Showing results by author "Geraldine McCaughrean" in All Categories

Every time a lad came fowling on the St Kilda stacs, he went home less of a boy and more of a man. If he went home at all, that is.... In the summer of 1727, a group of men and boys are put ashore on a remote sea stac to harvest birds for food. No-one returns to collect them. Why? Surely nothing but the end of the world can explain why they have been abandoned to endure storms, starvation and terror. And how can they survive, housed in stone and imprisoned on every side by the ocean?

When the goddess Hera, wife of Zeus, discovers her husband's mortal son Hercules, she vows to destroy him. Thus begins Hercules's legendary and epic journey in which he is forced to take on a series of seemingly impossible tasks.

The Trojan War is over, and Odysseus longs to return to wife and son on his island kingdom of Ithaca. But between hero and home stands an array of dangers unlike any ever faced by mortal man.

With World War II looming, four young people sit on a train waiting to be evacuated to a safer place...but they don't want to go. They climb out of the carriage window and head back to Greenwich, forming an unlikely friendship. They spend their days trying to be useful. Laurence is building a secret machine. Gemmy searches bombed-out homes for things of value—only to find an adorable mutt she can't even give away. Franklin wants to join the Fire Service, although it means lying about his age. Olive looks after her father, who is broken by the deaths of his fellow firefighters.

When Mary Lennox is sent from India to live with her uncle at gloomy Misselthwaite Manor, she is the most spoiled and contrary child you could ever meet. But she is also extremely lonely. Until one day, she discovers a walled garden that has been kept secret for years. With the help of a little robin, Mary unearths the key and unlocks the wonder that lies beyond the garden walls - and finds that making friends can be every bit life-changing as a magical garden.

Theseus sets off to meet his father and claim the throne of Athens. But first he must defeat many obstacles, including giants, trolls, and the vicious Crommyonian Boar. This is a brilliant retelling of one of the greatest of the Greek myths. The story of Theseus pulses with adventure, humor, and tragedy.

Swordsman, soldier, poet...and possessor of the biggest nose in all of France! Cyrano de Bergerac was all this and more, for behind his grotesque face beat the heart of a lover. And, being Cyrano, who could he fall in love with but the most beautiful woman in Paris?From this conflict of nose versus heart springs one of the most uproarious, tender, funny, painful, and action-packed stories of all time - a tale that has its roots in truth, for Cyrano de Bergerac really existed.

His mother was a human princess. His father was none other than Zeus, the king of the gods. But fate has a way of twisting things, and now to save his mother from a dreadful marriage Perseus must undertake a perilous quest. Along the way the young hero will encounter a wealth of wonders, including a magic helmet, a flying horse, a dreadful sea serpent, and a gorgon whose gaze turns all who look upon her to stone.

Once again, award-winning author Geraldine McCaughrean brings a literary classic to life, retelling The Faerie Queen in an accessible and compelling way. The original was written in 1596 for Elizabeth 1st, but now McCaughrean introduces a whole new generation of readers to Edmund Spenser's exciting adventures of knights and dragons, sorcerers and hermits, princesses and sea nymphs.

Fifteen-year-old Gloria is maid to Afalia's tyrannical head of state, Madame Suprema. When the country is hit by unprecedented flooding Madame Suprema runs away, fearing she will be blamed for the crisis. To cover up this cowardly act, Gloria steps into the Suprema's shoes and is thrust into a corrupt world where she must take decisions that will affect the life and death of thousands of citizens of Afalia, including her own.... 

When Mary Pinny dies from a snakebite, she leaves her young daughter, Comity, and husband Herbert in the Middle of Nowhere. As Stationmaster of the Kinkindele Repeater Station, Herbert Pinny takes great pride in his job; receiving morse messages and passing them down the Wire. But Comity dreams of a different life and sends letters to her grandmother and her snooty aunt full of colourful tales of her imaginary life. That is, until the new station assistant, Quartz Hogg, arrives and brings Comity and her father sharply back down to earth.

Pepper's fourteenth birthday is a momentous one. It's the day he's supposed to die. Everyone seems resigned to it—even Pepper, although he would much prefer to live. But can you sidestep Fate? Jump sideways into a different life? Naïve and trusting, Pepper sets a course through dangerous...

Journey back to Neverland in the first-ever authorized sequel to J.M. Barrie's timeless masterpiece, Peter Pan The Special Trustees of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, who own the copyright to the movie Peter Pan, marked that work's centenary by authorizing the creation of a new novel...

Ever since the magnificent Miss Loucien gave up teaching to join the Bright Lights Theater Company, school days have lacked a certain . . . drama . . . especially for Cissy, who longs for a life in show business, and Kookie, who craves adventure. But when a diphtheria outbreak interrupts the...

"McCaughrean takes the bones of a real event, wraps it in immersive, imaginative detail and thoroughly real emotion, and creates an unforgettable tale of human survival. A masterpiece." - Kirkus Reviews Winner of the 2018 Carnegie Medal! New from Michael L. Printz Award winner Geraldine...