Bloomsbury Publishing

It is Twink's Autumn term in her second year at Glitterwings Academy, and there is another new girl in Bluebell Branch now that Lola has moved out. She seems nice enough. But Twink has to think very carefully about the nature of friendship and loyalty when the new girl starts being extremely friendly with Bimi. Will the new girl take Twink's best friend away from her? Glitterwings Academy is a lovingly created series by acclaimed author Lee Weatherly, writing as Titania Woods. Readers of the series can be assured of accomplished narrative, as well as stylish and exciting illustration.

It is the Winter term in Twink's second year at Glitterwings, which means the all-important Seedling Exams are just round the corner; these are the exams that will indicate the sort of career that all young fairies should follow. Twink is determined to be an animal medic and follow in her parents' footsteps. But as she continues to take the Creature Kindness classes, she realises that she isn't quite as good at the lessons as she thought she was. And that actually she rather enjoys the Flower Power lessons. But what will her parents say if she announces she would rather work with plants than animals? Won't they be terribly disappointed? Twink has some difficult decisions to make. Glitterwings Academy is a lovingly created series by acclaimed author Lee Weatherly, writing as Titania Woods. Readers of the series can be assured of accomplished narrative, as well as stylish and exciting illustration.

It is the Christmas holidays and Twink is in the forest. To her horror the tree that she is sitting in is cut down and taken away to a human house! Twink watches with astonishment as the tree is lovingly decorated with all sorts of pretty ornaments. Twink can't understand why anybody would cut a tree down and then decorate it so prettily. But Twink's main concern now is how on earth she is going to get back to the forest and home Glitterwings Academy is a lovingly created series by acclaimed author Lee Weatherly, writing as Titania Woods. Readers of the whole series can be assured of accomplished narrative, as well as stylish and exciting illustration.

Cameron Silver runs the most glamorous boutique in LA, where Hollywood royalty go to find vintage couture that is totally unique and utterly timeless. He is an expert at taking the finest clothing from the past and giving it a second life — and this is what Decades is all about. You won't find any frumpiness in this story of twentieth century style and innovation. Instead, prepare to have your fashion stereotypes turned upside-down. Because the Edwardians weren't all buttoned up, the ubiquitous Audrey Hepburn wasn't the only fashion icon of the fifties, and yes, it was actually possible to dress with elegance in the eighties. The book is a showcase of the past hundred years of fashion, decade by decade. Cameron's witty commentary of twentieth century dressing is both perceptive and funny. Each chapter opens with a pair of women who epitomise rival hot trends, like the luminous Cheryl Tiegs with her sunshine sexiness versus Bianca Jagger, the dark disco goddess of Studio 54. The chapters close with a designer of the decade: think Chanel, YSL and Dior at their most fabulous. Every one of the more than 150 photographs in the book is completely contemporary and modern-looking, even as far back as the 1900s. There are rare and previously unpublished images, as well as work by legendary fashion photographers. Decades tells an international story with designers from Milan, Tokyo, London, Paris and New York all strutting their stuff. It's a bubbling, sassy, fabulous book that will make you think about vintage fashion in a totally new way.

Far away, in the ancient empire of Greater Fallowfields, things are falling apart. The imperial orchestra is presided over by a conductor who has never played a note, the clocks are changed constantly to ensure that the sun always sets at five o' clock, and the Astronomer Royal is only able to use the observatory telescope when he can find a sixpence to put in its slot. But while the kingdom drifts, awaiting the return of the young emperor, who has gone abroad and communicates only by penny post, a sinister and unfamiliar enemy is getting closer and closer... A Cruel Bird Came to the Nest and Looked In is a surreal portrait of a world that, although strange and distant, contains rather too many similarities to our own for the alien not to become brilliantly familiar and disturbingly close to home. It is comic writing at its best — and it is Magnus Mills's most ambitious, enjoyable and rewarding novel to date.

