The dangerous pirates with their Skull Pirate Ship are the terror of the seven seas. As soon as their fiery red sail with the grim skull and crossbones comes into view, all sailors become scared. The cunning pirate captain and his crew are always on the lookout for the next treasure or ship to board. With their swivelling cannons, and sabres, the pirates plunge into every battle without fear. Watch out, you landlubbers and redcoats! The playset includes a pirate ship, three PLAYMOBIL characters, a spider monkey, a parrot and two rats. The ship is floats and can be upgraded with the RC underwater motor (9853) or the small underwater motor (7350) both sold separately. For more flexible adventures in the children's room, the hull is equipped with castors, so the ship can be moved effortlessly across the floor.

One minute I'm lying on the floor reading a book, the next minute I've got my granny's teeth clamped to my bum. Yoweeeee! But that's only the start of the weird stuff! You just wait and see. Soon, Billy is feeling grumpy, and his hair has turned grey. Plus he's wearing VERY big pants! It can only mean one thing - TA - DA - DAR - Billy is a weregranny! Written by celebrated children's champion, Tommy Donbavand, this is one book in his series of colour illustrated, chapter-based readers which kids won't be able to resist. So make sure to check them all out (the books that is, not Tommy's actual shorts). This title is published by Franklin Watts EDGE, which produces a range of books to get kids reading with confidence. EDGE - for books kids can't put down.

A Book of Color - As a young firefighter, the chief, a man of color, attempted to rescue a man from the fifth floor of a burning tenement building in New York City. The man was so scared he would not step out onto the ladder to safety. What the Chief did next amazed Bob and Big Joe and impressed Uncle Rocky. - - Called 'Good Books for Young Boys' Uncle Rocky, Fireman is a series of children's illustrated story books about the adventures of a firefighter and his two nephews. Apart or together they fight fires, rescue people, and help neighbors. The stories are free of bad behavior and the characters are kind, friendly people who enjoy helping others, so parents may confidently read Uncle Rocky, Fireman to their children. Uncle Rocky, Fireman emphasizes service to others and devotion to duty with each story ending with the trademark statement, 'Glad to do it!

Alyssa Gardner has been down the rabbit hole. She was crowned Queen of the Red Court and faced the bandersnatch. She saved the life of Jeb, the boy she loves, and escaped the machinations of the disturbingly appealing Morpheus. Now all she has to do is graduate high school. That would be easier without her mother, freshly released from an asylum, acting overly protective and suspicious. And it would be much simpler if the mysterious Morpheus didn’t show up for school one day to tempt her with another dangerous quest in the dark, challenging Wonderland—where she (partly) belongs. Could she leave Jeb and her parents behind again, for the sake of a man she knows has manipulated her before? Will her mother and Jeb trust her to do what’s right? Readers will swoon over the satisfying return to Howard’s bold, sensual reimagining of Carroll’s classic. Read all the books in the New York Times bestselling Splintered series: Splintered (Book 1), Unhinged (Book 2), Ensnared (Book 3), and Untamed (The Companion Novel). Get books 1 through 3 in the Splintered boxed set, available now!Praise for Unhinged 'I really enjoyed the first book of this series, but Unhinged cranks the Wonderland experience up to 11. It's just ... WOW! The last few scenes dangle Alyssa's next adventure with shockers enough that I found my jaw needing a bit of assistance in coming off the floor. Write quickly, A.G. Howard! I need that next book!' --USA Today 'Howard excels in sensory and sensuous descriptions.' --Kirkus Reviews 'As intense, dark, and weird as the first volume, this worthy sequel creates a parallel narrative that brings the action out of Wonderland and into Alyssa’s hometown.' --The Bulletin of The Center for Children’s Books 'A dark beauty fills the novel's pages, which will mesmerize teens with a taste for magic, romance or suspense. Unhinged lays the groundwork for a third book where anything could happen--it is Wonderland, after all.' --Shelf AwarenessPraise for Splintered:STARRED REVIEW 'Fans of dark fantasy, as well as of Carroll’s Alice in all her revisionings (especially Tim Burton’s), will find a lot to love in this compelling and imaginative novel.' —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books'Alyssa is one of the most unique protagonists I've come across in a while. Splintered is dark, twisted, entirely riveting, and a truly romantic tale.' —USA Today 'Brilliant, because it is ambitious, inventive, and often surprising — a contemporary reworking of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,’’ with a deep bow toward Tim Burton’s 2010 film version.' —The Boston Globe 'It’s a deft, complex metamorphosis of this children’s fantasy made more enticing by competing romantic interests, a psychedelic setting, and more mad violence than its original.' —Booklist ' Protagonist Alyssa...is an original. Howard's visual imagination is superior. The story's creepiness is intriguing as horror, and its hypnotic tone and setting, at the intersection of madness and creativity, should sweep readers down the rabbit hole.' —Publishers Weekly 'While readers will delight in such recognizable scenes as Alyssa drinking from a bottle to shrink, the richly detailed scenes that stray from the original will entice the imagination. These adventures are indeed wonderful.' —BookPage 'Attention to costume and setting render this a visually rich read...' —Kirkus Reviews 'Wonderland is filled with much that is not as wonderful as might be expected, and yet, it is in Wonderland that Alyssa accepts her true nature. The cover with its swirling tendrils and insects surrounding Alyssa will surely attract teen readers who will not disappointed with this magical, edgy tale.' —Reading Today Online 'Creepy, descriptive read with a generous dollop of romance.' —School Library Journal

