Past Sessions

‘I've been getting into trouble for as long I can remember. Usually I don't mind - some of my best, most brilliant ideas have come from sitting in detention. But recently it feels like no one believes me about anything - even when I'm telling the truth! Everyone thinks I'm just a bully. They don't believe I could be a hero. But I'm going to prove them all wrong...' 

In the snowy kingdom of Erkenwald, whales glide between icebergs, wolves hunt on the tundra and polar bears roam the glaciers. But the people of this land aren’t so easy to find - because Erkenwald is ruled by an evil Ice Queen and the tribes must stay hidden or risk becoming her prisoners at Winterfang Palace.

Christmas books for this special event:

• The Christmas Department Store by Maudie Powell-Tuck and Hoang Giang
• Kid Christmas of the Claus Brothers Toy Shop by David Litchfield
• Dasher by Matt Tavares
• Through the North Pole Snow by Polly Faber and Richard Jones 
• The Winter Wish by Helen Mortimer and Rachael Dean
• The Christmas Eve Tree by Delia Huddy and Emily Sutton
• Pick a Pine Tree by Patricia Toht and Jarvis

Darkus can’t believe his eyes when a huge insect drops out of the trouser leg of his horrible new neighbour. It’s a giant beetle – and it seems to want to communicate.

But how can a boy be friends with a beetle?

And what does a beetle have to do with the sudden disappearance of his dad and the arrival of Lucretia Cutter, with her taste for creepy jewellery?

Twins Arthur and Maudie Brightstorm receive word in Lontown that their famous explorer father has died in a failed attempt to reach the southernmost point in the world. 

The twins don't believe the news, and they answer an ad to join a new attempt to reach South Polaris. It's their only hope of learning the truth ... 

As the winged airship Aurora sets sail, the twins must keep their wits about them and prove themselves worthy to the rest of the crew.

But will Arthur and Maudie find the answers they seek?

Razi, a local fisherboy, is watching turtle eggs hatch when he sees a boat bobbing in to view. With a chill, he notices a small, still hand hanging over the side…inside is Zheng, who’s escaped a shipwreck and is full of tales of sea monsters and missing treasure. But the villains who are after Zheng are soon after Razi and his sister, Shifa, too. And so begins an exhilarating escapade in the shadow of the biggest sea monster of them all.

Believing is just the beginning …

When Arthur and Rose were little, they were heroes in the Land of Roar, an imaginary world that they found by climbing through the folding bed in their grandad’s attic. Roar was filled with things they loved – flying dragons, magical mermaids, ninja wizards and adventure.

Now the twins are eleven, Roar is just a memory. But when they help Grandad clean out the attic, a mysterious figure appears at the window, an old map turns up and grandad vanishes.. Is Grandad playing a joke? Or is Roar … real? 

There are no polar bears left on Bear Island. At least that’s what April’s father tells her when his scientific research takes them to this remote Arctic outpost for six months. But one endless summer night, April meets one. He is starving, lonely and a long way from home. Determined to save him, April begins the most important journey of her life…

When twelve-year-old Ami arrives at The Escape, she thinks it's just a game – the ultimate escape room with puzzles and challenges to beat before time runs out. Meeting her teammates, Adjoa, Ibrahim, Oscar and Min, Ami learns from the Host that they have been chosen to save the world and they must work together to find the Answer. But as he locks them inside the first room, they quickly realise this is no ordinary game.
 

A selection of Christmassy reads.