The Story of London Lloyd Jones Rob Usborne

A compelling account of the story of slavery - from ancient times, through the plantations of the Caribbean and America, to the official abolition of the slave trade more than 200 years ago. Recounts the stories of people who were enslaved, including their daring tales of resistance and escape. Highlights the continued existence of slavery today and what you can do to help stop it

This is an updated addition to Usborne Young Reading Series 2, which is aimed at children whose reading ability is beginning to grow, and helps build confidence and ability. It is a lively and engaging look at the story of the Olympic Games, from its foundations in Ancient Greece to the global spectacles seen by modern audiences. It is humorously illustrated throughout by Paddy Mounter. It is developed in consultation with Alison Kelly, who is a senior lecturer in education and an early reading specialist from Roehampton University

- The fascinating history of castles told for children just beginning to read growing in reading confidence and ability • - Explains in a lively way why castles were first built, what it was like to live in one, and the cunning tricks used to defend them • - Featuring the humorous illustrations of Teri Gower • - Part of the Usborne Reading Programme developed with reading experts at the University of Roehampton • - The CD includes lively music and sound effects, and a listen along version followed by a read along version with prompts for page turns

Harry is hungry, but Nell doesn't want to give him any food. Then Harry says, "I can make soup from a stone." How can he do that? • Includes a word list, 5 pages of activities and free online audio (British English and American English) • Retold by Mairi Mackinnon

The Story of Hong Gildong is arguably the single most important work of classic Korean fiction. Like its English counterpart, Robin Hood, it has been adapted into countless movies, television shows, novels and comics. Its memorable lines are known to virtually every Korean by heart. Until now, this incredible 19th century fable has been all but inaccessible to English readers • Hong Gildong, the brilliant but illegitimate son of a government minister, cannot advance in society due to his secondary status, so he leaves home to become the leader of a band of outlaws who rob the rich to give to the poor. On the way to building his own empire and gaining acceptance from his family, Hong Gildong vanquishes assassins, battles monsters, and conquers kingdoms

The classic crime novel featuring blind detective Max Carrados, whose popularity rivalled that of Sherlock Holmes, complete with a new introduction and an extra short story • In his dark little curio shop Julian Joolby is weaving an extravagant scheme to smash the financial machinery of the world by flooding the Oriental market with forged banknotes. But this monster of wickedness has not reckoned on Max Carrados, the suave and resourceful investigator whose visual impairment gives him heightened powers of perception that ordinary detectives overlook • Max Carrados was a blind detective whose stories by Ernest Bramah appeared from 1914 alongside Sherlock Holmes in the Strand Magazine, in which they often had top billing. Described by George Orwell as among ‘the only detective stories since Poe that are worth re-reading’, the 25 stories were collected in three hugely popular volumes, culminating in a full-length novel, The Bravo of London (1934), in which Carrados engages in a battle of wits against a fiendish plot that threatens to overthrow civilisation itself

The Story of the Stone (c. 1760), also known by the title of The Dream of the Red Chamber, is the great novel of manners in Chinese literature • Divided into five volumes, of which The Debt of Tears is the fourth, it charts the glory and decline of the illustrious Jia family (a story which closely accords with the fortunes of the author's own family). The two main characters, Bao-yu and Dai-yu, are set against a rich tapestry of humour, realistic detail and delicate poetry, which accurately reflects the ritualized hurly-burly of Chinese family life. But over and above the novel hangs the constant reminder that there is another plane of existence - a theme which affirms the Buddhist belief in a supernatural scheme of things

The Story of the Stone (c. 1760), also known by the title of The Dream of the Red Chamber, is the great novel of manners in Chinese literature • Divided into five volumes, of which The Warning Voice is the third, it charts the glory and decline of the illustrious Jia family (a story which closely accords with the fortunes of the author's own family). The two main characters, Bao-yu and Dai-yu, are set against a rich tapestry of humour, realistic detail and delicate poetry, which accurately reflects the ritualized hurly-burly of Chinese family life. But over and above the novel hangs the constant reminder that there is another plane of existence - a theme which affirms the Buddhist belief in a supernatural scheme of things

The Story of the Stone (c.1760) is one of the greatest novels of Chinese literature. The first part of the story, The Golden Days, begins the tale of Bao-yu, a gentle young boy who prefers girls to Confucian studies, and his two cousins: Bao-chai, his parents' choice of a wife for him, and the ethereal beauty Dai-yu. Through the changing fortunes of the Jia family, this rich, magical work sets worldly events - love affairs, sibling rivalries, political intrigues, even murder - within the context of the Buddhist understanding that earthly existence is an illusion and karma determines the shape of our lives