Sita Brahmachari

Two children must risk everything to escape their fate and find the impossible . . . A brave, thought-provoking adventure by award-winning author, Sita Brahmachari. Shifa and her brother, Themba, live in Kairos City with their father, Nabil. The few live in luxury, whilst the millions like them crowd together in compounds, surviving on meagre rations and governed by Freedom Fields - the organisation that looks after you, as long as you opt in. The bees have long disappeared; instead children must labour on farms, pollinating crops so that the nation can eat. But Nabil remembers Before and he knows that the soul needs to be nourished as much as the body so, despite the risk, he teaches his children how to grow flowers on a secret piece of land hidden beneath the train tracks. The farm Shifa and Themba are sent to is hard and cruel. Themba won't survive there and Shifa comes up with a plan to break them out. But they have no idea where they are - their only guide is a map drawn from the ramblings of a stranger. The journey ahead is fraught with danger, but Shifa is strong and knows to listen to her instincts - to let hope guide them home. The freedom of a nation depends on it . . .

Where the River Runs Gold

Mira’s family is always chaotic, and sometimes it feels like nothing is private. The thing is...Mira does have secrets - her beloved Nana Josie is dying, she’s drifing away from her best friend and she can’t stop thinking about mysterious, confident Jide Jackson. Mira feels like everything’s spinning out of control...can she let someone into her heart when it feels like it’s about to break?

Artichoke Hearts

The second breathtaking novel from the winner of the UK Waterstone's Children's Book Prize. Mira Levenson is bursting with excitement as she flies to India to stay with her aunt and cousin for the first time. As soon as she lands, Mira is hurled into the sweltering heat and a place full of new sights, sounds, and deeply buried secrets... From the moment Mira meets Janu she feels an instant connection. He becomes her guide, showing her both the beauty and the chaos of Kolkata. Nothing is as she imagined it - and suddenly home feels a long way away. Before Mira leaves India she is determined to uncover the truth about her family, whatever it takes, and she must also make a decision that will break someone's heart...

Jasmine Skies

Secrets from the past are the keys to the future...if two children can find them. Bold adventure, timely themes and breath-taking writing from award-winning author, Sita Brahmachari. Usha is devastated when her grandmother Kali Ma passes away. Not quite fitting in at school, with her best friend moving away, and with an annoying new adoptive sister arriving, Usha feels lost. That is until Kali Ma's ghost appears...with a task for her. Usha's family home is full of history and secrets. Many years ago it was The House of the Ayahs - for those nannies who couldn't return to their Indian homeland - and Kali Ma made a promise she couldn't keep. She can't pass on until Usha fulfills it. Today, Usha's over-worked parents run the house as a home for refugees, but eviction threatens. The precious historical lease documents that could save them are lost. As the house slowly fills up with ghosts, that only she and her new sister Emtiaz can see, Usha realises she has more to save than just her grandmother's ghost. Usha and Emtiaz must work together on a quest through London, accompanied by two bickering ghosts, to find a series of objects that shine a magical light on their family's past and hold the clues to securing their future. If they can set the secrets of generations free, will they be in time to save their home?

When Secrets Set Sail

During the summer of her GCSEs Kite's world falls apart. Her best friend, Dawn, commits suicide after a long struggle with feeling under pressure to achieve. Kite's dad takes her to the Lake District, to give her time and space to grieve. In London Kite is a confident girl, at home in the noisy, bustling city, but in the countryside she feels vulnerable and disorientated. Kite senses Dawn's spirit around her and is consumed by powerful, confusing emotions - anger, guilt, sadness and frustration, all of which are locked inside. It's not until she meets local boy, Garth, that Kite begins to open up - talking to a stranger is easier somehow. Kite deeply misses her friend and would do anything to speak to Dawn just once more, to understand why . . . Otherwise how can she ever say goodbye?A potent story about grief, friendship, acceptance and making your heart whole again.

Kite Spirit

Red Leaves

Kai, Orla and Zak grew up together, their days spent on the patch of wilderness in between their homes, a small green space in a sprawling grey city. Music, laughter and friendship bind them together and they have big plans for their future - until Kai's family suffers a huge loss. Trying to cope with his own grief, as well as watching it tear his family apart, Kai is drawn into a new and more dangerous crowd, until his dreams for the future are a distant memory. Excluded from school and retreating from his loved ones, it seems as though his path is set, his story foretold. Orla, Zak and new classmate Om are determined to help him find his way back. But are they too late? A heart-breaking and poignant novel from award-winning author Sita Brahmachari, for fans of THE BLACK FLAMINGO, AND THE STARS WERE BURNING BRIGHTLYand POET X.