In 1962, when Walter Cousins sleeps with his British au pair, Diane Burroughs, he can have no sense of the magnitude of his error: this brief affair sets in motion a tragedy of epic proportions, upending Sophocles's immortal tale of fate, free will, and forbidden desire. At the centre is Ed King, an infant given up for adoption who becomes one of the world's most powerful men. But beneath the gripping story of Ed's seemingly inexorable rise to fame and fortune is a dark and unsettling destiny, one that approaches with ever-increasing suspense as the novel reaches its shattering conclusion.

Newly arrived from Ghana with his mother and older sister, eleven-year-old Harrison Opoku lives on the ninth floor of a block of flats on a London housing estate. The second best runner in the whole of Year 7, Harri races through his new life in his personalised trainers — the Adidas stripes drawn on with marker pen — blissfully unaware of the very real threat all around him. With equal fascination for the local gang — the Dell Farm Crew — and the pigeon who visits his balcony, Harri absorbs the many strange elements of his new life in England: watching, listening, and learning the tricks of inner-city survival. But when a boy is knifed to death on the high street and a police appeal for witnesses draws only silence, Harri decides to start a murder investigation of his own. In doing so, he unwittingly endangers the fragile web his mother has spun around her family to try and keep them safe. A story of innocence and experience, hope and harsh reality, Pigeon English is a spellbinding portrayal of a boy balancing on the edge of manhood and of the forces around him that try to shape the way he falls.

Filled with fabulous photographs, this book is a stunning fashion retrospective of the iconic and well-loved rock star. Apart from documenting five decades of Bowie's unique sense of style, it also discusses the cultural and artistic influences that have shaped him, and how he has influenced others in turn.

Billy is a street urchin, pickpocket and petty thief. Mr Creecher is a monstrous giant of a man who terrifies all he meets. Their relationship begins as pure convenience. But a bond swiftly develops between these two misfits as their bloody journey takes them ever northwards on the trail of their target... Victor Frankenstein. Friendship, trust and betrayal form a dangerous liaison in this moving and frightening new book from Chris Priestley.

Snow has arrived on Wimbledon Common! The young Wombles, including Bungo, Orinoco and Tomsk, can't wait to start sledging, making snow Wombles and generally having fun in the snow. Then one particular Womble decides to play a snowy trick on the small Wombles... A funny, warm picture book, perfect to curl up with on a cold Christmas night.

Action-packed fantasy romance with a heroine as deadly as she is beautiful, in a world where either fact could make her fortune or seal her fate. Celaena Sardothien is a daredevil assassin with unrivalled fighting skills. After a year's hard labour in the salt mines of the kingdom of Endovier, Celaena is offered her freedom on one condition — she must fight as handsome Prince Dorian's champion in a contest sponsored by the king, facing the deadliest thieves and assassins in the land in a series of set-piece battles in the country's stunning glass palace. But there is more at stake than even her life — for Celaena is destined for a remarkable future...

Bloomsbury is proud to be the global publisher of In Darkness, a stunning tour-de-force set in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake. Shorty is a Haitian boy trapped in the ruins of a hospital when the earth explodes around him. Surrounded by lifeless bodies and growing desperately weak from lack of food and water, death seems imminent. Yet as Shorty waits in darkness for a rescue that may never come, he becomes aware of another presence, one reaching out to him across two hundred years of history. It is the presence of slave and revolutionary leader Toussaint L'Ouverture, whose life was marred by violence, and whose own end came in darkness. What unites a child of the slums with the man who would shake a troubled country out of slavery? Is it the darkness they share... or is it hope? Raw, harrowing, and peopled with vibrant characters, In Darkness is an extraordinary book about the cruelties of man and nature, and the valiant, ongoing struggle for a country's very survival.

Deep in the forest, a very large and very selfish crocodile shouts, 'Stay away from my river! If you come in my river, I'll eat you all'. All the animals are thirsty and frightened — until one day... Put the jigsaw puzzles together to discover how the animals solve their snappy dilemma! This fantastic jigsaw storybook includes six puzzles with press-out pieces that neatly fit back into the book to be used again and again.

