Showing results by publisher "Oakhill Publishing" in Historical Fiction

Jack, standing among the war graves, sees a face he recognises. Suddenly, it’s 1914 again and he’s a young lad back in the trenches. Visions of killing and misery come to him with horrible clarity. But then Jack remembers, too, the incredible moment when the guns fell silent for a short time, and fighting gave way to football on the frozen ground of No-Man’s-Land. This amazing story shows that even in times of conflict and extreme sadness, there is always hope.

A body washed up on the beach. An evacuation to an old house with forbidden rooms and dark secrets. An animal rescue service. Set in World War Two, Emma Carroll explores the resilience, resourcefulness and inventiveness of children when their lives fall to pieces. Introducing some compelling new characters, as well as revisiting some familiar settings, these adventures are sure to win over new listeners as well as fans of old favourites such as Letters from the Lighthouse and Frost Hollow Hall.

February 1941. After months of bombing raids in London, 12-year-old Olive Bradshaw and her little brother, Cliff, are evacuated to the Devon coast. The only person with two spare beds is Mr Ephraim, the local lighthouse keeper. Desperate to be helpful, Olive becomes his post girl, carrying secret messages (as she likes to think of the letters) to the villagers. But Olive has a secret of her own. Her older sister, Sukie, went missing in an air raid, and she’s desperate to discover what happened to her.

Gunnar is the son of a Viking chieftain, living peacefully with his mother, father, and their people - until they are raided by Skuli and his Wolf Men, who raze his home to the ground and take his father’s life. Gunnar swears to avenge his father’s death and save his mother from Skuli - but first he must run to save himself facing murderous raiders, hand to hand battles, mythical flying wolves, and a relentless sea journey to the Land of Fire and Ice... Unknown to Gunnar, his life has been foretold, and he finds he has a destiny greater than his own story.

Will dares Tilly to come ice-skating up at Frost Hollow Hall. No one goes near the place these days. Ten years ago the young heir, Kit Barrington, drowned there in the lake. Rumour has it that the house is haunted ... But Tilly never turns down a dare. Then it goes horribly wrong. The ice breaks, Tilly falls through and almost drowns. At the point of death, a beautiful angel appears and saves her. Kit Barrington’s ghost. Kit needs Tilly to solve the mystery of his death, so that his spirit can rest in peace.

Amihan lives on Culion Island where some of the inhabitants, including her mother, have leprosy. Ami loves her home with its blue sea and lush forests, but the arrival of Mr Zamora changes her world forever as Ami is banished from the island. She seeks to return before her mother's death. Can the colony of butterflies lead her home before it's too late?

All Nansi knows is that her mother disappeared on the day she was fished out of Cardiff docks. With no other family to turn to, she works at the Empire Theatre, trying to earn enough money to hire a detective to find her mother. Everything changes when Constance and Violet join the theatre. Nansi is forced to be part of Violet's crooked psychic act. But it's when Constance recognises her, and realises who her mother must be, that Nansi's world is turned upside down forever.

When her grandma goes into a retirement home, Scarlet must sort through her belongings in the cramped flat above a shop in London. Here Scarlet comes across a real treasure: a novel that Gran wrote, about the life of a girl just like Scarlet, who lived in the flat and worked in a cake shop downstairs. But as Scarlet reads about Ruby's life in Victorian London, she realises this is not a piece of fiction - Ruby was real, facing real danger and a mystery that unravels to the present day.

It was cold, spooky and very boring. Frank hated Friday nights, sitting in the museum while his mum did the cleaning. He felt very alone - until a skeleton came over for a chat! And suddenly the museum didn’t seem quite so boring any more. But after a few chilling encounters with some of the skeleton’s weird and wonderful friends, all Frank really wants is his mum....

Sam Toop lives in a funeral parlour, blessed (or cursed) with an unusual gift. While his father buries the dead, Sam is haunted by their constant demands for attention. Trouble is afoot on the ‘other side’ – there is a horrible disease that is mysteriously imprisoning ghosts in empty houses in the world of the living. And Sam is caught in the middle – will he be able to bring himself to help? A darkly comic Dickensian ghost story from Blue Peter Award winner Gareth P. Jones.

A encounter with a boy dangling from the sky changes pickpocket Magpie's life forever. Like her, the boy dreams of flying over the rooftops of Paris. His family, the Montgolfiers, are desperate to be first to discover the secret of flight. Together with Pierre, Magpie is soon caught up in a world of inflatable bloomers, spies and a trio of unruly animals in a race to be the first to fly a hot air balloon - in front of the King and Queen of France.

Growing up poor but proud on the Dorset coast, Mary follows after her father, hunting for fossils of ancient creatures. Ignoring other's taunts, Mary faces danger to bring back valuable treasures to help feed her family. But tragedy and despair are never far away. Mary must depend upon her unique courage and knowledge to fulfil her dream of becoming a scientist, in a time when girls have no opportunities for such ambitions. What will happen when she makes her greatest discovery of all?

Bill is a 15-year-old runaway evacuee, and he’s finding that surviving on the streets of London is pretty easy. Things get more complicated for Bill with the arrival of Julie. She's a runaway too, and although she’s a bit posh, she’s just as determined as Bill to stay free of interfering parents and 'the social'. But although it’s fun for a while to duck Jerry missiles and camp out in bombed-out houses, the reality of living through the Blitz quickly begins to set in.

When Freddie is given an ancient map for his birthday by his eccentric Uncle Patrick, it seems an odd gift, but Freddie is thrilled. Little does he realise that the mysterious map is about to turn his world upside down. Plunged into a perilous adventure between two worlds, and pursued in turn by a ruthless bully and a determined adversary who each go to any lengths to get what they want, Freddie must fight for what's right - and for his very life....

France, 1944. Twelve-year-old Eloise's father has not come home in over a week, and she is getting worried that something might be badly wrong. When the Germans occupy Eloise's town and the Nazi Kommandant moves in, things start falling apart. Through a chance meeting, Eloise volunteers to join the Resistance. Suspense, secrecy and danger follow her as, inspired by her favourite detective fiction books, she tries to find her father. A hidden passage behind a tapestry, a deportation list and a race against time... Will Eloise find her father?

In the final showdown between the Great Galloon and the evil crew of the Sumbaroon, Captain Anstruther and the crew of his Great Galloon have trapped the evil Zebediah and his Sumbaroon - at last they will rescue the captain's stolen bride, Isabella! But the Sumbaroon sprouts mechanical legs and escapes over land. Stanley and Rasmussen are determined to stop Zebediah from taking over the Great Galloon, but can they figure out how to do it?

A distinguished senator has gone into hiding after being accused of treachery, leaving his family to fend for themselves. His elder son Quintus has become a gladiator, while young Lucius works as a servant in the gladiator school. When the gladiator troupe is sent to Pompeii to take part in the games, Lucius is befriended by Valens, the sponsor of the games, who offers to help him find his father. Meanwhile, strange rumblings and tremors are felt in the town, and a seer is warning that the ‘end of days’ is approaching.

The first in a new series of seven books featuring a wonderfully villainous character, Grim Gruesome – a mysterious, shape-shifting, child-hating trickster, the terror of the North Lands. Bjarni needs a sword so he can join a pirate ship and win some treasure, but he can’t afford one. Then Astrid’s mysterious long-lost uncle appears out of the blue and offers to lend him one; but the strange runes carved on it are a dangerous curse.

Lucius is back in Rome, reunited with his friend Isadora. Together they look after the wild beasts that will hunt, fight, and die in the arena. Lucius' brother, the famous gladiator Quintus Felix, will once again have to face death.