A two-level beginners' course for young children that integrates the teaching of phonics, reading, writing, and numeracy.

One of the worlds most successful primary courses, the Happy Series is a six-level course thats perfectly in step with your students development.

A two-level beginners' course for young children that integrates the teaching of phonics, reading, writing, and numeracy.

Includes: The Tinder-Box; The Princess and the Pea; Thumbelina; The Little Mermaid; The Emperor's New Clothes; The Steadfast Soldier; The Ugly Duckling; The Snow Queen; The Little Match-Girl.

Trust — our belief in the truth or reliability of someone or something — lies at the very heart of our relationships, our society and our everyday lives. Much of the time we take it for granted. And yet trust, or the lack of it, is becoming an increasingly prominent issue in public life: politicians say they want to rebuild trust in politics; people look for new ways to trust each other in a world where relationships are easier to start and harder than ever to sustain; and we are no longer sure how much we trust experts on issues like the safety of food or medicine. This short but thought-provoking book reveals why scientists, social scientists, and philosophers no longer take trust for granted. Beginning with some fascinating biological puzzles about the origins of trust — how cooperation can evolve from 'selfish genes', and how language could have evolved when 'words are cheap' and we have such a capacity to deceive each other — Marek Kohn explores many different perspectives from the fields of science, sociology, economics, and politics, to draw out the wider implications for trust in human society today. The book ends on a personal note, concluding that our material prosperity is not matched by the quality of our lives and relationships, but that, if we understand what makes trust possible, and why it matters, then we will live better lives in a fast-moving, fast-changing, globalized society.

This fascinating book tells the stories of the most dramatic, memorable, and important conflicts in world history, from Agincourt, Lepanto, and Trafalgar, to Gettysburg, Stalingrad, and the Somme. It begins with the battle of Megiddo fought by the ancient Egyptians and takes the reader through to the Second Gulf War of 2003. On the way it encompasses almost 300 battles from around the world — from the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, to Europe and the Americas. All the battles are grouped within chapters which tell the wider story of a particular era or region, for instance the ancient world or the Americas. Each chapter includes an informative introduction that sets out the historical, tactical, and technological context, and looks at current debates. Individual battles are placed clearly within the wars and campaigns of which they formed a part, making it possible for the reader to follow the details of the battle, and at the same time to understand its military and historical implications. Battlefield summarizes the very best of contemporary scholarship on battles and war in an accessible, engaging narrative. Detailed maps portray the course of famous battles and campaigns, and a range of illustrations — many from contemporary sources — bring the narrative to life. An extensive index gives the reader quick access to historical figures, locations, battle formations, and much more. This is an indispensable guide for history students, military enthusiasts, and professionals working in the field, and an ideal book for anyone with an interest in what Winston Churchill called 'punctuation marks in history'.

John Cox is dead, killed in an explosion while at work. His younger sister Hayley can't believe he's gone. Determined to see the place of his death, she flies to Moscow with John's fiancee, Annie-but the site they're shown isn't where John died. Suddenly it seems that there's more to his death than a tragic accident. Using a tracking system to locate John's mobile phone, Hayley and Annie find the real site of the explosion... but they are completely at the mercy of John's former Russian boss and his English speaking son, who have taken them there. Upon recovering the phone, it's clear that John is still alive. Meanwhile, in the Siberian forest, John is being nursed back from the brink of death by a village woman. As he slowly recovers he begins to piece together the truth: he's at the heart of a dangerous power struggle between two brothers who are desperate to silence him-for good.

Things at school have been looking up for Dinah, Harvey and Lloyd since their defeat of the villainous Demon Headmaster. The pupils are acting normally, and their new headmaster seems perfectly ordinary. Then the arrival of a new computer game, Octopus Dare, with its competition to find the Junior Computer Brain of the Year, sends ripples of excitement through the school. Only Harvey and his friend Ingrid refuse to get involved. Because ever since the game arrived all the other pupils-even Lloyd and Dinah-have become obsessed with it. Suddenly everyone is competing to win, but it's clever Dinah who makes it to the final. And though she is fixated with the game, she doesn't like the way it makes her feel... it's almost as if she's being hypnotized. Too late Dinah realizes that she's being used to access the private computer files of the Prime Minister-the daring new target of none other than the Demon Headmaster!

When Dinah is fostered by the Hunters she thinks her biggest problem will be fitting in with her foster-brothers, Lloyd and Harvey. However, once she starts at her new school it's clear that there's more to worry about. All the children, apart from a handful including Lloyd and Harvey, are too well-behaved-robotic almost-and oddly keen to please the creepy headmaster. The three children set out to discover the nature of his influence over everyone... but then Dinah finds herself saying and doing things she has no power over. Soon they uncover the headmaster's wicked plan. Controlling the school is just a practice run. He has set his sights on dominating the entire nation! The children must foil him before he succeeds... but with Dinah under his spell they've got a challenge on their hands.

Dinah, Lloyd and Harvey hoped they'd seen the last of the Demon Headmaster when they moved to a new village. However, almost immediately, they can tell something's not right about the place. There's a loud buzzing noise coming from the biogenetic research centre, and a creeper that grows extraordinarily fast. Why are the security guards so scary? And why does everybody in the village use exactly the same words to describe the research centre? Dinah becomes even more suspicious when someone pretending to be a doctor comes to their house, and manages to trick them into giving DNA samples... With the help of their new friend, Simon, the children investigate and find a way into the building. Inside, they discover a huge egg. Hatching from it is the result of an experiment conducted using Dinah's DNA-an experiment that is the work of the Demon Headmaster. This time, he's determined that no one will stand in the way of his plans!

