New Releases by Michelle Magorian

Super sporty tale with a strong message of self-belief and a lovely inter-generational friendship at its heart, from the award-winning author of Goodnight Mister Tom. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 7+ Ben knows he''s taking on a lot, offering to do the first hundred lengths of the swimathon himself, but he''s desperate to impress Jack and Harry. But as he swims - and swims - Jack realises that his ''friends'' aren''t going to show. Now he either has to forfeit or swim another hundred lengths! But support and encouragement come from an unlikely quarter and Ben pushes his way to victory. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 7+

Puffin Classics: the definitive collection of timeless stories, for every child. Tom tucked a blanket round him, drew up a chair by the fire and watched Willie fall asleep. The tales he had heard about evacuees didn''t seem to fit Willie. ''Ungrateful'' and ''wild'' were the adjectives he had heard used, or just plain ''homesick''. He was quite unprepared for this timid, sickly little specimen. Britain, 1940. With World War Two raging all around, young children are being sent from their homes in the city to the countryside for safety. When eight-year-old Willie Beech first arrives on Tom Oakley''s doorstep, neither are quite sure what to make of each another. Brought up in terrible poverty, Willie is terribly shy, and totally unprepared for village life - but the gruff-but-gentle ''Mister Tom'' quickly takes him under his wing. Neither he nor Willie could ever have predicted the journey they will go on together - nor the unbreakable bond that will be formed. Winner of the Guardian Children''s Fiction Award, and rightly hailed as a true classic of children''s literature, Goodnight Mister Tom is a beautifully told, deeply moving story about the power of friendship, kindness, hope - and love. ''Everyone''s idea of a smash-hit novel: full-blown characters to love and hate, moments of grief and joy, and a marvellous story that knows just how to grab the emotions'' - Guardian

The Second World War has ended, but Henry is fighting his own battles. He misses his father, who died a war hero, and his only distraction is the cinema. But everything is about to change. When Henry develops an old camera film he uncovers a mystery and events spiral until his life resembles the drama of the big screen. Like a bomb waiting to explode, Henry''s discovery will shatter his world

Seventeen-year-old Rose is looking forward to a summer of freedom with her sister Diana. But the war has turned everything upside down and she finds herself battling with first love, prejudice and duty. Uncovering an extraordinary love story from another war, Rose discovers a secret that will change everything.

It is the summer of 1947 and the second year of world peace. Elsie, however, is still fighting a war. Against a vicious bully. Against the indifference of her father. Against being the scholarship pupil at the girl''s grammar school. But Elsie learns to fight back.

As an evacuee, Ralph received a good education, but after the war Ralph''s working-class father resents his education and his ambition to be an actor, and is furious when Ralph is sacked from the paper mill. The story traces Ralph''s struggle to reconcile the disparate strands of his life.

Réfugié chez M. Tom, où il s''est fait de nombreux amis et a découvert le bonheur, William doit retourner à Londres où l''attend sa mère. A-t-elle changé ? Pour quelle raison lui a-t-elle caché la naissance d''une petite sœur ? Pourquoi William ne répond-il pas aux lettres que son ami Zach et M. Tom lui envoient à Londres ? Le reverront-ils ? Le courage nouveau de William lui permettra-t-il de triompher des épreuves ?

Sent to America from England at age seven to escape war-torn England, Rusty returns five years later to go to a strict English boarding school and renew her relationship with her family, who now seem like strangers to her.

A seventeen-year-old girl in 1940''s England spends an unchaperoned summer at a cottage in a seaside village, where a series of diaries by the cottage''s most recent inhabitant, together with some intense personal experiences, open up her life to reveal her true wants and priorities.

London is poised on the brink of World War 11. Timid, scrawny Willie Beech -- the abused child of a single mother -- is evacuated to the English countryside. At first, he is terrified of everything, of the country sounds and sights, even of Mr. Tom, the gruff, kindly old man who has taken him in. But gradually Willie forgets the hate and despair of his past. He learns to love a world he never knew existed, a world of friendship and affection in which harsh words and daily beatings have no place. Then a telegram comes. Willie must return to his mother in London. When weeks pass by with no word from Willie, Mr. Tom sets out for London to look for the young boy he has come to love as a son.