A Bird Called Swoopy

Swoopy is a black and white magpie who lives high up in a gum tree with his Mum and Dad, just near a golf course.

One day when his parents are away finding food, he sees a pretty pink golf ball plop along the green grass below their nest. He flies down, picks it up, and takes it back up into the nest. He hears a man shouting something but doesn’t think anything’s wrong?

When his parents come home, they tell him it is wrong to take things that don’t belong to you, and they push the ball back out of the nest down onto the ground. But the next day, Swoopy sees another ball, and he can’t resist! What happens next?

Join Swoopy to learn why stealing is wrong.

A Bit of Good Luck

A young man slings his duffel bag over his shoulder and begins a journey of a lifetime.

In this true story, young Frank learns more in a day than all his life up to that point but, ironically, he’s left with more questions than answers! Do lobsters whistle? Are sleep and driving mutually exclusive?

Now, over 50 years later, Frank recalls that day, the highs and lows, the stops and starts and the emotional end to his odyssey. With his mission to meet up with his father at the opposite end of Ireland, this funny, yet poignant story paints a landscape that is fading over time and will leave you wondering where life’s true characters have gone. Have they really disappeared? Or are they waiting patiently, thumbs out, waiting to be picked up again?

Readers will never predict the trials and tribulations of Frank McGurk in 1960s and ’70s Ireland – neither did Frank.

Where exactly is no man’s land? Was the smuggling run ‘a washing machine too far’? And what were Frank’s true dealings with the oil sheikhs from the Middle East?

Potholes without the plot holes, A Bit of Good Luck (and other short stories) evoke a bygone era where a journey was an adventure, and the open road was an open mic for every character to stand up and take a bow.

A Blessing And A Curse

These poems invoke waves of emotions, pulling you in before spitting you out – exhausted, and never the same as you were before. They will open old wounds and help to heal new ones. They will force you to confront your own experience and that of those around you. These poems helped repair my soul and regain my spirit through heartbreak, abuse, mental illness, and loss. I hope they can do the same for you.

In a sea of darkness, know that you are not alone, and that it’s okay to not be okay.

A Book of Poems and Stories

Young Tree, for that was his name, had everything he could wish for; plenty of love, warmth and food from the forest he lived in with his older brother and parents.

Yet he wanted more than this; he wanted an adventure.

He found it difficult to concentrate on the lessons his mother gave him every day. He dreamt of exotic islands and endless beaches, with coconuts growing everywhere. Monkeys befriended him to keep him company, with flocks of birds to talk to all day.

One fine day he set forth, pulling up his roots. His steps were light and he was full of hope. Leaves crunched beneath his feet.

Even in his determination to face the challenges ahead of him, and which crossed his young mind; the path became more and more difficult.

Have you ever wished for an adventure of your very own, then this is the story for you.

Read on and see what happens to Young Tree…

A Book of Rather Strange Animals

From the creator of the hugely popular @StrangeAnimals on Twitter comes A Book of Rather Strange Animals – a collection of one hundred remarkable animal specimens from around the world. With fascinating descriptions of nasty feeding habits, bizarre mating rituals and shocking defence mechanisms, you will marvel at both the splendour and gruesomeness of nature.

Meet the lizard that shoots blood from its eyes, the isopod that replaces the tongues of fish, the bug that stacks the corpses of ants on its back and the amphibian that looks like a penis.

Come and discover the world’s most peculiar species!

A Book of Short Stories

Do you like pirates, dragons, curses and mysteries? What about magic, or talking cats? Then welcome to A Book of Short Stories where all this is possible, and more. Read on to find out what happens to the mysterious village of Thorn, or do battle with Princess Fabiola Ulrike; will she succeed in her quest, or will she be doomed forever? And whatever did happen to that talking dragon…?

