Ickle Pickle

The children in James' new school in Little Tooting have been terrorised by the local bully, Roger Grimes, and his gang of trouble-makers ever since Roger started school. As the newest arrival, James is having a whole new set of problems devised by Roger Grimes, which inevitably land him in trouble.

The last straw comes when his art teacher has blue paint poured down the back of her shirt and yet again James is blamed. Roger has most of the children terrified, so no-one will stand up to him when he and his friend Edward blame it all on James.

This is also the last straw for the headmistress who calls James’ mother. He is suspended for one week. While suspended James meets some very special friends: Bella and Old Fella, two very special dogs. James is shocked to discover that they understand him and that he can talk to them. Between them, they hatch more than one plan to put a stop to Roger Grimes reign of terror over the schoolyard, with the most unexpected consequences.

If Cars Could Talk

Red Raphael has his wits about him and he thinks he’s the fastest car ever. He challenges Pretty in Pink to race around the lake later that night. She gladly accepts the challenge and turns up at midnight. Mean and Green, Blue Will Show You, along with Pretty in Pink and Red Raphael show up. The race begins and it appears Red Raphael is in the lead. However, the race takes a surprising turn and the outcome shocks them all !!!!!  

If Cows Could Fly

Ever seen a flying cow, a horse that knits, or an eel that rides a bike? Well, welcome in to a world where your fantasy and imagination can bring them all to life.

This set of humorous poems, mainly concerning the strange things animals may get up to, are suitably illustrated by the author's whimsical drawings.

If Time Were Not a Moving Thing

Set in the glamorous world of opera, the book charts the tempestuous and passionate relationship between the world-famous soprano, Marie Nyman, and Arabella Cooper, a young pianist and aspiring conductor. Marie is married and deeply in the closet, Arabella out and proud. Can Marie overcome her fears and acknowledge the love of her life, as Arabella’s career takes off? Two beautiful women battle their demons in locations as diverse as New York, London, Vienna, and Munich.

If You Can't Take a Joke

The gates of RAF Swinderby were the entrance to an alien world in the eyes of a young man with no previous military experience, and arrival there came as a shock to the senses; a shock which the instructors did their level best to maximise, by giving every instruction and making every observation in an ear-splitting shriek that could melt earwax. From dawn until dusk there was no respite as a host of alien concepts were hammered into us from a variety of different sources, nor from dusk until midnight when we would be cleaning every nook and cranny of our barrack block until everything gleamed, although it never seemed to be shiny enough for the corporal or the sergeant.

Gradually though, the unfamiliar became familiar as those alien concepts sank in and stopped being alien, as we learned and toughened up, becoming the best we thought we could be, and then exceeded that and started to become as good as the instructors thought we could be; until we really learned how to take a joke.

If You Only Had Time

This book isn’t about what you produce for your boss or your client, it’s about how you pilot yourself through your career, pick your way through the challenges that come your way and squeeze the most out of the chances you get to learn and develop.

Spending time (and money) with the right executive coach could be the best investment you’d ever make. Maybe that doesn’t fit into your programme today. But if you could be sitting with your coach right now, here’s what you’d be likely to learn.

If You See Him, Let Me Know

Heralded by Publisher's Weekly as "a writer to watch" with a "magnificent sense of character and ear for dialogue", Todd London returns with If You See Him, Let Me Know, a stunning novel set at the crossroads of two generations--one marked by what it witnessed, the other by what it missed. It's August 1974, the eve of Nixon's resignation. Jerry Rosen is facing prison for a messy, white-collar crime. Before sentencing, he has to tell his son Philip, a teenager at a theatre camp in the Midwest. To the suburban kids at Friedkin camp, history is a game of dress-up. Tragic world events get retold as stage musicals--World War II as South Pacific, the Holocaust as Fiddler on the Roof. Anne Frank is a role to play--Philip's friend Kathy Klein plays it to the hilt. For Jerry, who served as an army medic in Germany, and for the camp's compassionate matriarch Lila Sahlins, the past can't be sung away. Jerry's confession unearths secrets that will change the course of Philip's life and trigger a pair of haunting disappearances. "This is a killer coming-of-age story: gripping and compassionate. I haven't stopped thinking about it." - Lisa Kron, Fun Home, the musical "…An engrossing journey, culminating in a denouement that is surprising, gratifying, and eminently moving." - Kia Corthron, The Castle Cross the Magnet Carter "Todd London is a master conjurer of the lost--of lost youth, lost promise, lost Chicago, lost America." - Adam Langer, Crossing California "A novel that harrows the heart." - Octavio Solis, Retablos

If You Wake at Midnight

This is the story of the greatest scandal inflicted on British servicemen and women in modern times: drug-induced violence and suicide – and an officer determined to find the truth.

