by John Flanagan The New York Times and Australian mega-bestselling series about Will and his friends from Castle Redmont starts here! Will is small for his age, but agile and energetic. All his life, he has dreamed of becoming a great knight like the father he never knew, so he is devastated when he is rejected as an apprentice to Castle Redmont's Battleschool. Instead he is apprenticed to Halt, the mysterious Ranger whose uncanny ability to move unseen is thought to be the result of black magic. Reluctantly, Will learns to use a Ranger's secret weapons: a bow and arrow, a mottled cloak and a stubborn little pony. It may not be the sword and battlehorse he longs for, but when Will and Halt set out on a desperate mission to prevent the assassination of the King, Will finds that a Ranger's weapons are not so useless after all . . .Call Number: FANTASY FLANAGAN
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The Impossible Quest SERIES by Kate Forsyth Summary: Four unlikely heroes are forced on a perilous quest to save their people. Tom, Elanor, Sebastian and Quinn must put aside their differences and trust each other. Danger and betrayal awaits them at every turn. But only they can find the four impossible elements needed to wake the sleeping warriors of legend. Only they can drive back the darkness that reigns over the land.Call Number: FANTASY FORSYTH
Horror
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Skulduggery Pleasant SERIES by Derek Landy Summary: When twelve-year-old Stephanie inherits her weird uncle's estate, she must join forces with Skulduggery Pleasant, a skeleton mage, to save the world from the Faceless Ones.Call Number: FUN STUFF LANDY
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Max Helsing SERIES by Curtis Jobling Summary: Max Helsing isn't afraid of a few monsters. As a trainee monster hunter, Max knows his gargoyles from his ghouls and can spot an adolescent vampire at fifty paces... But life is about to get a whole lot scarier. Because since his thirteenth birthday, every monster in town has been hunting him. And when Max comes face-to-face with his ancestor's most feared enemy, only one hunter will survive...Call Number: HORROR JOBLING
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Ghost Works SERIES by James Lee A spine-tingling new series for children aged 8 to 12! From the phenomenally successful author of the 'Mr Midnight' and 'Mr Mystery' books, which have sold over 3 million copies around the world, comes a fantastically creepy and thoroughly absorbing new series of middle-fiction novels. Each Ghostworks book contains two chilling tales which will entrance young readers.Call Number: HORROR LEE
School Stories
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Wonder by R. J. Palacio Summary: Auggie wants to be an ordinary ten-year-old. He does ordinary things - eating ice cream, playing on his Xbox. He feels ordinary - inside. But ordinary kids don't make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. Ordinary kids aren't stared at wherever they go. Born with a terrible facial abnormality, Auggie has been home-schooled by his parents his whole life. Now, for the first time, he's being sent to a real school - and he's dreading it. All he wants is to be accepted - but can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, underneath it all? Now featuring a brand-new chapter told by bully Julian. (Publisher).Call Number: GENERAL PALACIO
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Stuff Happens: Cooper by Justin D'Ath Summary: Stuff happens sometimes. Everyday stuff. At school, at home, with sport, with mates. For Cooper it happened on school camp. (Back cover)Call Number: FUN STUFF DATH
ISBN: 9780143308218
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Middle School : The Worst Years Of My Life by James Patterson Summary: Rafe Khatchadorian is in his first year of middle school. He has a survival plan - to break every rule in his school's Code of Conduct. But what happens when Rafe's game starts to catch up with him?Call Number: FUN STUFF PATTERSON
Australian Stories
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The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon "Indispensable."-Booklist (starred review) CARNEGIE MEDAL 2017 FINALIST Subhi is a refugee. He was born in an Australian permanent detention center after his mother and sister fled the violence of a distant homeland, and the center is the only world he knows. But every night, the faraway whales sing to him, the birds tell him their stories, and the magical Night Sea from his mother's stories brings him gifts. As Subhi grows, his imagination threatens to burst beyond the limits of the fences that contain him. Until one night, it seems to do just that. Subhi sees a scruffy girl on the other side of the wire mesh, a girl named Jimmie, who appears with a notebook written by the mother she lost. Unable to read it herself, Jimmie asks Subhi to unravel her family's love songs and tragedies that are penned there. Subhi and Jimmie might both find comfort-and maybe even freedom-as their tales unfold. But not until each has been braver than ever before and made choices that could change everything.Call Number: GENERAL FRAILLON
