Anglais

A companion title to An Interesting Word for Every Day of the Year, this title introduces first concepts including colours, numbers and shapes, as well as parts of the body, things that go, animals and the world around us. Compiled in consultation with a Harvard Professor of Early Learning and Development, this book will help your little ones develop their speaking, listening and observational skills as they learn to identify objects.

'There are happy homes and unhappy homes, and Mother always said that one should never compromise with a house that does not like you. So it was a relief that 81 liked us....' '81 Cadogan Square' is not a conventional autobiography. Once again Daphne Economou has laid herself open and the cool, clear voice of the growing girl dispassionately watching and taking stock of the adult world, comes to us in another remarkable book from the author of 'Saturday's Child - a journey through an Indian childhood'. With the devastating truthfulness of a child's non-negotiable sense of justice and a wry sense of humour that never tries to be funny, Economou retrieves the figures and events that transformed 81 Cadogan Square into a home-away-from-home, for a girl with 'a foot in three different worlds'. The magic of early childhood 'when anything seemed possible' is shattered by the stark reality of battered, post-war Britain and by the struggle of a still half-tamed child to come to terms with the conformity of boarding-school life. But the story has light and darkness, as strangely meaningful relationships, like her friendship with seventy-year-old Alexander Fleming, are formed: 'I don't know why he was fond of me, perhaps because I was so young, perhaps because I was a girl, perhaps because I didn't ask him questions all the time'. This story about families, people and places moves easefully between Athens and London, with the inevitable sadness of partings and loss, and the constant pain of return for a lost Indian childhood. A story that is hard to put down.

This book is the very simple story of the love affair between Miss Helene Hanff of New York and Messrs Marks and Co, sellers of rare and secondhand books, at 84 Charing Cross Road, London'. DAILY TELEGRAPH
Told in a series of letters in 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD and then in diary form in the second part THE DUCHESS OF BLOOMSBURY STREET, this true story has touched the hearts of thousands.

"A bear on Paddington Station?" said Mrs Brown in amazement. "Don't be silly - there can't be." The original story of Paddington, the classic bear from Darkest Peru. The Browns first meet Paddington on a railway station - Paddington station, in fact. He has travelled all the way from Darkest Peru with only a jar of marmalade, a suitcase and his hat. The Browns soon find that Paddington is a very unusual bear. Ordinary things - like having a bath, travelling underground or going to the seaside become quite extraordinary, if a bear called Paddington is involved.

A boy and a bear go to sea, equipped with a suitcase, a comic book and a ukulele. They are only travelling a short distance and it really shouldn't take long. But their journey doesn't quite go to plan . . . Faced with turbulent storms, a terrifying sea monster and the rank remains of a very dangerous sandwich, the odds are against our unlikely heroes. Will the Harriet, their trusted vessel, withstand the violent lashings of the salty waves? And will anyone ever answer their message in a bottle?Brilliantly funny and tender, this beautiful book maps the growth of a truly memorable friendship and explores how, when all else is lost, the most unexpected joys can be found.

In A Branch of Wild Olive L. Messinesi has presented with considerable erudition a complete survey of the Olympic Movement.

Capitalism has passed its use-by-date, but a better, saner world is possible

From the double Man Booker prize-winning author of `Wolf Hall' and `Bring Up the Bodies', this is an epic yet subtle family saga about broken trusts and buried secrets.Ralph and Anna Eldred live in the big Red House in Norfolk, raising their four children and devoting their lives to charity. The constant flood of `good souls and sad cases', children plucked from the squalor of the East London streets for a breath of fresh countryside air, hides the growing crises in their own family, the disillusionment of their children, the fissures in their marriage.Memories of their time as missionaries in South Africa and Botswana, of the terrible African tragedies that have shaped the rest of their lives, refuse to be put to rest and threaten to destroy the fragile peace they have built for themselves and their children.This is a breathtakingly intelligent novel that asks the most difficult questions. Is there anything one can never forgive? Is tragedy ever deserved? Can you ever escape your own past? A literary family saga written with the skill and subtlety of a true master, this is Hilary Mantel at her best.

Great stories ignite a child's imagination and can fill a childhood with unforgettable characters, wondrous places and superb illustrations. They also allow young readers to explore, and to understand, their different feelings and experiences.
In her second compilation for the British Library, children's author and commentator Anna James delves deep into the collections to present stories for comfort, inspiration and adventure as well as touching tales to make you laugh or sometimes cry. We will meet mischievous characters from across the globe, sample classic stories from the likes of E. Nesbit, J. M. Barrie and Louisa May Alcott, as well as more recent favourites from some of our best-loved and prize-winning authors. Superbly illustrated throughout with both beloved illustrations and new archive finds, this spectacular volume belongs on every family bookshelf.