New Releases by Frank Cottrell Boyce

In A British Childhood Frank Cottrell-Boyce tells the story of what it means to be young in Britain today and the consequences of growing up at the sharp end of two major crises – the pandemic and austerity. During his time as Children’s Laureate he visited schools that had been forced to make permanent homes in temporary buildings, where teachers doubled up as social workers, therapists and nutritionists. He talked to children abandoned within the prison system, seen to have forfeited their right to the second chance a good education might provide. He met families shuttled from one hotel room to another as they awaited the outcome of asylum decisions. And he talked to the extraordinary array of people working to change the fortunes of the young people around them. These encounters prompted him to reflect on his own upbringing in Merseyside, the difference literature made to his early years, and how, during his lifetime, childhood in Britain has been transformed. He shows how the connections we make and the sense of community are so vital to our future adult selves, and how, in the twenty-first century, these connections are increasingly frayed. A British Childhood is at once a searing account of our failure to look after the nation’s most vulnerable citizens, and a call to arms to all of us to protect the innocence of childhood.

A Bible Study book for individuals or groups, which explores how the Bible today can help us better to understand themes of forgiveness. Why should we forgive? What if the subject of our forgiveness is underserving? What is Jesus'' scandal of grace? What difference will being able to forgive make to our lives? Forgiveness is part of the all new series, How the Bible can Help us Understand. These short books are aimed at ordinary people committed in their faith and wanting to live Christianly, but not brought up in a Bible-studying tradition. They prompt intelligent thought, reflection and guidance on issues that really matter to people, using illustrations from life and popular culture as well as studies of Bible passages. They are not ''The Bible has all the answers'', but ''How can the Bible contribute to my understanding?''.

Deux trois gouttes de lotion et votre vie bascule... du jour au lendemain ! Georges n’est pas un élève populaire. Au contraire. C’est un solitaire, dont la grande passion est de jouer à des jeux de rôles avec un autre garçon qui n’est même pas son ami. Mais le jour où le grand-père de Georges lui offre une vieille lotion toute moisie, sa vie change. Soudain, toutes les filles du collège semblent s’intéresser à lui... ce qui n’a pas que des avantages !

Hilariously spot-on comedy from the award winning and bestselling Frank Cottrell Boyce.Hilariously spot-on comedy from the award winning and bestselling Frank Cottrell Boyce, with cover artwork by award-winning Chris Riddell and internal illustrations by Cate James. High quality cream paper and a special easy to read font ensure a smooth read for all.

George is a self-confessed social reject who spends more time with his Warhammer figures than actual people - but when he''s given a bottle of aftershave called ''Desirable'', women can''t resist him How will he cope with his new-found popularity? And what will happen if the magic wears off?

Two refugee brothers from Mongolia are determined to fit in with their Liverpool schoolmates, but bring so much of Mongolia to Bootle that their new friend and guide, Julie, is hard-pressed to know truth from fantasy.

We know Stanislaw Lem, whether or not we consciously know that we do. He may only be recognised in the West as the author of the twice-filmed novel, Solaris, but the influence of his other work is legion. From computer games (The Sims was inspired by one of his short stories), to films (the red and blue pills of The Matrix owe much to his Futurological Congress); from the space comedies of Red Dwarf to the metaphysical satires of Douglas Adams... the presence of this masterly Polish writer can be traced far and wide. Nor was his genius confined to fiction. Lem''s essays and pseudo-essays borne out of the military industrial tensions of the Cold War have outlived their original context and speak to the most current developments in virtual reality, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence. To celebrate his name, as well as his vision, this anthology brings together writers, critics and scientists who continue to grapple with his concerns. British and Polish novelists join screenwriters, poets, computer engineers, and artists, to celebrate and explore Lem''s legacy through short stories and essays - two literary forms that, as Lem knew well, can blend together to create something altogether new. As one of the barriers to Lem''s fame was language, this book also features specially commissioned translations: three stories never to have appeared in English before. Lem was always ahead of us. It''s time we caught up.

When two Mongolian brothers inexplicably appear one morning in her sixth grade class, Julie, who lives in a town near Liverpool, England, named Bootle, becomes their new friend and "Good Guide," navigating them through soccer, school uniforms, and British slang.

Liam has always felt a bit like he''s stuck between two worlds. This isprimarily because he''s a twelve-year-old kid who looks like he''s about thirty. Sometimes it''s not so bad, like when his new principal mistakes him for a teacher on the first day of school or when he convinces a car dealer to let him take a Porsche out on a test drive. But mostly it''s just frustrating, being a kid trapped in an adult world. And so he decides to flip things around. Liam cons his way onto the first spaceship to take civilians into space, a special flight for a group of kids and an adult chaperone, and he is going as the adult chaperone. It''s not long before Liam, along with his friends, is stuck between two worlds again—only this time he''s 239,000 miles from home. Frank Cottrell Boyce, author of Millions and Framed, brings us a funny and touching story of the many ways in which grown-upness is truly wasted on grown-ups.

Je m''appelle Liam Digby, j''ai douze ans. Je suis du genre très grand et j''ai du poil au menton, alors on me prend souvent pour un adulte. C''est comme ça que je me suis retrouvé à l''autre bout du monde pour faire un tour de fusée. Sauf que partir dans l''espace, ça n''a rien à voir avec un jeu vidéo. Mais impossible de revenir en arrière... on avait déjà décollé !

Dylan and his sisters have some ideas about how to make Snowdonia Oasis Auto Marvel into a more profitable business, but it is not until some strange men arrive in their small town of Manod, Wales with valuable paintings, and their father disappears, that they consider turning to crime.

Frank Cottrell Boyce é um conhecido guionista de filmes britânico que se inspirou no filme homónimo, de sua autoria, estrando-se assim na literatura infanto-juvenil. É uma verdadeira obra-prima em mais que um sentido, um livro ''diferente'', que tem vindo a apaixonar adultos e crianças em todo o mundo! É uma história que poderia ter acontecido no nosso tempo, inteligente e de uma sensibilidade invulgar, sendo ao mesmo tempo muitíssimo divertida. Quando após a morte da Mãe, Damian, que é quem conta a história, Anthony, o irmão mais velho, e o desorientado Pai mudam de casa, todos três, à sua maneira, têm de lidar com aquela dolorosa perda afectiva. Damian, um miúdo formidável, é um ser que pertence a dois mundos. A sua paixão são os santos e, em certa medida, tentar ser sempre bom, para ele, é uma forma de se aproximar da Mãe. Anthony, ao contrário do irmão, possui um forte sentido das realidades. Mas mesmo Damian, no seu esforço para se aproximar do Céu, é atingido pela realidade, sob a forma de um saco de dinheiro que ele julga ter caído Lá de Cima. O grande problema deste excepcional acontecimento, para toda a família, é que isto se passa na tansição da moeda nacional para o Euro e aquele dinheiro, qualquer que seja o fim a que o destinem, tem de ser gasto em 17 dias!