Hunky Parker is the new craze. His drooling, dribbling pig face is everywhere: on T-shirts and badges, and there are even horrible pig-trotter trainers and pig-swill yogurts in the shops. But it's when the Hunky TV shows air nationally that the trouble really begins. Suddenly, people are going crazy for Hunky goods... and when the shops have sold out, dangerous rioting starts. Dinah and her friends are suspicious. Is it really just a trend, or is something more sinister afoot? Watching a Hunky video provides a valuable clue. Dinah and the rest of SPLAT set off in search of the real Hunky Parker. But someone is blocking them at every turn-someone who wants to keep the identity of Hunky Parker a secret... Someone who plans to control the entire nation! 'Gillian Cross's novels should be prescribed for all cases of reading reluctance among eight-to ten-year-olds. The Revenge of the Demon Headmaster has the same sort of appeal as 'Famous Five' or 'Secret Seven' novels.'

A dark, rainy day in Scotland, long ago. Returning from battle, Macbeth and his friend Banquo meet three witches. 'Macbeth, the king!' they say, but Macbeth is not a king, he is just a simple soldier. Macbeth and Banquo cannot forget the witches' words. Soon Macbeth is king, but his wife walks in her sleep at night, and dreams of blood. What lies in the future for Banquo? And how many people must die before Scotland finds peace once more?

Aeschylus is the first of the great Greek playwrights, and the four plays in this volume demonstrate the remarkable range of Greek tragedy. Persians is the only surviving tragedy to draw on contemporary history, the Greeks' extraordinary victory over Persia in 480 BC. The Persians' aggression is inhuman in scale, and offends the gods, but while celebrating the Greek triumph, Aeschylus also portrays the shock of the defeated with some compassion. In Seven Against Thebes a royal family is cursed with self-destruction, in a remorseless tragedy that anticipates the grandeur of the later Oresteia. Suppliants portrays the wretched plight of the daughters of Danaus, fleeing from enforced marriage; as refugees they seek protection, and must plead a moral and political case to gain it. And in Prometheus Bound, Prometheus is relentlessly persecuted by Zeus for benefitting mankind in defiance of the god. Christopher Collard's highly readable new translation is accompanied by an introduction that sets the plays in their original context, and together with the notes considers theatrical and poetic issues, as well as details of content and language.

Our self-image as moral, well-behaved creatures is dogged by scepticism, relativism, hypocrisy, and nihilism, by the fear that in a Godless world science has unmasked us as creatures fated by our genes to be selfish and tribalistic, or competitive and aggressive. In this 'sparklingly clear' (Guardian) introduction to ethics Simon Blackburn tackles the major moral questions surrounding birth, death, happiness, desire and freedom, showing us how we should think about the meaning of life, and how we should mistrust the soundbite-sized absolutes that often dominate moral debates.

Dickson McCunn, a respectable, newly retired grocer of romantic heart, plans a modest walking holiday in the hills of south-west Scotland. He meets a young English poet and, contrary to his better sense, finds himself in the thick of a plot involving the kidnapping of a Russian princess, who is held prisoner in the rambling mansion, Huntingtower. This modern fairy-tale is also a gripping adventure story, and in it Buchan introduces some of his best-loved characters, including the Gorbals Die-Hards, who reappear in later novels. He also paints a remarkable picture of a man rejuvenated by joining much younger comrades in a challenging and often dangerous fight against tyranny and fear.

Every day people come to Mason's store — old people, young people, men and women. From his office, and in the store, Mark watches them. And when they leave the store, he forgets them. Then one day a girl with red hair comes to the store, and everything changes for Mark. Now he can't forget the beautiful face, those green eyes, and that red hair...

It's a terrible problem — or it's really not as bad as people say. There will be sudden big changes — or slower changes that we can learn to live with. It means the end for many animals, people, even while islands — but will this happen soon, or hundereds of years from now? What is the true story about climate change? Why is it happening, and what can we do about it? If we learn about the past, then perhaps there will be time to make changes for the future...

Some call it football, some call it soccer, and to others it's the beautiful game. By and name, it's a sport with some fascinating stories. There is murder in Colombia, and a game that lasts for two days where many players never see the ball. There's the French writer who learnt lessons about life from playing football, and the women players who had to leave the club grounds because Women's football isn't nice. The cups, the leagues, the World Cup finals, the stars, the rules — they're all part of the world's favourite sport, the beautiful game.

The Man of Feeling (1771) is the foremost novel of sentiment in which the hero, Harley demonstrates his sensiblity in a series of episodes as he is tested against an uncaring world. This edition reprints Brian Vickerss authoritative text with a new introduction and notes discussing the work in the context of the Scottish Enlightenment and European sentimentalism.

If any man or woman should ask what I wish this romance... to be called, it is the Romance of the Rose, in which the whole art of love is contained. Guillaume de Lorris's own introduction to his allegorical account of the progress of a courtly love affair gives no indication of the eventual scale and scope of the work, which became the most popular and influential of all medieval romances. In the hands of Jean de Meun, who continued de Lorris's work, it assumed vast proportions and embraced almost every aspect of medieval life, from predestination to the right way to deal with premature hair-loss. This new translation into modern English, based on the French edition by Felix Lecoy, is intended as much for the general reader as for students of French and English literature.