World Book Day - A World of Stories Online

Am I Normal Yet? By Holly BourneRead by Charlie SandersonFirst book of The Spinster Club seriesAll Evie wants is to be normal. And now that she's almost off her meds and at a new college where no one knows her as ‘the-girl-who-went-nuts,’ there's only one thing left to tick off her list... a boyfriend. But relationships can mess with anyone's head - something Evie's new friends Amber and Lottie know only too well. The trouble is, if Evie won't tell them her secrets, how can they stop her making a huge mistake?

The Lie Tree By Frances HardingeRead by Emilia FoxWinner of the Costa Book of the Year 2015. The Lie Tree is a wonderfully evocative and atmospheric novel by Frances Hardinge, award-winning author of Cuckoo Song and Fly By Night.Faith's father has been found dead under mysterious circumstances, and as she is searching through his belongings for clues she discovers a strange tree. The tree only grows healthy and bears fruit if you whisper a lie to it. The fruit of the tree, when eaten, will deliver a hidden truth to the person who consumes it. The bigger the lie, the more people who believe it, the bigger the truth that is uncovered. The girl realizes that she is good at lying and that the tree might hold the key to her father's murder, so she begins to spread untruths far and wide across her small island community. But as her tales spiral out of control, she discovers that where lies seduce, truths shatter . . .

A Monster Calls By Patrick NessBased on an original idea by Siobhan DowdRead by Jason IsaacsCosta Award winner and Guardian Prize winning author, Patrick Ness delivers an extraordinarily moving novel about coming to terms with loss.The monster showed up after midnight. As they do. But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting. He’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming…This monster is something different though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.It wants the truth.

The Hunger Games By Suzanne CollinsRead by Carolyn McCormickFirst in the ground-breaking Hunger Games trilogy.Set in a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying reality TV show is taking place. Twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called The Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed. When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her younger sister's place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.

Maggot Moon By Sally GardnerRead by Robert MadgeA starkly original and heartbreaking tale of friendship and rebellionWinner of the Carnegie Medal and a 2012 Costa Award winner. Narrated against the backdrop of a ruthless regime determined to beat its enemies in the race to the moon, MAGGOT MOON is a starkly and heartbreaking tale of friendship and rebellion from award-winning author, Sally Gardner.

Mortal Instruments: City of BonesBy Cassandra ClareRead by Ari GraynorClary Fray is seeing things: vampires in Brooklyn and werewolves in Manhattan. Irresistably drawn towards a group of sexy demon hunters, Clary encounters the dark side of New York City – and the dangers of forbidden love.

CHERUB: The RecruitBy Robert MuchamoreRead by Simon ScardifieldA terrorist doesn't let strangers in her flat because they might be undercover police or intelligence agents, but her children bring their mates home and they run all over the place.The terrorist doesn't know that a kid has bugged every room in her house, cloned the hard drive on her PC, and copied all the numbers in her phone book. The kid works for CHERUB.CHERUB agents are aged between ten and seventeen. They live in the real world, slipping under adult radar and getting information that sends criminals and terrorists to jail.

Geek GirlBy Holly SmaleRead by Kate Sobey“My name is Harriet Manners, and I am a geek.” Harriet Manners knows that a cat has 32 muscles in each ear, a “jiffy” lasts 1/100th of a second, and the average person laughs 15 times per day. She knows that bats always turn left when exiting a cave and that peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite. But she doesn’t know why nobody at school seems to like her. So when Harriet is spotted by a top model agent, she grabs the chance to reinvent herself. Even if it means stealing her best friend’s dream, incurring the wrath of her arch enemy Alexa, and repeatedly humiliating herself in front of impossibly handsome model Nick. Even if it means lying to the people she loves. Veering from one couture disaster to the next with the help of her overly enthusiastic father and her uber-geeky stalker, Toby, Harriet begins to realise that the world of fashion doesn’t seem to like her any more than the real world did. As her old life starts to fall apart, will Harriet be able to transform herself before she ruins everything?

