Quite unlike her fair stepsisters, Lizzie is dark and secretive: 'Just like your father' says her mother. But what was her father like? Photos of him are hidden away; snatches of overheard conversation between her mother and her stepfather deepen the mystery. Only her best friend Savannah - also abandoned by her father when she was a baby - knows what it feels like to wonder, to try and piece together an earlier story. But when events propel Lizzie alone to London she stops wondering and starts searching... Beautifully evoking the ache of childhood loss, the scrappy joys of chaotic families, and the hurt and relief of understanding, OUT OF THE PICTURE reveals Polly Samson's talent for laying bare the uncomfortable truths that lie just under the skin - in every family, in every secret.
For readers of Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, Joshilyn Jackson, and Fannie Flagg, with a touch of Terms of Endearment A laugh-out-loud funny yet poignant novel about a daughter determined not only to keep her mother among the living but to find out the secrets of her long-buried past Willow Havens is ten years old and obsessed with the fear that her mother will die. Her mother, Polly, is a cantankerous, take-no-prisoners Southern woman who lives to shoot varmints, drink margaritas, and antagonize the neighbors--and she sticks out like a sore thumb among the young, modern mothers of their small conventional Texas town. She was in her late fifties when Willow was born, so Willow knows she's here by accident, a late-life afterthought. Willow's father died before she was born, her much older brother and sister are long grown and gone and failing elsewhere: it's just her and her bigger-than-life mom, Polly. Willow is desperately hungry for clues to the family life that preceded her, and Polly has her own secrets that she won't reveal. Why did she leave her hometown of Bethel, Louisiana, fifty years ago and vow never to return after a mysterious and terrible incident? Who is Garland Jones, her long-ago suitor who possibly killed a man? And will Polly be able to outrun The Bear, the illness that finally puts her on a collision course with her closely guarded past and a final trip back to Bethel that will end with them, like Huck Finn, riding a river raft back home? THE BOOK OF POLLY has a kick like the best hot sauce, and a great blend of humor and sadness, pathos and hilarity. This is a bittersweet novel about the grip of love in a truly quirky family and you'll come to know one of the most unforgettable mother-daughter duos you've ever met.
When he lands a starring role in the school Christmas play of Edward Lears famous nonsense poem, The Owl and the Pussy-Cat, Michael is over the moon. He is going to be Owl. TOO-WITTTOO- WOOOOOO! And when his best friend, Belinda, is chosen to be Cat, Michael cant believe his luck. MIAOW! But how will he cope with his feelings for Belinda and his stage fright? Will it be alright on the night? Find out in this charming, funny and touching true story.
A beautiful, heartwarming picture book with all the universal appeal of Guess How Much I Love You.Hedgehog was feeling sad.As sad as a hedgehog can feel.So sad only one thing could help . . .Tortoise was feeling sad. As sad as a tortoise can feel. So sad only one thing could help . . .In this clever flipbook, both a hedgehog and a tortoise are looking for a hug. They ask all the other animals they come across but for some reason no one will hug them. Until a wise owl explains: Hedgehog is too spiky; Tortoise is too bony. And that's when they find each other!'Feels like being enveloped in your very own hug.' Kirkus'A smashing story time tale.' Books for Keeps'It's utterly lovely. It makes her face light up every time she hears it.' The Guardian Best Books of 2019
All lions are fierce, right? Well, maybe, just maybe, this Lion - so well dressed and polite and charming - isn't too fierce for you... All lions are fierce, right? Well, maybe, just maybe, this Lion - so well dressed and polite and charming - isn't too fierce for you... "Dunbar's unexpected sense of humour makes A Lion is a Lion every bit as original as Judith Kerr's classic" Irish Times From the creator of Penguin and the Tilly and Friends series comes a wicked, rollicking read-aloud which asks the question: Is a lion still a lion if he ... wears a hat? And carries an umbrella? Is a lion still a lion if he ... arrives at your door and invites himself in with a "How do you do?" (Isn't he polite!) And is a lion still a lion if he asks for a dance? What about when he licks his lips and says, "Oh yes, lunch would be lovely, thank you..." Is a lion still a lion then?
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Delicious' Nigella Lawson 'Clever and beguiling' Guardian 'Sublime and immersive' Jojo Moyes Erica is eighteen and ready for freedom. It's the summer of 1960 when she lands on the sun-baked Greek island of Hydra where she is swept up in a circle of bohemian poets, painters, musicians, writers and artists, living tangled lives. Life on their island paradise is heady, dream-like, a string of seemingly endless summer days. But nothing can last forever. 'A surefire summer hit ... At once a blissful piece of escapism and a powerful meditation on art and sexuality' Observer 'Heady armchair escapism ... An impressionistic, intoxicating rush of sensory experience' Sunday Times 'If summer was suddenly like a novel, it would be like this one. Immaculate' Andrew O'Hagan
Inspirational and expert advice and tuition on becoming a confident travel photographer, including practical steps, bridge cameras, mobile phones and getting published. People, landscapes, wildlife, cities, adventure, food and wild places are all covered.
After her father suffers a serious accident, Polly leaves home to work and bring money back to the family. When her first job falls through, she decides to hire on with a wagon train...as a boy. Now she is weeks from home. Was she too rash? Missing bullets, Indians, a raging river, everything is pushing her further away. Will she ever be able to return?