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47 Degrees by Justin D'Ath Summary: Zeelie wonders if they're in danger. When temperatures soar to 47 degrees one hot summer day, 12-year-old Zeelie hopes the nearby bushfires everyone's talking about aren't heading towards her family's new home. What will they do if the wind changes direction? What about their belongings and their beloved pets? And why hasn't her mum and brother returned from Melbourne? Nothing can prepare Zeelie for what's to come.Call Number: HISTORICAL D'ATH
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Paper Planes by Steve Worland Summary: One paper plane flies straight and fast and true. Dylan's. Twelve-year-old Dylan Webber lives in outback Western Australia in a small country town. When he discovers he has a talent for folding and flying paper planes, Dylan begins a journey to reach the World Junior Paper Plane Championships in Japan. Along the way he makes unlikely new friends, clashes with powerful rivals and comes to terms with his family's past before facing his greatest challenge - to create a paper plane that will compete with the best in the world.Call Number: GENERAL WORLAND
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Exploding Endings: Painted Dogs & Doom Cakes by TIm Harris Summary: Author, Tim Harris, throws the reader into a world where it rains lemonade, dentists terrorise children, a whole school is put on detention at once and making a simple chocolate cake is one of life's more dangerous tasks. Exploding Endings will have young readers laughing aloud and wondering where each story will lead. (Publisher).Call Number: SHORT STORIES HARRIS
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Help Around the House by Morris Gleitzman Summary: Ludo helps other people. It's how he was brought up. When Dad is elected to Federal Parliament, Ludo grabs the chance to make Australia an even better place. But he soon discovers it's not the homeless of the national capital who most need his help -- it's the rich and powerful.Call Number: GENERAL GLEITZMAN
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Detention by Tristan Bancks Sima and her family are pressed to the rough, cold ground among fifty others. They lie next to the tall fence designed to keep them in. The wires are cut one by one.
When they make their escape, a guard raises the alarm. Shouting, smoke bombs, people tackled to the ground. In the chaos Sima loses her parents.
Dad told her to run, so she does, hiding in a school and triggering a lockdown. A boy, Dan, finds her hiding in the toilet block.
What should he do? Help her? Dob her in? She's breaking the law, but is it right to lock kids up? And if he helps, should Sima trust him? Or run?
THIS MOMENT, THESE DECISIONS, WILL CHANGE THE COURSE OF THEIR LIVES.Call Number: GENERAL BANCKS
Coming of Age
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See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng Summary: All eleven-year old Alex wants is to launch his iPod into space. With a series of audio recordings, he will show other lifeforms out in the cosmos what life on Earth, his Earth, is really like. But for a boy with a long-dead dad, a troubled mum, and a mostly-not-around brother, Alex struggles with the big questions: Where do I come from? Who's out there? And, above all, How can I be brave? Determined to find answers, Alex sets out on a remarkable road trip that will turn his whole world upside down.Call Number: GENERAL CHENG
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Holes by Louis Sachar Winner of the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award! This #1 New York Times bestselling, modern classic in which boys are forced to dig holes day in and day out is now available with a splashy new look. Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnatses. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the boys build character by spending all day, every day digging holes exactly five feet wide and five feet deep. There is no lake at Camp Green Lake. But there are an awful lot of holes. It doesn't take long for Stanley to realize there's more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. But what could be buried under a dried-up lake? Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment--and redemption. Includes a double bonus: an excerpt from Small Steps, the follow-up to Holes, as well as an excerpt from Louis Sachar's new middle-grade novel, Fuzzy Mud. "A smart jigsaw puzzle of a novel." --The New York Times WINNER OF THE BOSTON GLOBE-HORN BOOK AWARD A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW NOTABLE CHILDREN'S BOOK SELECTED FOR NUMEROUS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR AND ALA HONORS Call Number: eBook
Humour
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Treehouse Books SERIES by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton Join New York Times-bestselling author Andy Griffiths and illustrator Terry Denton on a series of wild storytelling adventures that Publishers Weekly described as “Anarchic absurdity at its best.”