When Shadows Fall

A beautiful new short story for World Book Day 2021, from the bestselling author of Where the River Runs Gold. Immy has always loved wild swimming; one day, she hopes to become a marine biologist. Tomorrow is the first step towards that goal - completing her entry level diving certificate. But her plans for a good night's sleep are ruined by a strange and vivid dream of a distressed whale in the river. At school she tries to shake it off, but discovers that her nightmare has leaked into reality. Immy and her trusty friend Cosmo must head for the Thames on a mission to save the trapped river whale. Can Immy use her skills to release it from the rubbish-filled nets it's caught in and guide it home? Told in a mixture of free verse and prose, this is the beautiful new short adventure from Sita Brahmachari.

World Book Day 2021

The River Whale

Winner of the 2011 Waterstone's Children's Book Prize. A heart-wrenching, evocative and intimate debut novel from a hugely talented voice in children's fiction, with a refreshed cover look.

Amy May knows about webs of worries - so many people she meets are caught in them, from her own artist dad to newly arrived refugee Rima and her family. By being brave enough to open up her worry box, Amy May helps all those around her find a way forward.

Worry Angels

Kristine Landon-Smith

The Arrival is a story of epic migration unfolding through an extraordinary weaving together of theatre, circus and music.

The Arrival

Swallow's Kiss

Zeni's week goes from bad to worse when she is fitted for braces and then sent to Magnolia Gardens Care Home for her school work experience placement. She is shy to begin with, but now she doesn't even seem to be in control of her own mouth, and the placement will mean talking to all sorts of strangers. But then Zeni meets Alice, an old lady with a story to tell, and through Alice, Zeni too finds her voice.

Brace Mouth, False Teeth

Artyčoková srdíčka

Set over the course of one life-changing day, this is an honest and heart-warming tale of family, growing up and 'difference'. This teen novel is particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers.

Car Wash Wish

Aisha is a thirteen-year-old refugee living in London. Happy for the first time since leaving her war-torn home, she is devastated when her foster mother announces that a new family has been found for her and she will be moving on. Feeling rejected and abandoned, Aisha packs her bags and runs away, seeking shelter in the nearby woods. Meanwhile, a few doors down, twelve-year-old Zak is trying to cope with his parents' divorce. Living in a near-building site while the new house is being refurbished, he feels unsettled and alone. Discovering a piece of rubble with the original builder's signature set into it, he starts researching the history behind his home - and in doing so finds a connection with a young soldier from the past, which leads him to an old air-raid shelter in the same woods. Both children, previously unknown to each other, meet in the heart of the ancient city woodland as they come into the orbit of Elder, a strange homeless woman who lives amongst the trees - and, as helicopters hover overhead and newspapers fill with pictures of the two lost children, unexpected bonds are formed and lives changed forever . . .

A moment of kindness in a sea of unfamiliarity... A long, hard day at work... A lively party... A nostalgic lullaby... The story begins in Nigeria where the character of Dele plays a last game of football with his friends and says goodbye to his son Chidi, telling him he will send for him. He then embarks on a voyage where he meets strangers along the way carrying their own stories of upheaval, struggle and hope - sharing his dream to make their home in a new city and be joined by their families. Dele's journey melds with the present day. In an inner-city hostel, Dele is an old man being looked after by Tian Mey, his carer. He reflects the past and his journey to where he is now and his story intertwines with the other migrants, both in his memories of the journey and the present-day reality of the hostel. Based on the illustrated novel by Oscar winner Shaun Tan, one man's tale echoes the many 'arrivals' happening around us all the time. This epic migration story unfolds through an extraordinary weaving together of theatre, circus and music. The Arrival tells the age-old story of immigration that is universal across peoples of diverse histories, countries and cultures.

Laila Levenson has always been the baby of the family, but now with her older siblings, Mira and Krish, leaving home just as she starts secondary school, everything feels like it's changing... can the reappearance of Nana Josie's Protest Book and the spirit it releases in Laila, her friends and her local community, help her find her own voice and discover what she truly believes in? A powerful chime rings through Laila's mind, guiding her to walk the footsteps of the past on her way to discover her own future.

Sita Brahmachari

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