Showing results by publisher "W. F. Howes Ltd" in Literature & Fiction

Flick is a magician who needs answers. Her father is still missing, and top illusionist the Great Fox doesn't seem interested in finding him, despite his promises. Meanwhile, she and her friend Charlie must represent the Great Fox in a new competition in the Swiss town of Linth. The Global Order of Magic is electing a new chancellor, and the Fox insists that if he wins, it will help—but Flick isn't so sure.

King Lear has decided to retire from his royal duties. He calls his three daughters and asks each to tell him how much they love him. The eldest two, Goneril and Regan, flatter him with their words. Cordelia the youngest, only says that she loves him as a daughter must love her father. Furious, he disinherits her and divides his kingdom between her two sisters. But Goneril and Regan soon turn against Lear.

Young gymnast Pearl dreams of winning gold in Paris. It's what Mum would have wanted. However, elite training camp is super tough, even with the help of best friend Ryan and rising star Jada-Rae. Think ice baths, rivalry … sabotage. When others will do anything to win, what will Pearl risk? Safety? Morals? Friendships?

Lauren, Jack, Ruby and Billy live by the seaside with their mum and dad. But their parents are always arguing, and then their dad moves out. Lauren and Jack decide they have to get them together again. And so begins Operation Eiffel Tower... in which the four children try to raise money to give their mum and dad a treat in an attempt to make them happier.

Armadillo and Hare are the best of friends. They live together in a little house in the Big Forest. It's normally very quiet in the Big Forest. Hare likes music and excitement. Armadillo like it when it's quiet. Today there's a lot of bashing and crashing going on! Someone is playing the drums. Very loudly. It's Bear! What will our friends make of their new arrival? Return to the Big Forest for even more fun, friendship - and cheese!

Crumble cakes! A red rogue wind is blowing, and a wicked pirate captain and his crew are marauding the Seven Seas near the island left off the map of the world. A rare egg has gone missing and a very unhappy sea dragon wants it back. A pirate ship, The Kettle Black, is anchored in a secret cove off the island left off the map of the world. Betsy and her mum, Myrtle the mermaid, must dive deep beneath the waves, while Alfonso Glory and Mr Tiger fly high above the clouds in a hot air balloon. It's time for Mr Tiger, Betsy and the Gongalongs to set off on their second adventure....

Who turned out all the lights? Oh, no one - it's a power cut. Which is bad news for usually brave Bobby Cobbler, because he's scared of the dark. And, worse luck for Bobby, this is not just one random power cut - it's the beginning of a plague of power cuts! Something on Pip Street isn't right, and just between you and me, I think it might be to do with that pig with the spooky, hypnotic eyes who's living in Jeff the Chalk's house....

On the school ski trip, Mouse knows certain classmates can't wait to see her fall flat on her face. Meanwhile, Jack looks forward to danger and girls but hasn't a clue about either. That's until French teen sensation Roland arrives in the resort - who Jack's a dead ringer for. When Roland persuades Jack to be his stand-in for a day, Jack, in disguise, declares his feelings for Mouse. But what happens when he's no longer a pop star? Will it be music and magic on the slopes?

Molly should be doing her homework, but instead, she builds a robot to do it for her. The robot is pretty clever...so clever that it decides to make another robot. Then that robot makes another one. Before long, an army of slightly-too-clever-for-their-own-good robots are running around town causing chaos. But when robot number one gets wind of Molly’s plan to shut them down, the mechanical army set out to get rid of the humanoid once and for all. Now, Molly must race against time to stop the mega-robot invasion...and hand in her homework!

When Lewis's family moves to a faraway town called Barrow, he can't quite put his finger on what feels so strange about his new home. Everyone is obsessed with superstition, and an old story about floods and witches and a curse, while a mysterious bird watches his every move. Then his family friend Moira arrives to stay. Only, there's something peculiar about Moira too. She doesn't know where she's from, or even when she's from, and strange things happen around her.

On a school trip to Wickworth Manor, the local stately home, Curtis finds a portrait in his bedroom of a young black servant dressed in livery. But why is the portrait hidden in the bedroom? Then Paige finds an intriguing letter which mentions the portrait, written over 200 years ago by Miss Verity Burton, who used to live at the Manor. There is a mystery begging to be unravelled!

Captain Pugwash is delighted at the prospect of earning 500 golden crowns for smuggling barrels of brandy across the English Channel. But little does he suspect what is really inside the barrels! Luckily Tom the quick-witted cabin-boy uncovers Cut-Throat Jake's dastardly plot and not only saves the day, but secures the Captain's reward as well!

Alex Neptune is struggling to get to grips with his new oceanic powers...so the last thing he needs is Haven Bay being attacked by pirates in a ship made of rubbish. The marauders are hunting for the missing egg of the elusive water dragon—and Alex is determined to reach it first to stop them stealing its power. Along with friends Zoey and Anil—plus a clumsy seal, a lock-picking hermit crab and some seriously menacing otters—Alex sets out on a treasure hunt to a secret shipwreck where they must face three monstrous challenges.

After his dad's death, Konrad stops speaking. Not a word at home or school. But that begins to change when he meets Maya on the beach he loved to explore with Dad. She doesn't mind his silence. It gives her a chance to be heard, because at home no one seems to notice her. When the pair go on a last visit to Konrad's family bookshop before it's sold, they soon get lost in the pages of Konrad's favourite book of folk tales. Whisked back in time to quest with a dragon, they must find themselves and their voices, as well as a happy end to the story in the book and in real life.

Since his father disappeared under a dark cloud of scandal, Pin Carpue has been alone in the world. His work for the local undertaker keeps him busy, but his life is bleak. Then Pin encounters the Bone Magician, a man who can raise corpses and make the dead speak. As Pin is drawn into an intoxicating world of mystery and intrigue, he becomes suspicious of Juno, the Bone Magician's young assistant. A strange darkness haunts her when the Silver Apple Killer stalks the streets at night - and as Pin pieces together the secrets of Bone Magic, his own life becomes fraught with grave danger.

On a storm-ravaged night, a 19-year-old girl is murdered. Three days later, her two younger brothers set out in search of her killer. Cole is a dark-eyed devil who doesn't care if he lives or dies; Ruben is a strange child who sometimes, inexplicably, experiences sensations above and beyond his own. This is the story of the boys' journey from their half-gypsy home in a London junk yard to the ghostly moors of Devon, where they hope and fear to find the truth about their sister's death.

Moss hates her life. As the daughter of the executioner in the Tower of London, it’s her job to catch the heads in her basket after her father has chopped them off. When she discovers a hidden tunnel that takes her to freedom, she learns that her life isn’t what she believes it to be. Her search for the truth takes her on a journey along the great River Thames. Could the answers lie deep in its murky depths?

Born in a Soviet prison camp, Lina has never seen the world outside until the night she escapes with her best friend, Bogdan. As the pair journey across a snowy wilderness, they are pursued by a vengeful sorceress and her pack of shadow wolves. The children will need every ounce of courage - and a whisper of magic - if they are to survive.

Stick and Fetch are on holiday, but even in a rickety old seaside hotel there are plenty of crimes to solve and mysteries to unravel. Such as, who is Major Mayhem? Why is that door frightened? And where could the small-bottle-of-shampoo robbers be hiding? This lovable pair is on the case and undeterred despite plenty of mishaps, misdeeds and misunderstandings along the way. A fun-filled adventure featuring two hapless investigators with a lot of hair.

Alexander McCall Smith is one of the world's most prolific and popular authors. He has won numerous awards for his writing, including the British Book Award Author of the Year Award and a CBE for services to literature.