Greece in the age of Heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the kingdom of Phthia. Here he is nobody, just another unwanted boy living in the shadow of King Peleus and his golden son, Achilles. Achilles, 'best of all the Greeks', is everything Patroclus is not — strong, beautiful, the child of a goddess — and by all rights their paths should never cross. Yet one day, Achilles takes the shamed prince under his wing and soon their tentative companionship gives way to a steadfast friendship. As they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into something far deeper — despite the displeasure of Achilles's mother Thetis, a cruel and deathly pale sea goddess with a hatred of mortals. Fate is never far from the heels of Achilles. When word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, the men of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows Achilles into war, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they have learned, everything they hold dear. And that, before he is ready, he will be forced to surrender his friend to the hands of Fate. Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart.

When oxygen levels plunge in a treeless world, a state lottery decides which lucky few will live inside the Pod. Everyone else will slowly suffocate. Years after the Switch, life inside the Pod has moved on. A poor Auxiliary class cannot afford the oxygen tax which supplies extra air for running, dancing and sports. The rich Premiums, by contrast, are healthy and strong. Anyone who opposes the regime is labelled a terrorist and ejected from the Pod to die. Sixteen-year-old Alina is part of the secret resistance, but when a mission goes wrong she is forced to escape from the Pod. With only two days of oxygen in her tank, she too faces the terrifying prospect of death by suffocation. Her only hope is to find the mythical Grove, a small enclave of trees protected by a hardcore band of rebels. Does it even exist, and if so, what or who are they protecting the trees from? A dystopian thriller about courage and freedom, with a love story at its heart.

When Coraline moves with her parents to a new house she is fascinated by the fact that their 'house' is only half of the building! Divided into flats years ago, there is a brick wall behind a door where once there was a corridor. Coraline, being an inquisitive and bored girl, opens the door one day to find that the wall has gone and in its place is a corridor. As she wanders down it little does she know a nightmare-ish mystery is beginning for her, one that takes her into the arms of alternate parents who are strangely like her own and a family life that seems almost normal — but just isn't! Will Coraline ever find her way back to her real parents? Stephen King has called Neil Gaiman 'a treasure house of story'. In this wonderful novel, which has been likened to both Alice in Wonderland and the Narnia Chronicles, we get to see Neil at his storytelling best.

Last year J. Randy Taraborrelli wrote a bestselling book entitled The Secret Life of Marilyn. His is the most recent of dozens written since Marilyn's death in August of 1962 and yet the appetite for information about Marilyn is insatiable. No matter whether sensational or flawed, as most of these biographies have been, the fans always come out, in best-selling numbers. This time, with Lois Banner's Revelations, Marilyn's fans won't be disappointed. This is no re-tread of recycled material. As one of the founders of the field of women's history, Lois Banner reveals Marilyn Monroe in the way that only a top-notch historian and biographer could. Banner appreciates the complexities of Monroe's personal life in the context of her achievements as an actor, singer, dancer, comedian, model and courtesan. And the new information she unearths is revelatory. Banner's credentials opened doors and she has access to material no one else has seen, from the so called Rosetta stones of Monroe research (two large file cabinets filled with a trove of personal papers), to an interview with a member of the Kennedy secret service detail who shared what he witnessed for the first time, to facts and anecdotes about her childhood and her death and every stage of her life in between that were either missed or ignored or misinterpreted. Like her art, Marilyn's self was rooted in paradox: she was a powerful star and a child-like waif, a joyful, irreverent party girl with a deeply spiritual side; a superb friend and a narcisist; a dumb blonde and an intellectual. No biographer before has attempted to analyze — much less realized — most of these aspects of her personality. Lois Banner has.