Half BadBy Sally GreenRead by Carl PrekoppA debut novel about one boy's struggle for survival in a hidden society of witches. You can't read, can't write, but you heal fast, even for a witch. You get sick if you stay indoors after dark. You hate White Witches but love Annalise, who is one. You've been kept in a cage since you were fourteen. All you've got to do is escape and find Mercury, the Black Witch who eats boys. And do that before your seventeenth birthday. Easy. Sally Green lives in north-west England. She has had jobs (paid and unpaid) and even a profession but at last has found the time to write down the stories she used to only be able to daydream about. She likes to read, walk in the country and would like to drink less coffee.

How I Live NowBy Meg RossoffRead by Amber SealeyMeg Rosoff's charming coming-of-age novel, How I Live Now is set over a summer of love and destruction.American girl Daisy has had a troubled background, and is sent from New York to stay with her charmingly shambolic family of British cousins, who she has never met. They are Isaac, Edmond, Osbert, and Piper. And two dogs and a goat. Daisy has never met anyone quite like them before and, as a dreamy English summer progresses, Daisy finds herself caught in a timeless bubble as she slowly begins to piece herself together with the the help of her super-eccentric and slightly psychic cousins. Not only does Daisy get better as she easily succumbs to the charms of their adult-free rural home, but she finds herself falling in love with one of her cousins in this intense, gorgeous, summery bubble where they live a timeless existence. So timeless, that when war breaks out they barely seem to notice.... Daisy's life is changed forever and the world is too.

Noughts and CrossesBy Malorie BlackmanRead by Paul ChequerSephy is a Cross - a member of the dark-skinned ruling class. Callum is a nought - a 'colourless' member of the underclass who were once slaves to the Crosses. The two have been friends since early childhood. But that's as far as it can go. Until the first steps are taken towards more social equality and a limited number of Noughts are allowed into Cross schools... Against a background of prejudice and distrust, intensely highlighted by violent terrorist activity by Noughts, a romance builds between Sephy and Callum - a romance that is to lead both of them into terrible danger...

The BoldsBy Julian ClaryRead by Julian ClaryMr and Mrs Bold are just like you and me: they live in a nice house, they have jobs and they love to have a giggle. One slight difference: they're hyenas. That's right - covered in fur, tails tucked into their trousers, and they really like to laugh. So far, the Bolds have managed to keep things under wraps.. But the nosy man next door smells a rat, could this be the end of Teddington's best-kept secret?Nominated for the CILIP Greenaway Medal 2016

RooftoppersBy Katherine RundellRead by Gordon GriffinWinner of the Blue Peter Book Award and the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, Rooftoppers is a charming novel.Everyone thinks that Sophie is an orphan. Found floating in a cello case, she is the only recorded female survivor of a shipwreck on the English Channel. But Sophie remembers seeing her mother wave for help… When the child welfare agency threatens to send Sophie to an orphanage, Sophie and her guardian flee to Paris to find her mother, starting with the only clue she has - the address of the cello maker.

How to Train Your Dragon By Cressida CowellRead by David TennantHiccup Horrendous Haddock III, was a truly extraordinary Viking Hero. Warrior chieftain, awesome sword-fighter and amateur naturalist, he was known throughout Vikingdom as 'the Dragon Whisperer', on account of his amazing power over these terrifying beasts.But it wasn't always like that. In fact, in the beginning, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was the most put upon Viking you'd ever seen. Not loud enough to make himself heard at dinner with his father, Stoick the Vast; not hard enough to beat his chief rival, Snotlout, at Bashyball, the number one school sport and CERTAINLY not stupid enough to go into a cave full of dragons to find a pet ...