Andy and Terry live in a tree. And when we say “tree,” we mean “treehouse” and when we say “treehouse,” we don’t mean just any old treehouse, we mean the most amazing treehouse in the world! It’s filled with things like shark-invested see-through swimming pools, secret underground labs, and marshmallow machines that follow you around and automatically shoot marshmallows into your mouth whenever you’re hungry.
The treehouse is also where they make books together. Andy writes the words and Terry draws the pictures…or they would if it weren’t for all the invading pirates, giant gorillas, out of control inventions and evil vegetable attacks that keep distracting them!Call Number: FUN STUFF GRIFFITHS
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WeirDo SERIES by Anh Do My parents could have given me any first name at all, like John, Kevin, Shmevin . . . ANYTHING. Instead I’m stuck with the worst name since Mrs Face called her son Bum.
Meet Weir Do. No, that’s not a typo, that’s his name! Weir Do’s the new kid in school. With an unforgettable name, a crazy family and some seriously weird habits, fitting in won’t be easy . . . but it will be funny!Call Number: FUN STUFF DO
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The Ice Monster by David Walliams Summary: When Elsie, an orphan on the streets of Victorian London, hears about the mysterious Ice Monster - a woolly mammoth found at the North Pole - she's determined to discover more. A chance encounter brings Elsie face to face with the creature, and sparks the adventure of a lifetime - from London to the heart of the Arctic!Call Number: FUN STUFF WALLIAMS
Sport Stories
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The Kaboom Kid SERIES by David Warner David Warner wasn't always the Australian cricket legend he is today. He was once a kid, too, just like you.
Follow the adventures of Little Davey Warner, his friends, and his dog, Max, who are OBSESSED with cricket. They love it so much they want to play it all day long, but there's always something - or someone - getting in their way.Call Number: GENERAL WARNER
Indigenous Stories
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Deadly D & Justice Jones SERIES by Scott Prince & Dave Hartley This series is an absolute sure-bet to engage reluctant readers. The books are written first person and use much schoolyard style language and humour to keep things moving along and there is some great line drawings to entertain. There is also much to engage NRL and Rugby League fans, with names of key players mentioned and lots footy talk. The added element of anger transforming Dylan into Deadly D is excellent fun but with a serious message about managing anger. The school principal is wonderful and it’s lovely to see a principal not playing the ‘bad guy’! Family relationships are explored and are positive and affirming.Call Number: INDIGENOUS PRINCE
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Birrung the Secret Friend by Jackie French Birrung, a young indigenous girl, befriends orphaned Barney and his friend Elsie. Birrung is living with Mr Johnson, chaplain to the Australian colony in 1790, and his family. Generous in spirit, the Johnson family also take in Barney and Elsie who have only just been surviving on their meagre daily rations. Despite living with the Johnsons, Birrung's connection to her people remains strong, and when Mr and Mrs Johnson see how Barney's feeling for Birrung are growing, they gently explain that his friendship with a 'native' girl and all that she taught him about her language and lore must remain a secret - forever.Call Number: INDIGENOUS/ GENERAL French
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The Pearl-Shell Diver by Kay Crabbe Sario lives with his family on a remote Torres Strait island, which he never wants to leave--but the winds of change are stirring. The year is 1898, and the pearl-shell trade is at its height. When his father is coerced to join a white trader on his pearling lugger, 13-year-old Sario must go to work as a swimming diver to support the family. He can earn more as a pump diver, and is excited by the idea of walking on the sea floor, but the competition is fierce, and the only captain who will take him on runs the worst outfit in the fleet. With the constant danger of shark attack and the storm of the century approaching, can Sario provide for his family and realize his dream?Call Number: INDIGENOUS CRABBE
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The Fighting Stingrays by Simon Mitchell Charlie, Masa and Alf are best mates - loyal and adventurous. They're the Fighting Stingrays.
