Almond, David

"Nanty Solo is new in town and claims she can turn children into birds. Terrified parents forbid the idea, but the children want to fly-- they want it very much-- and they do. One by one, they approach Nanty Solo. One by one, they are transformed until the sky over town teems with rooks and goldfinches, parakeets and sparrows. The adults take one look and cry, 'Get out of that sky this very minute!' But the sight of their offspring-- set free to soar, hope, and explore --soon has the grown-ups wondering what it might be like to have wings to fly and a beak to sing"--Amazon.

When a new boy joins the class, everyone thinks he's a bit strange, but he's brilliant at football and loves crisps, and that's all that matters to Dan and Maxie. However, the truth about George is stranger than anyone could have imagined. . . and more sinister, too. Can his new pals help him to become truly free?.

A collection of eight short stories by award-winning author David Almond.

"Annie Lumsden has hair that drifts like seaweed, eyes that shine like rock pools, and thoughts that dart and dance like minnows. She lives with her artist mother by the sea, where she feels utterly at home, and has long felt apart from the other girls at school. Words and numbers on the page don't make sense to her, and strange maladies have been springing up that the doctors can't explain. Annie's mother says that all things can be turned into tales, and often she tells her daughter stories about the rocks she paints like faces, or the smoke that wafts from chimneys, or who Annie's dad is. But one day Annie asks her mother for a different tale, something with better truth in it--and on that same day a stranger in town, drawn to the sight of a girl who seems akin to the sea, helps Annie understand how special she is. Featuring Beatrice Alemagna's expressive illustrations, this enchanting coming-of-age tale by the award-winning David Almond borrows from lore and flirts at the edges of mystery"--Provided by the publisher.

"Kielder Water is a wild and beautiful place, rich in folk music and legend. Years ago, before a great dam was built to fill the valley with water, there were farms and homesteads in that valley and musicians who livened their rooms with song. After the village was abandoned and before the waters rushed in, a father and daughter returned there. The girl began to play her fiddle, bringing her tune to one empty house after another--for this was the last time that music would be heard in that place"--Amazon.

"It's 1918, and war is everywhere. John's father is fighting in the trenches far away in France, while his mother works in a menacing munitions factory just down the road. His teacher says that John is fighting, too, that he is at war with enemy children in Germany. One day, in the wild woods outside town, John has an impossible moment: a dreamlike meeting with a German boy named Jan. John catches a glimpse of a better world, in which children like Jan and himself can one day scatter the seeds of peace"--Provided by the publisher.

The developing relationship between teenager Davie and a mysterious new boy in town morphs into something darker and more sinister when Davie learns firsthand of the boy's supernatural powers.

Despite observing his father's illness and the suffering of the fire-eating Mr. McNulty, as well as enduring abuse at school and the stress of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Bobby Burns and his family and friends, living in England in 1962, still find reasons to rejoice in their lives and to have hope for the future.

"One hot summer morning, only weeks after his father's death, Davie steps out his front door into the familiar streets of the Tyneside town that has always been his home. But this seemingly ordinary day takes on an air of mystery and tragedy as the residents learn that a boy has been killed. Despite the threat of a murderer on the loose, Davie turns away from the gossip and sets off toward the sunlit hill above town, where the real and imaginary worlds begin to blur around him. As he winds his way up the hillside, Davie sees things that seem impossible but feel utterly right, that renew his wonder and instill him with hope"--OCLC.

"Joe Quinn tells everyone about the poltergeist in his house, but no one believes him. No one, that is, except Davie. Davie's felt an inexplicable presence and seen random objects fly through the air. And there's something else ... a memory of his beloved sister and a feeling deep down that it might just be possible for ghosts to exist"-- Jacket flap.