Darcy BurdockBy Laura DockrillRead by Laura DockrillTen-year-old Darcy Burdock is one of life's noticers. Curious, smart-as-a-whip, funny and fiercely loyal, she sees the extraordinary in the everyday and the wonder in the world around her. In this first book, we are introduced to her family: Mum, who Darcy loves as much as her favourite fried egg and chips, Dad, who is kind and fair if a bit hopeless, and little siblings Hector and Poppy, who Darcy likes dressing up in ridiculous outfits and having dance-offs with, respectively. Plus there's her non-bleating pet lamb, Lamb-Beth and best friend, Will, to have adventures with.Darcy learns that turning into an angrosaurus-rex and causing chaos just gets her in trouble, trying to run away from home with a reluctant lamb in tow leads to sore kneebows, it's best not to throw a massive strop just before your surprise birthday party, Hallowe'en is all about spider costumes and having a pumpkin with a wonky eye, and if she's ever in a situation at home or at school where she's not sure what to do, she should write a story around it and the truth will be illuminated by her imagination.

Grandpa's Great EscapeBy David WalliamsRead by David Walliams & Michael GambonJack’s Grandpa… *Wears his slippers to the supermarket *Serves up Spam a la Custard for dinner *and often doesn’t remember Jack’s name But he can still take to the skies in a speeding Spitfire and save the day… An exquisite portrait of the bond between a small boy and his beloved Grandpa – this book takes readers on an incredible journey wit Spitfires over London and Great Escapes through the city in a high octane adventure full of comedy and heart.

Murder Most UnladylikeBy Robin StevensRead by Gemma ChanWhen Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong set up their very own secret detective agency at Deepdean School for Girls, they struggle to find any truly exciting mysteries to investigate. (Unless you count the case of Lavinia's missing tie. Which they don't.) Then Hazel discovers the Science Mistress, Miss Bell, lying dead in the gym. She assumes it was a terrible accident - but when she and Daisy return five minutes later, the body has disappeared. Now Hazel and Daisy not only have a murder to solve; they have to prove one happened in the first place. Determined to get to the bottom of the crime before the killer strikes again (and before the police can get there first, naturally), Hazel and Daisy must hunt for evidence, spy on their suspects and use all the cunning and intuition they can muster. But will they succeed? And can their friendship stand the test?

Percy Jackson and the Lightning ThiefBy Rick RiordanRead by Jesse Bernstein"Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood. I never asked to be the son of a Greek God. I was just a normal kid, going to school, playing basketball, skateboarding. The usual. Until I accidentally vaporized my maths teacher. That's when things started really going wrong. Now I spend my time fighting with swords, battling monsters with my friends, and generally trying to stay alive. This is the one where Zeus, God of the Sky, thinks I've stolen his lightning bolt - and making Zeus angry is a very bad idea."Can Percy find the lightning bolt before a fully-fledged war of the Gods erupts?

George's Marvellous MedicineBy Roald DahlRead by Derek JacobiGeorge Kranky is eight years old and wondering what sort of mischief he might get into. George's Grandma is a grizzly old grouch and George wants to teach her a lesson.... And when Grandma's finished drinking George's marvellous medicine, she'll really have something to grumble about.

SkelligBy David AlmondRead by David AlmondWhen a move to a new house coincides with his baby sister's illness, Michael's world seems suddenly lonely and uncertain.Then, one Sunday afternoon, he stumbles into the old, ramshackle garage of his new home, and finds something magical. A strange creature - part owl, part angel, a being who needs Michael's help if he is to survive. With his new friend Mina, Michael nourishes Skellig back to health, while his baby sister languishes in the hospital. But Skellig is far more than he at first appears, and as he helps Michael breathe life into his tiny sister, Michael's world changes for ever . . .

Marge in ChargeBy Isla FisherRead by Isla FisherMeet Marge, the mischievous babysitter with rainbow hair who loves to make a mess and bend the rules ...At dinnertime Chef Marge cooks up chocolate soup, and at school Marge the Musician conducts a chaotic concert in the playground! In these three stories, Jake and Jemima have brilliant fun with their new babysitter, but will they manage to tick off all the jobs on Mummy's list? The first in a fresh, fun, family - friendly series written by actor and comedian Isla Fisher. Hold onto your rollerskates because Marge is in charge!

