I Want to be So So Beautiful

It’s a beautiful Saturday morning, the sun is shining bright, the birds are chirping beautifully, quite a rare occurrence at this time of the year in Warwickshire.

It’s going to be a beautiful day for sure.

Darcey is your typical girly girl, loves dressing up. Princess dresses, shoes, handbags, jewellery, you name it, this princess has it all.

A princess must always look her best, right?

What if pretty dresses and fancy shoes are just not enough?

Surely there is more to beauty than just looking pretty.

The sun does not just look pretty in the sky, neither does the moon nor the stars.

Join Darcey on her magical adventure to discover the beauty within.

I Was a London Firefighter

What is a firefighter?
They are the person next door…
They are like you and me with warts and worries and unfulfilled dreams.
Yet they stand taller than most of us.

The latest book from author and retired fireman David Pike, I Was a London Firefighter is an anthology of factual narratives and fictional tales loosely based around the personal experiences of individual members of the London Fire Brigade. Ranging from the mid-19th century to the present day, the book includes direct reminiscences by former firefighters alongside descriptions of key historical figures like Massey Shaw, Sidney Gamble and Joe Milner. It takes in such subjects as the IRA’s 20'year bombing campaign in London and the changing status of female firefighters.
Running through the book is a series of gripping historical narratives subtitled ‘Yesteryear’s Fires’, depicting the heroic professionalism of firefighters confronted by truly harrowing disasters. Some of these remain all-too-familiar, such as the King’s Cross fire of 1987 which claimed the lives of 31 people; others, no less terrible, have faded into distant memory. The book ends with a fresh and compelling description of a horrifying tragedy that no one can have forgotten: 2017’s Grenfell Tower fire.
I Was a London Firefighter shares with David’s previous works – Beyond the Flames, London Firefighters and Fire-Floats and Fireboats – a careful and comprehensive approach to historical research, an eye for striking and unusual narrative details and an understated humour. Above all, it shows an unwavering appreciation of and empathy for the concerns and drives of the ordinary firefighter, born of David’s own experiences as a fireman.

I Will Protect Her

The cover of this autobiography shows I.R. Dujon at the time of publication mothering her younger, 6-year-old self.

I Will Protect Her details the adolescent years in which Ingrid was subject to tragic child abuse, while the people in charge of her welfare and safety neglected their most basic responsibilities at every point possible. This led to a prolonged period of suffering for her and for so many others. After years of fighting, a full criminal investigation into the crimes was relaunched. Victims were able finally to expose the police and local authorities for their systematic failure to recognise, report, and act upon avoidable and life-altering abuse.

The collation of notes, factual evidence, dates and times as recorded by herself and supported by many others affected, led to the prosecution of one of London’s most notorious paedophiles, who was convicted and sentenced to 24 years in prison.

Only now, after years of counselling, therapy, and personal development, Ingrid has managed to finally close this chapter of her life for good. Today Dujon is a proud mother of five children, all now adults. Dujon’s goal is to share her story and inspire any and everyone who has ever been subject to any form of abuse. Ingrid hopes to educate a wider audience who may not be familiar with the patterns and signs of child abuse, and to paint a detailed picture of how people who are external to an abusive situation can still do so much to prevent or change things for the better.

I'll Draw an Iris on my Heart and send it to You

The thing about poetry is, that
She has but the simplest of rules.
She does not have to rhyme,
Nor be written in clear lines.
She doesn’t even need true letters,
All she has to do, is move the spirit, break the heart and mend an injured soul.

Helene J. Storm

I'm Important Too

Have you ever felt lonely or alone? Have you ever felt like everyone is too busy to take time for you? Have you ever felt like you don’t matter at all?

Those feelings are not good at all! It makes us feel sad!

Then one day, someone comes along and makes us feel better. They spend time with us. They talk to us. They play with us. They share their toys with us. They make us very happy. They make us feel important.

So, on those days when you’re sad and blue,

And you don’t know what to do,

Find someone that you can talk to,

And say to yourself…

I’m important too!

I'm Just Me

Meet Alex. Alex is a boy who doesn’t believe being a boy or a girl should determine how you think; he is just Alex. 

He lives near Midtown and travels over the bus network having adventures in some very unusual surrounding towns with his dog Blink, whose main aim in life is to sniff everything in the world and who dreams of being RocketDog. 

At the ends of the bus lines, they meet people who live in closed towns, they are either all black or white, gay or straight, religious or atheist, rich or poor, old or young, or very differently able. 