A Book of Songs and Poetry

Life and death, battles and war. Fathers and sons, mothers we adore. Babies and children, people we love. Those that we have lost who watch from above. Hopes and fears, wisdom and truth, innocence, and carefree youth. Autumn, winter, summer, spring. Nymphs, doe deers, nature and mysterious things. People lost and people found. Those that reach out to help others unsound. Lost paths and opportunities. Restless souls and obsessive entities - All in a book of songs and poetry.

A Bouquet of Fish Bones

The unhappy narcissist is threatened by the loss of beauty. The sophisticate takes reward from the geometry of desires. The eccentric form defective passions. The restless spirit seeks out a series of liberating falls. The daydreamer is charmed by planetary coincidences. The womanizer falls victim to fatal attractions. The loner finds amusement feeding his inflated imagination with scenes of mystery. The awareness of mortality leads them to the expression of passions, and mistakes.

The carousels of all these people’s little panics perpetually rotate, each circle closes for another to open and the tyranny of existence continues to be summed up in the agonizing question: the eternality of the temporary or the temporary eternity?

Against a background of the universe’s vast mirror, to what extent can the instantaneous, the insignificant and the random leave any trace on time’s relentless flow, giving another dimension to eternality?

A Boy Full of Emptiness

"Leo tells the stories of his life as though he is living them all over again; it is an extraordinary gift. Every scene comes to life: every fragrance, every bad smell, every delicious morsel of food or stinging slap becomes real.”

Pete Townshend, The Who

This book is rich with the story of a boy born in the 1940s and coming of age in Lucca, a walled town in Tuscany still retaining the feeling of a medieval community. His narrative immerses the reader into the life of funny and sensuous adventures in an Italy suspended between Fascism, the war and the economic boom of the sixties. The story ends with the author travelling to England in search of riches and fulfilment.

A Boy Named Tigger

Adoption is a wonderful opportunity to give a child a loving parental relationship to grow up in the comfort of a home and family. One hears or sees TV programmes of how successful adoption can be! A Boy Named Tigger tells the story of a little boy torn away from a loving family environment to be adopted at the age of four by a couple struggling to get back on their feet after the second world war.

He went to a mother who had a split personality and tried to control every aspect of Tigger’s life subjecting him to mental torture at times. Growing up he managed to tear himself away from his mother and start a new life, gradually clearing his mind from the unhappiness of his childhood and embarking on several successful careers. The writing of this book was the therapy he needed to eventually clear his mind.

A Bridge in Time

Maddie Coles, disillusioned, 40-something housewife, wakes immobile and in darkness, unaware of the catastrophic illness she has suffered.

During this static time, Maddie recreates subconsciously her life from the very first day of birth in 1965. A life created from real memories and forgotten youthful hopes and dreams, which lead her to question and re-examine every aspect of her life so far.

When medical science reawakens her 25 years later in 2037, the world as she knew it is unrecognisable and alien to her. She must come to terms with the devastating losses and extraordinary surprises, and reacquaint with family and friends of an almost forgotten past. She must also learn to live in the real world again. As Maddie travels this deeply personal, sometimes funny, heartwarming and often painful journey she finds inner wisdom which gives her strength to overcome the difficulties of her new life and determination to value everything she has regained by returning to it.

A Broad View of Educational Perspectives

A Broad View of Educational Perspectives is for teachers and school leaders working in English as a Second Language. It is a comprehensive textbook written by Nicola Walsh, an experienced educator from Yorkshire, England. With a hands-on approach to education and a focus on what truly makes a difference in the lives of children and their families, this book is designed for teachers and school leaders working in English as a Second Language. It covers a wide range of topics, from language acquisition to classroom management, and assessment strategies to cultural considerations. The book is organized in chapters that are easy to read and understand, making it an ideal resource for educators at all levels. It offers a great way to explore and gain an understanding of the latest thinking in the field of English as a Second Language education, by choosing a topic and diving in. It is written in a simple and engaging style, with practical examples and case studies, making it an essential guide for any teacher or school leader working in this field.