Ottoline and the Yellow CatBy Chris RiddellRead by Roni AnconaIntroducing Miss Ottoline Brown, an exceptionally inquisitive Mistress of Disguise, and her partner in crime, Mr. Munroe. No puzzle is ever too tricky for the two of them to solve . . .Ottoline lives in a stylish apartment in Big City with a small hairy creature called Mr. Munroe. Together they look after the Brown family's eclectic collections - and dabble in a spot of detective work. So they are the first to the scene of the crime when a string of high-society dog-nappings and jewel thefts hits Big City. Ottoline (who luckily has a diploma from the Who-R-U Academy of Disguise) and Mr. Munroe go undercover - and expose an ingenious scam masterminded by furry feline crook, the Yellow Cat.

Flying Fergus: The Best Birthday BikeBy Chris HoyRead by Chris HoyThe first in a fantastically fun, magical cycling adventure series from Sir Chris Hoy. Fergus Hamilton, a boy who always dreams big, gets a rusty old bike for his ninth birthday from his mum and granddad. It's not the flashy Sullivan Swift he'd longed for - but when it's all cleaned up and he takes it for a test run, he discovers something amazing. When the pedals turn backwards, Fergus and his dog, Chimp, are magically transported to Nevermore, a land where cycling is banned by the wicked King Woebegot

Paddington Takes the TestBy Michael BondRead by Hugh Bonneville ‘ALL THIS COULD BE YOURS!’ Paddington read on the glossy leaflet showing a large, sleek, silver-grey car. It took him a long time to eat fifteen packets of currants in order to enter the competition. And the Rolls-Royce he’d expected to win turned out to be one of ten thousand consolation prizes – a bookmark! Then Paddington finds himself taking a driving test and, much to his amazement, is presented with a license allowing him to drive a rather unusual vehicle.

The Famous Five: Five on a Treasure IslandBy Enid BlytonRead by Jan FrancisJulian, Dick and Anne are spending the holidays with their tomboy cousin George and her dog, Timothy. One day, George takes them to explore nearby Kirrin Island, with its rocky little coast and old ruined castle on the top.Over on the island, they make a thrilling discovery, which leads them deep into the dungeons of Kirrin Castle on a dangerous adventure. Who - and what - will they find there?

The Diary of Dennis the MenaceBy Steven ButlerRead by Steven ButlerThe Diary of Dennis the Menace gives listeners the inside story on every cheeky trick and prank played by the star of The Beano. Written and read by Roald Dahl Funny Prize-shortlisted author of The Wrong Pong series, Steven Butler, this hilarious book will delight Beano fans. Meet Dennis, Gnasher, and friends (and enemies!) and explore Beanotown with Dennis as your guide. This is a brilliant celebration of classic British comedy in the year that The Beano celebrates 75 years.

The Worst WitchBy Jill MurphyRead by Gemma ArtertonHold on to your broom for magical mayhem! Lovable but disaster-prone Mildred Hubble is a trainee at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches, but she's making an awful mess of it. She keeps getting her spells wrong and crashing her broomstick. Yet she manages to get by until she turns Ethel, the teacher's pet, into her deadly enemy and chaos ensues....

Revolting RhymesBy Roald DahlRead by Tamsin GreigYou can think again if you thought you knew the stories of some of the most popular fairy tales. Here are six of the best known retold, with more than a twist or two, by the master of the comic and the blood-curdling.

The Hundred-Mile-An-Hour DogBy Jeremy StrongRead by Martin ClunesStreaker is a mixed-up kind of dog . . .with quite a bit of Ferrari and a large chunk of whirlwind .Trevor's mum has offered him £30 to walk the dog every day of the holidays. But Streaker is no ordinary dog; she's a rocket on four legs with a woof attached! Trevor enlists the help of best friend, Tina, to keep Streaker under control - with some hilarious results! Laugh your socks off with this lively, funny adventure story full of larger-than-life characters for younger listeners. Brilliantly narrated by comic actor Martin Clunes.