Alex can’t understand why they should live like this. He tries to get them to travel to Midtown, where they might be surprised by how people of all kinds can live together equally. Blink thinks they are all equally sniffable. If Alex is just Alex, perhaps they might realise they can just be themselves too, just equal individuals, with equally important mixtures of properties. 

I’m Just Me looks at how we all tend to label people, to place them in boxes, usually because of one main property: colour, gender, sexuality, mental or physical ability, wealth, religion, politics, class or age. BUT each property is a line and we are all a dot on every one of those lines somewhere. Where all the lines cross for us, we find our own point of individuality. 

If each point is equal, then WE MUST ALL BE EQUAL.

I, A Dumb Boy

“‘Oh, Thomas, do you recall the miracle you performed?’

Yes, I did recall the miracle, if that’s what it was. I recalled other things too. Fergus and the secret chamber. Caty and her still-born child. My sister’s treacherous kiss.”

Norfolk, Virginia, 1775. Thomas Starling is fourteen years old but has never found the courage to speak to anyone except his older sister, Bethany. A visit from a stranger one night triggers a series of events that leads them to embark on a journey to the city of New York. There they encounter a community of outcasts and a demoralised army preparing for a British attack. Thomas yearns to be free of his boyhood and his dependence on his sister, but he is haunted by bitter memories of that terrifying night on the Georgian frontier … the girl in blue, the burning barn, the hanging corpse. His past is finally catching up with him.

I, Jandamarra

Jandamarra is an aboriginal warrior of the spiritual Kimberley area of Australia, home to the tribe known as the Bunuba people. Jandamarra is a legendary hero of the 1890s known to his people as a Jalgangurru, a magic man, due to his extraordinary skills and abilities.

He is a cheeky, likeable boy, and a quick learner. At around 12 years of age, Jandamarra, named Pigeon by the whitefellas, begins working on a sheep station, where he learns to shoot, ride horses, and live among the whitefellas. These are skills which will serve him well in his manhood. He is popular among whitefellas and enjoys the excitement and movement of their way of living, but the time comes when he must return to his tribe for initiation into manhood.

Jandamarra is torn between black and white cultures. But how can he belong to two different worlds with each pulling at his loyalties? How can he be accepted by one without rejecting the other?

This powerfully spiritual story of the legendary Jandamarra is based on extensive research of people and events.

Ice Kids

A journey to their winter camp far to the south finds six snow and ice kids locked in an underground prison from which they must escape if they are to survive. A near fatal disaster, a welcome discovery, hunted by a ferocious enemy, and befriended by the most unusual animal will find them battling for their lives. Jay, their leader, alone must solve the most difficult challenges that will bring the need for every one of the children to work together.

Wonders of an ice world and vivid memories of a long-forgotten past will haunt them all the way until finally, a last desperate battle will determine whether they will be triumphant or whether they will perish.

Ickle Pickle

The children in James' new school in Little Tooting have been terrorised by the local bully, Roger Grimes, and his gang of trouble-makers ever since Roger started school. As the newest arrival, James is having a whole new set of problems devised by Roger Grimes, which inevitably land him in trouble.

The last straw comes when his art teacher has blue paint poured down the back of her shirt and yet again James is blamed. Roger has most of the children terrified, so no-one will stand up to him when he and his friend Edward blame it all on James.

This is also the last straw for the headmistress who calls James’ mother. He is suspended for one week. While suspended James meets some very special friends: Bella and Old Fella, two very special dogs. James is shocked to discover that they understand him and that he can talk to them. Between them, they hatch more than one plan to put a stop to Roger Grimes reign of terror over the schoolyard, with the most unexpected consequences.

If Cars Could Talk

Red Raphael has his wits about him and he thinks he’s the fastest car ever. He challenges Pretty in Pink to race around the lake later that night. She gladly accepts the challenge and turns up at midnight. Mean and Green, Blue Will Show You, along with Pretty in Pink and Red Raphael show up. The race begins and it appears Red Raphael is in the lead. However, the race takes a surprising turn and the outcome shocks them all !!!!!  

If Cows Could Fly

Ever seen a flying cow, a horse that knits, or an eel that rides a bike? Well, welcome in to a world where your fantasy and imagination can bring them all to life.

This set of humorous poems, mainly concerning the strange things animals may get up to, are suitably illustrated by the author's whimsical drawings.