Ned’s gotten into an elite new school. But there’s a problem—everyone there can do magic. And Ned can’t. Ned tries to adjust to his new situation, avoid making enemies, and jump-start his magic skills, all with very little luck. Then, just as he’s getting accustomed to having his hair turned into snakes and his books into bricks, Necromancers strike and Ned and his classmates are kidnapped. But without magic, how can he possibly help them escape?

It's fast, it's sleek, it's beautiful - it's the Golden Arrow car, first prize in a competition that Horace the driving dog is determined to win. All he has to do is design a car that uses alternative energy. Easy! What should he try? Wind, water or nuclear power? How about a flying car?But all the other dogs want the prize as well, to say nothing of the stunt hamsters Tickety and Boo. Soon everyone is trying to build their own, very unusual cars, and causing mayhem along the way. ...

Can a dog really learn to drive? Horace the car-mad hound thinks so; and he can't wait to get behind the wheel of his owner's car. With the help of two stunt hamsters, Tickety and Boo, and the supercilious snake Kimi, he sets out on the road - and drives straight into trouble!Full of thrills, laughs and crashes, PETROL PAWS is the first in the new WHEElers series, and the perfect read for car-crazy kids - or anyone who just likes fun.

Jack's mum insists he has new school shoes and the only ones they can find are horrid, black lace-ups. They are so stiff, noisy and uncomfortable that Jack suspects they must be monster shoes, especially when they seem to kick his classmates for no reason and make the football go in completely the wrong direction at playtime. Jack desperately works on a plan to get rid of them, until he discovers, quite by accident, a way of taming the monster shoes...

Thackeray's Vanity Fair opens as two girls are leaving school together: the gentle, innocent Amelia and the sharp-witted, impoverished Becky. Their fortunes are intertwined over the next twenty years, through the Battle of Waterloo and after, in a novel full of lively and perceptively drawn characters.Though regarded as one of the great works of English literature, Vanity Fair is also extremely long and discursive. This abridgement shortens the book to around 60% of the original len...

Elizabeth Gaskell's great Victorian novel combines romance with social conflict. When Margaret comes to live in the industrial north of England, she is shocked by the antagonism between mill workers and their masters. Her sympathies lie with the workers, yet she is increasingly drawn to the stern mill-owner John Thornton.This abridgement of Elizabeth Gaskell's humane and thoughtful work is two thirds of the original length, and includes a section on the book's historical context. It...

The Plague of 1665 was the last great epidemic of plague to strike London, and the only one of which numerous written accounts survive. This book contains an overview of the plague's history and pathology, and examines the contemporary accounts, with an abridged version of the most famous book about the epidemic, Daniel Defoe's "A Journal of the Plague Year." Another ten works, by diarists, doctors and others, are summarised, with extensive extracts illustrating the reactions and attitudes...

Three dinosaur stories with full colour illustrations. "Earthshaker" - a very large dinosaur comes to stay. "Elly and Aargh" - Elly the ankylosaur makes a fearsome friend! "KIng of the Killers" - can a T Rex outwit two huge and hungry dinosaurs?Combining humour and excitement, these three stories are perfect for reading aloud to younger children, or for more confident readers to enjoy on their own.

What is the secret of the mysterious black dog, Doofus? Can he really call up creatures from the distant past? When Holly and Clive take him to stay by the sea, strange things start to happen... This sequel to 'Doofus, Dog of Doom' can also be read as a stand-alone adventure story.

"Wuthering Heights" is one of the great classics of English literature, yet many readers find it difficult to finish. This edition has shortened the book to two-thirds of its original length, and slightly simplified it, whilst preserving the book's character. It offers readers with good English a more approachable version of this famous novel.

Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy, first published in 9 volumes between 1759 and 1767, is considered one of the great works of English literature.It is also widely regarded as one of the most difficult to read because of its density and erratic, leap-frogging plot. This abridgment shortens the book to two-thirds of its original length, and slightly simplifies it, making it accessible to the general reader whilst retaining Sterne's wit and style.

"You cloned my leg?" asked Benbow, dazed."We cloned you, you numskull!" snapped Garracker. "Three perfect Benbows..."Benbow is a police dog who patrols the abandoned City, home to gangs of street children and their dogs. When he loses a leg, he thinks his police career is over - but his boss, Garracker, has other plans. He wants Benbow and his clones to track down three very special children hidden in the City... but time is running out.This is a newly revised and en...