Meerkat MailBy Emily GravettIllustrated by Emily GravettRead by John SessionsSunny the meerkat lives with his enormous family in the Kalahari desert. They are all very close . . . so close, in fact, that one day Sunny decides it's just too crowded and packs his bags. He's off to visit his mongoose cousins. But from the watery world of the Marsh Mongoose to the nocturnal lifestyle of the Malagasy Mongoose, Sunny just doesn't fit in. And who's that shadowy figure who seems to be following him around?There's so much to enjoy, from the newspaper cuttings on the endpapers to the wittily accurate information about each mongoose species Sunny visits on his journey. With seven giant glossy postcards attached to the pages, this beautiful book is rich with comic detail and will keep any meerkat fan entertained for hours.

The Giant of JumBy Elli WoollardIllustrated by Benji DaviesRead by Stephen Mangan"Fee!" he said, and "Fi!" he said, and "Fo!" he said and "Fum!"Look out children, the Giant of Jum is grumpy and hungry and he's off in search of a tasty snack. And the tastiest of all is a boy called Jack! But Jack and his friends don't see a scary giant, they see a magically tall man - a man who can fetch lost balls and rescue cats from trees! Perhaps this hungry giant is softer than he seems... An incredible rhyming text and a brilliant, big-hearted twist on a classic fairy tale, from the uniquely talented author and poet, Elli Woollard, and award-winning illustrator, Benji Davies.The Giant of Jum also contains an important message for all: don't eat kids, eat cake!

Aliens Love UnderpantsBy Claire FreedmanIllustrated by Ben CortRead by Rik MayallAliens love underpants, in every shape and size! First published in 2007, Claire Freedman and Ben Cort’s tale of knicker-snatching aliens was an instant hit and now this zany, hilarious tale is delightfully brought to life with an audio reading by the late, great Rik Mayall.

Five Minute's PeaceBy Jill MurphyIllustrated by Jill MurphyRead by Miriam MargolyesA modern picture book classic– there's never a dull moment with the Large Family!A family picture book favourite, this is the story of Mrs Large the elephant – who just needs five minutes of peace and quiet away from her boisterous children! So, taking refuge in the bathroom, she fills herself a hot, foamy bubble bath and takes in a tray of her favourite breakfast and the morning paper. But there’s never a dull moment with the Larges, and it soon becomes clear that mum's quiet time is to be very short-lived! Read aloud by award-winning actress Miriam Margoyles, family life is beautifully observed in this warm and funny modern classic from Jill Murphy, one of Britain's most treasured author-illustrators.

Where Are You Blue Kangaroo?By Emma Chichester ClarkRead by Joanna LumleyLily loves Blue Kangaroo, but sometimes he disappears and Lily says, “Where are you, Blue Kangaroo?” And Blue Kangaroo waits for Lily to find him…

The Hueys in the New JumperBy Oliver JeffersRead by Jarvis CockerThe things about the Hueys is that they are all the same. They all look the same, think the same and do the same things. Until one day, Rupert Knits himself a new jumper…. How will the other Hueys react? A hilarious story about individuality.

Winnie and Wilbur: Winnie the WitchBy Valerie ThomasIllustrations by Korky PaulRead by Berny StringleWinnie the Witch lives in a black house. She has black chairs and black stairs, black floors and black doors. Winnie’s cat Wilbur is black, too. And that is how the trouble begins!

Hugless DouglasBy David MellingRead by Alan DaviesHugless Douglas is a huggable, lovable young brown bear who wakes up one morning in need of a hug. He goes to try and find one but none of them seem quite right. Join Douglas on his search for the perfect bear hug!

Wanted! Ralfy Rabbit Book Burglar By Emily MacKenzie Read by Lenny HenryMeet Ralfy, a very unusual rabbit, with a passion for . . . books! Some rabbits dream about lettuces and carrots, others dream of flowering meadows and juicy dandelions, but Ralfy dreams only of books. In fact, he doesn’t just dream about them, he wants to read them ALL THE TIME. Soon his obsession sends him spiralling into a life of crime! A book all about the love of reading and the importance of libraries from the hugely talented Emily MacKenzie.