A travesty. A violation. An ecstasy. A disappointment. An instant. A lie. A theft. A rite of passage. Whatever you call it, there's only one first time.A.S. King, Melvin Burgess, Keith Gray, Patrick Ness, Anne Fine, Sophie McKenzie, Bali Rai, Jenny Valentine, Mary Hooper, and Andrew Smith. Some of today's leading international YA authors contributed to this hard-hitting collection of original short stories: some funny, some moving, some haunting, but all revolving around the same su...

The portrait of a beautiful girl with tumbling red hair takes on sinister undertones in this unnerving tale from much-loved, multi-award-winning author Anne Fine.Jess’s mum is furious when she discovers a muddy, football-shaped splodge on her bedroom wall and sends Jess on a mission to find something to cover it up. Luckily, Jess manages to bag a bargain in her local charity shop: a beautiful portrait of a girl with tumbling red hair in a frame exactly the right si...

Skye and Harry discover Gran isn’t quite as strict as Dad makes out in this funny family story from multi-award-winning author Anne Fine.Skye and Harry are dreading going to visit their gran, as Dad says she was so strict when he was young. He had to do lots of chores, wasn’t allowed much screen time and only had sweet treats on a Sunday! But when they arrive, Gran is much more chilled out than they were expecting. She lets them relax in the garden and play on thei...

A change in classroom seating arrangements challenges old habits and leads to a new friendship in this funny new school story from award-winning author Anne Fine.At first Ben doesn’t want to sit next to Alice in the classroom. She’s scary and tells him off for his squiggly drawing and poor handwriting. She even points out his bad table manners. But when Ben starts to take Alice’s advice, he realises that she might have a point and discovers that sitting next to her isn’t so bad aft...

A classic children’s story from one of our best-loved authors, former Children’s Laureate Anne Fine.Chester Howard can see Joe’s project ‘How to Write Neatly’ can only be a disaster. Joe makes a terrible mess of his work, jumbling letters and numbers up together. But a project called ‘How to Write Really Badly’ – now there’s something Joe can do better than anyone else. And Chester is about to find there’s a lot more to Joe than he expected …Anne Fine’s fun school stories h...

What makes funny FUNNY? An esteemed anthologist interviews thirteen favorite children’s authors -- and asks them to share their trade secrets. (Age 12 and up)DO YOU EVER MAKE YOURSELF LAUGH WHILE YOU ARE WRITING?"A joke isn’t a joke if you need to explain it," notes Leonard S. Marcus. "Even so, the hidden clockwork of comedy . . . has long been considered one of the great riddles of life." There are many kinds of humor, but capturing their essence on paper is a remarkably d...

A classic children’s book from one of best-loved Bill's New Frock authors, former Children’s Laureate Anne Fine. Perfect for readers aged between 7 and 9 and fans of Awful Auntie and Pamela Butchart's Wigglesbottom Primary series.Until the angel came, Penny, Mark and Marigold were bitterly unhappy. ‘Fat.’ ‘Freak.’ ‘Smelly.’ Barry Hunter was bullying them and everyone at Nitshill Road School knew it. But the angel brings a clever solution. Life at school is going to be very differen...

1914: war has broken out across Europe and beyond. Nothing will ever be the same again for those caught up in the conflict.This collection of short stories explores how the First World War changed and shaped the lives of women forever. A courageous nurse risks her life on the Front Line; a young woman uncovers a spy in wartime London; and a grief-stricken sister comes to understand the heroism and sacrifice of the forgotten Indian soldiers.Through these and other tales, W...

"A man as brave as I am, who can kill seven at one blow, should become a king!" declared the brave little tailor as he set off to seek his fortune. Before long, a royal reward lies before him - but only if he can defeat a pair of troublesome giants. Will he rid the kingdom of them armed with only his wits, a lump of cheese and a rescued bird? He may just need to be very lucky...The Brave Little Tailor is part of the Reading Planet range of books for Stars (Lime) to Supernova (Red+) ...

The King is at his wit's end; twelve daughters and every morning their shoes are torn to ribbons! Nobody can tell him why, so he promises that whoever uncovers their secret will inherit his kingdom. The reward is huge - but the price of failure is their head. Who will risk it all for a dance with the princesses?This story is a magic bean. It may not look much like a bean, but I can promise you that it is. For if you plant it in a young mind, it will grow into a love of sto...

Ian’s best friend, Stolly, is up on cloud nine. He’s in the hospital, unconscious, and hooked up to machines. The question Ian is trying to answer is: How did Stolly end up there?In a way, Stolly’s always been on cloud nine, living life by his own rules and making those rules up as he goes along. His parents’ careers have them constantly rushing around, so Ian’s family has all but adopted Stolly. That’s why it’s up to Ian to figure out what happened to his best friend. But once the...

When Mum gives her the notebook, Scarlet should be happy. It's beautiful, with its shiny scarlet cover and its blank pages full of promise. But Scarlet is absolutely not in the mood for a peace offering. Does Mum really think she can tear their family apart and expect Scarlet to be happy about it? And it's Dad's fault too. Why didn't he fight to keep them all together? Now Scarlet has to start a new life and none of it was her choice.