It was supposed to be a wonder drug that would save the world from malaria. But soon after Lariam was brought to international markets in the late 1980s, users of this handy, once-a-week pill began to experience shocking side-effects. Yet over the coming decades, as the drug became implicated in ever-increasing acts of unexplained violence, homicide and suicide, the Ministry of Defence continued to force Lariam on tens, or perhaps hundreds, of thousands of unsuspecting people deployed to some of the world’s most dangerous places.

Enduring years of Lariam-induced nightmares, former soldier Andrew Marriott realised something was horribly wrong; not just with the drug itself but with the institutions responsible for its use and safety. So began a journey towards the truth, a truth that vested interests in the United Kingdom and around the globe were determined to conceal.

In a unique exposé of an entirely preventable pharmaceutical disaster, Marriott turns a spotlight on the murky world of clandestine military and industrial research in the United States in which Lariam was developed. With other survivors, including some very courageous women, he undertakes a forensic examination of a scandal extending to the upper echelons of government and the armed forces. A culture of betrayal and dishonour had imperilled those defending our country to the most insidious and silent form of friendly fire.

Il-i-ad That Lad

… Long ago in a far distant and different – though maybe not so – world, 1,250BCE, yet-to-be Greeks tried to retake that world’s most beautiful woman, Helen of Troy, ‘the face that launched a 1,000 ships’ (actually 1,034). She’d been seduced/abducted by Paris, the Trojan prince. If she existed she may have been an excuse for colonial conquest, like the non-existent ‘weapons of mass destruction’ of Iraq 2003, as Troy was a key trading centre. Or the war may have been due to widespread famine, thus mass migration in the Med.
This innovative take on Homer’s ancient epic Iliad uses a stream-of-consciousness style within a traditional ten-syllable rhyming structure. There are very graphic descriptions of one of our bloodiest wars, but also magic, as the god(desse)s interweave throughout, dispensing miracles for their favourites, nobbling rivals. Zeus, on Mount Olympus, plays chess master, pulling the strings, alongside Fate. And there are wonderful similes from the natural world.
Given new resonance by the continuing war in Ukraine, Troy’s timeless lessons are unfortunately likely to become more, not less, relevant with increasing competition for shrinking resources, and now that the crises of global heating and nuclear Armageddon threaten practically all life on the planet. The futility of war and destruction has always been humankind’s Achilles Heel! The ancient Greek earth-mother goddess GAIA has largely become (G)reed, (A)rrogance), (I)gnorance, (A)ggression. The power-brokers of our brave new world are descendants of those peoples past – do we have enough of whatever wisdom they had to survive?
If you like Greek mythology or history-fantasy or similar, you’ll love this modern twist on a tale of long ago…

Imaginary Order

Mothers: for nine months we are one, yet they remain a part of us, not apart from us, forever.

Told through the eyes of her daughter, Nani, Imaginary Order is the story of a mother’s psychological struggle to regain her life after a near fatal-accident. Their journey together, first to Switzerland, then Italy through to Amsterdam morphs into a redeeming story of self-discovery, independence, and the inevitable severing of the eternal child who hides within us all. 

Imagine

At first glance, 58-year-old Hannah Dragé might be mistaken for a free-spirited hippie, often found immersed in meditation, adorned with crystals, and carrying the scent of incense. Her daughters, Amelia and Charlotte, share a relationship best described as distant. Though often lost in daydreams or music, cross paths with Hannah’s fiery temper, and you’d soon forget her tranquil exterior.

Haunted by a sense of unfulfilled destiny, Hannah frequently felt like an outsider, even within her own family. This sentiment led her to find solace in conversations with the spectral realm. The key to understanding and, more importantly, altering her life, however, was handed down to her following her parents’ demise: a family heirloom, a book of magic.

Upon opening the book, Hannah’s dormant magic is reignited. She is introduced to her spirit guide, Ferdinand, a shapeshifting dragon capable of taking on a striking human form. Women from the mythical land of Jardine appear, committed to guiding Hannah in wielding her rediscovered magic—a power once suppressed by a curse placed on Ferdinand. Assisted by the spectral wisdom of her great-grandmother, Hannah embarks on a journey to free Ferdinand from his curse, discovering along the way an affectionate half-brother, Olwen, residing in Germany. Together, they work to decipher the enigma of Ferdinand’s curse in Imagine’s enthralling tale.

Imagine

This book will make you think twice about everyday things such as buttons, feet, a drop of water, a pumpkin, and an old slipper.

This collection of stories will bring humour to everyday things and help to build your child’s imagination and help it to soar high.

Follow the stories of these amazing everyday things and see their success.

Your child will sleep peacefully knowing everything has a successful end.