In between school, swimming and fishing on idyllic Thursday Island, they have a ripper time role-playing bombing missions and other war games. But when Japan enters World War II, the Fighting Stingrays are told that one of their own is now the real-life enemy. Drawn into a dangerous game of cat and mouse in the Torres Strait, their friendship and loyalties are tested as the threat of invasion looms closer.Call Number: INDIGENOUS MITCHELL
Biography
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High Five to the Boys Australia has some seriously ace men who have broken new ground, stood up for what they believed in, achieved incredible things and defied stereotypes. You'll find some of those men inside the pages of this book - from astronaut Andy Thomas to YouTube maths teacher Eddie Woo, sportsman Johnathan Thurston and dancer David McAllister. Whether they end up being role models for girls or boys, it doesn't matter, because they're ace regardless! Brought to life by colourful illustrations from Australian male artists, High Five to the Boysis an uplifting and illuminating read for all ages. Royalties from sales of this book go to The Smith Family.Call Number: BIO BOYS
Historical Fiction
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The Viking's Revenge by Benjamin Hulme-Cross Summary: Trapped in their great grandfather's museum by a group of terrifying ghosts, Arthur and Finn must travel back in time and help rewrite the course of history. Will they be able to restore the famous Viking sword, Blood Hunter, to its rightful owner and escape the clutches of a fearsome Viking tribe?Call Number: FANTASY HULME-CROSS
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Pharaoh by Jackie French The people call Prince Narmer the Golden One' - a boy with the brightest future ahead of him. Handsome and talented, he is destined to be King of Thinis, the greatest town in Egypt and, for Narmer, the centre of the world.Then his whole life ...Call Number: HISTORICAL FRENCH
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Halo by Zizou Corder Washed ashore as a baby in ancient Greece, Halo is discovered by a family of centaurs. Although her true identity remains a mystery, she is loved as one of their own. But when Halo is dragged away by fishermen, her wild adventure begins . . . Halo soon realizes that if she is to survive then she must live in disguise - as a boy. A violent war is threatening to erupt and Halo is at the mercy of the mighty Spartan warriors. And as she battles to hide her secret, Halo never forgets her quest to find out who she is - and where she really came from.Call Number: HISTORICAL CORDER
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Viking Blood by Andrew Donkin It's 1008 AD, and after being injured in a raid that goes horribly wrong, Tor Scaldbane is devastated at losing his chance to be a legendary warrior. But then he remembers the sagas of his ancestors; glorious, bloody battles, ancient heroes, powerful gods ... and realizes that all might not be lost after all...Call Number: HISTORICAL DONKIN
Poetry & Verse Novels
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Booked by Kwame Alexander "A novel about a soccer-obsessed tween boy written entirely in verse? In a word, yes. Kwame Alexander has the magic to pull off this unlikely feat, both as a poet and as a storyteller. "-- The Chicago Tribune Can't nobody stop you Can't nobody cop you... In this follow-up to Newbery-winner The Crossover; soccer, family, love, and friendship; take center stage. Twelve-year-old Nick learns the power of words as he wrestles with problems at home, stands up to a bully, and tries to impress the girl of his dreams; Helping him along are his best friend and sometimes teammate Coby, and The Mac, a rapping librarian who gives Nick inspiring books to read; This electric and heartfelt novel-in-verse by poet Kwame Alexander bends and breaks as it captures all the thrills and setbacks, action and emotion of a World Cup match! Now in paperback.Call Number: GENERAL ALEXANDER
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On Track by Kathryn Apel Summary: Everyone says you couldn't get two brothers more different than Shaun and Toby. Toby struggles at school, has a stumbly, fumbly, bumbly body and thinks that Sports Day is the worst day of the year. No matter how hard he tries, he's not good at anything, except running away from his big, better brother. Shaun is top of his class and does everything first, better, best! He can't wait for Sports Day - D-Day for discus. But when his brother is around, nobody notices the things Shaun can do. Will Toby and Shaun get on track before Sports Day?Call Number: GENERAL APEL