The British Empire was the creation of a tremendous outpouring of energy and opportunism, when the British were at their most self-confident, and the wealth they gathered was prodigious. At its heart lay a sense of the rectitude of the British way of life, meted out to vast swathes of the rest of the world without let or hindrance. Yet, as this book shows, the empire was not formed by coherent policy, and its decline reflected this: its later years were characterised by a series of accidental oversights, decisions taken without due consideration for the consequences, and uncertain pragmatism. Many of the world's trouble spots are those left behind by the chaotic retreat of empire, and its ghosts continue to haunt today's international scene. The problems the empire encountered have still not been resolved and in Iraq, Kashmir, Burma, Sudan, Nigeria and Hong Kong new difficulties have arisen which continue to baffle politicians and diplomats. This powerful new book addresses the realities of the British Empire from its inception to its demise, questioning the nature of its glory and cataloguing both the inadequacies of its ideals and the short-termism of its actions.

The ultimate Christmas activity book! Packed full of festive activities and stickers for hours of holiday fun. Bloomsbury Activity Books is an exciting new Bloomsbury brand designed to provide hours of colouring, doodling, stickering and activity fun for boys and girls alike. Every book includes enchanting, bright and beautiful illustrations which children and parents will find very hard to resist. Perfect for providing entertainment at home or on the move!

Through a highly original and detailed analysis of the memoirs, interviews and other life writings of Poiret, Dior and Schiaparelli, this book explores changing notions of femininity in the early decades of the 20th century, when the democratization of fashion began. Examining the idea of modernity, eternity and the ephemeral in the writings of these haute couturiers, the book reflects on fashion's ambivalent approach to women, which both celebrated and vilified them, presenting them as both ultra modern style leaders and irrational creatures stuck in the past. This fascinating text is key reading for scholars and students of fashion, gender studies, cultural studies and history.

This brilliant little book of Christmas is packed full of activities and stickers for hours of festive fun. From mazes and puzzles through to colouring and picture sudoku, this is the ultimate Christmas activity book! Bloomsbury Activity Books is an exciting new Bloomsbury brand designed to provide hours of colouring, doodling, stickering and activity fun for boys and girls alike. Every book includes enchanting, bright and beautiful illustrations which children and parents will find very hard to resist. Perfect for providing entertainment at home or on the move!

Amy Chua's daughters, Sophia and Louisa (Lulu) were polite, interesting and helpful, they had perfect school marks and exceptional musical abilities. The Chinese-parenting model certainly seemed to produce results. But what happens when you do not tolerate disobedience and are confronted by a screaming child who would sooner freeze outside in the cold than be forced to play the piano? Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is a story about a mother, two daughters, and two dogs. It was supposed to be a story of how Chinese parents are better at raising kids than Western ones. But instead, it's about a bitter clash of cultures, a fleeting taste of glory, and how you can be humbled by a thirteen-year-old. Witty, entertaining and provocative, this is a unique and important book that will transform your perspective of parenting forever.

Since fossils first revealed a prehistoric world filled with Terrible Lizards, humans have been fascinated by dinosaurs. This fantastic volume packs in every intriguing dinosaur fact from their evolution to extinction — with pictures — for a riveting and funny experience. What could possibly be larger than a Giganotosaurus? Discover the biggest, deadliest, fastest and stupidest dinosaurs (although they were all fairly stupid). Learn what Earth would have looked like, how fossils have revealed the past, and which dinosaur descendants have survived to the present day.

Jess is in a fix. She has to write a letter to Edouard, her French exchange, before he comes to visit, and her normal ability to write charismatic, charming and seductive letters has deserted her. But there is an even worse problem. She has to send a photo. The idea fills Jess with a special sort of fear. But she has a solution — a digitally enhanced solution — and who better to ask to help than her best mate Fred! Fans will lap up this prequel as it charts Fred and Jess's relationship — and Jess's relationships with others — before Fred and Jess actually get together. The whole book sparkles with Sue Limb's characteristic wit and humour, and will send fans racing to read the rest of the books in the series.