From the author of The Latehomecomer, a powerful memoir of her father, a Hmong song poet who sacrificed his gift for his children's future in America In the Hmong tradition, the song poet recounts the story of his people, their history and tragedies, joys and losses; extemporizing or drawing on folk tales, he keeps the past alive, invokes the spirits and the homeland, and records courtships, births, weddings, and wishes. Following her award-winning book The Latehomecomer, Kao Kalia Yang now retells the life of her father Bee Yang, the song poet, a Hmong refugee in Minnesota, driven from the mountains of Laos by American's Secret War. Bee lost his father as a young boy and keenly felt his orphanhood. He would wander from one neighbor to the next, collecting the things they said to each other, whispering the words to himself at night until, one day, a song was born. Bee sings the life of his people through the war-torn jungle and a Thai refugee camp. But the songs fall away in the cold, bitter world of a Minneapolis housing project and on the factory floor until, with the death of Bee's mother, the songs leave him for good. But before they do, Bee, with his poetry, has polished a life of poverty for his children, burnished their grim reality so that they might shine. Written with the exquisite beauty for which Kao Kalia Yang is renowned, The Song Poet is a love story -- of a daughter for her father, a father for his children, a people for their land, their traditions, and all that they have lost.

Connected is a children's picture book for our ultra-connected world. Nathaniel Eckstrom takes us on a whimsical and sensory journey through this quaint little apartment block, exploring its inhabitants, floor by floor and introducing us to its quirky occupants; each very different, but all surprisingly connected. What is it that links each neighbour to the next? Sydney-based illustrator Nathaniel Eckstrom, well-known for his previously published picture books The Giant Bowl of Chocolate by Marion Lucy and The Hair Ball by Spider Lee, debuts as author and illustrator in this stunning new children's picture book.

It was 1947, and I was a young man, enamored with the thought of being a newspaper reporter. Not just any reporter, but 'Ace' newspaper reporter, for the Muskegon Chronicle, my home town's local newspaper. One day I proudly marched into the office of the editor and announced my intention of being just that. The man honored me with an assignment, to prove my mettle. I was to interview an enigmatic old man, known as 'the Story Weaver' for his ability to summon tales from everyday happenings. I immediately suspected that the editor had sent me on a wild goose chase, that there really was no such person, but in short order I found the old man right where the editor said he would be: Upstairs, in the children's section, at Hackley Public Library, weaving his tales to the delight of the children. The old man was not about to make my assignment easy. Every question I asked as to his identity, or his origins went unanswered, but with the simple act of tossing a wad of paper on the floor, a small boy fired the imagination of the Story Weaver, and I became witness to the old man's unique ability. The first story the old man told, he called, The Epsilon Factor. It was about a young boy who lived in Muskegon's distant future, who one day learned that the world around him was really quite different from what he had been led to believe. Predestination Paradox was what the Story Weaver called his next story. He told the tale of a five year old boy who had traveled backward through time on a very noble mission, knowing full well that he would pay dearly for it, whether he succeeded, or not. The Story Weaver lapsed unexpectedly into a third story that he called, Cub Cadets. It was about a maverick young flier, who one day learned the lessons of discipline and team work, the hard way. The fourth, and final story that I would ever hear the Story Weaver tell, was called, Bradley, The Warrior. It was about a local high school drama class's production of the epic classic Beowulf the Warrior that went horribly and perhaps humorously, wrong, when their on location set was invaded by their own, very real, Grendel. As the old man finished his last story, I could not help but press him again to tell me who he was. But the answer he gave me was one I could not possibly accept.

As parents, we see problems all around the globe and here at home, but often feel powerless to conquer the many issues that will affect our children's lives. Zoom Out Parenting provides parents with a framework for teaching our children the skills that will be needed in their lifetimes, with a simple and warm approach to one of the most important roles we'll ever have- parenting the next generation. When we gain a big picture perspective, parenting is less stressful and more rewarding. The bonus: Our children are better equipped to navigate and build a better world. With concrete examples, engaging illustrations and an easy to read format, Zoom Out Parenting respects the individual journeys of parents and children while helping to develop greater intentionality towards our family lives. From the Introduction: 'When your child is grown, many of your early child-rearing decisions may seem insignificant. It may not matter which diaper he wore, which spoon she used, or if you only read Caldecott-award winning books while sitting on your bamboo floor. All of your good choices reflect your great intentionality toward your child and your lifestyle, of course. But if those choices are made in a family with little care or action towards actually building something meaningful outside your home, it won't matter much. What will matter is the recognition that a zoomed out, big picture approach to life is essential to helping your child be a part of a better generation to come.' (Zoom Out Parenting,© Bonnie W. Bricker 2014)

One minute I'm lying on the floor reading a book, the next minute I've got my granny's teeth clamped to my bum. Yoweeeee! But that's only the start of the weird stuff! You just wait and see. Soon, Billy is feeling grumpy, and his hair has turned grey. Plus he's wearing VERY big pants! It can only mean one thing - TA - DA - DAR - Billy is a weregranny! Written by celebrated children's champion, Tommy Donbavand, this is one book in his series of colour illustrated, chapter-based readers which kids won't be able to resist. So make sure to check them all out (the books that is, not Tommy's actual shorts). This title is published by Franklin Watts EDGE, which produces a range of books to get kids reading with confidence. EDGE - for books kids can't put down.