Hodder&Stoughton

I love you, Father Christmas, In your big red suit, With your bright silver buckle And your black shiny boots. The excitement of Christmas is perfectly captured through one little boy's boundless enthusiasm. The joyful rhyme and bold, stylish art make this a must-have book for anyone — big or small — who can't wait for Father Christmas to set off on his sleigh.

This bright, bold, rhyming story from the creator of the bestselling Hugless Douglas is a wonderfully funny introduction to weather for the very young and great to read aloud. Follow the hilarious pogo-stick loving bunnies through rain, wind, ice and snow. Whatever the weather, the funny bunnies always play together! Praise for Hugless Douglas: 'A new Hugless Douglas book is always a cause for celebration. The Daily Mail Hugless Douglas has been selected as a World Book Day picture book in 2014.

This bright, bold rhyming story from the creator of the bestselling Hugless Douglas is a wonderfully funny introduction to opposites for the very young and great to read aloud. Follow these hilarious pogo-stick loving bunnies through their crazy day. These bunnies go up and these bunnies go down. Sometimes they're funny and sometimes they frown! Praise for Hugless Douglas: 'A new Hugless Douglas book is always a cause for celebration.' Daily Mail Hugless Douglas has been selected as a World Book Day picture book in 2014.

This action-packed sticker activity book is based on the new DreamWorks Animation film and features all of your favourite How to Train Your Dragon 2 characters. Join Hiccup and Toothless in the skies of Berk! Five years after Hiccup has successfully united Vikings and dragons in Berk, his friends are competing against each other in highly competitive dragon races whilst he and Toothless explore new lands. Is Berk ready for what they find? This exciting activity book is packed with sticker quizzes, games and puzzle fun. Try your hand at dragon racing, create your own dragon and even launch a rescue mission! How to Train Your Dragon 2 is due for release in July 2014.

In this completely revised and updated edition of international bestseller WATCHING THE ENGLISH, anthropologist Kate Fox takes a revealing look at the quirks, habits and foibles of the English people. Now with new survey data to add weight to her original fieldwork findings, and more extensive field-research and experiments to back up earlier observations, Kate Fox has deciphered yet more enigmatic behaviour codes, adding new rules, new subcultures, new chapters and over 100 updates. If you're English, this new edition of Kate Fox's acclaimed international bestseller will make you stand back and re-examine everything you take for granted — and if you aren't English you'll finally understand all our peculiar little ways. WATCHING THE ENGLISH has sold more than half a million copies and has been translated into many languages. Not only a worldwide bestseller, but also a set text for university anthropology courses, WATCHING THE ENGLISH has been widely praised as a revealing and entertaining dissection of the English national character.

An utterly gripping thriller from bestselling author Lauren Oliver. Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a poor town of twelve thousand people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do. Heather never thought she would compete in panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She'd never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought. Dodge has never been afraid of panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game; he's sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he's not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for. For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them-and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most. In this gritty, spellbinding novel, bestselling author Lauren Oliver delivers a gripping narrative of friendship, courage, survival, and hope.

A cat-and-mouse suspense thriller featuring a retired homicide detective who's haunted by the few cases he left open, and by one in particular — the pre-dawn slaughter of eight people among hundreds gathered in line for the opening of a jobs fair when the economy was guttering out. Without warning, a lone driver ploughed through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes. The plot is kicked into gear when Bill Hodges receives a letter in the mail, from a man claiming to be the perpetrator. He taunts Hodges with the notion that he will strike again. Hodges wakes up from his depressed and vacant retirement, hell-bent on preventing that from happening. Brady Hartfield lives with his alcoholic mother in the house where he was born. And he's preparing to kill again. Only Hodges, with a couple of misfit friends, can apprehend the killer in this high-stakes race against time. Because Brady's next mission, if it succeeds, will kill or maim hundreds, even thousands.

The official inside story of the life, death and remarkable discovery of history's most controversial monarch. On 22 August 1485 Richard III was killed at Bosworth Field, the last king of England to die in battle. His victorious opponent, Henry Tudor (the future Henry VII), went on to found one of our most famous ruling dynasties. Richard's body was displayed in undignified fashion for two days in nearby Leicester and then hurriedly buried in the church of the Greyfriars. Fifty years later, at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries, the king's grave was lost — its contents believed to be emptied into the river Soar — and Richard III's reputation buried under a mound of Tudor propaganda. Its culmination was Shakespeare's compelling portrayal of a deformed and murderous villain, written over a hundred years after Richard's death. Now — in an incredible find — Richard III's remains have been uncovered beneath a car park in Leicester. The King's Grave traces this remarkable journey. In alternate chapters, Philippa Langley, whose years of research and belief that she would find Richard in this exact spot inspired the project, reveals the inside story of the search for the king's grave, and historian Michael Jones tells of Richard's fifteenth-century life and death. The result is a compelling portrayal of one of our greatest archaeological discoveries, allowing a complete re-evaluation of our most controversial monarch — one that discards the distortions of later Tudor histories and puts the man firmly back into the context of his times.

Jake Brigance has never met Seth Hubbard, or even heard of him, until the old man's suicide note names him attorney for his estate. The will is dynamite. Seth has left ninety per cent of his vast, secret fortune to his housemaid. The vultures are circling even before the body is cold: the only subject more incendiary than money in Ford County is race, and this case has both. AS the relatives contest the will, and unscrupulous lawyers hasten to benefit, Jake searches for answers to the many questions left by Seth Hubbard's death: What made him write that last-minute will leaving everything to a poor black woman named Lettie Lang? Why did he choose to kill himself on the desolate piece of land known as Sycamore Row? And what was it that Seth and his brother witnessed as children that, in his words, 'no human should ever see'? In the long-awaited successor to the novel that launched his phenomenal career, John Grisham brings us the powerful sequel to A Time to Kill. As filled with page-turning twists as it is with legal mastery, Sycamore Row proves beyond doubt that John Grisham is in a league of his own.

'It reads like fiction, but it is, astonishingly, history.' — The Times In 1917, an eccentric band of British spies is smuggled into newly-Soviet Russia. Their goal? To defeat Lenin's plan to destroy British India and bring down the democracies of the West. These extraordinary spies, led by Mansfield Cumming, proved brilliantly successful. They found a wholly new way to deal with enemies, one that relied on espionage and dirty tricks rather than warfare. They were the unsung founders of today's modern, highly professional secret services. They were also the inspiration for fictional heroes to follow, from James Bond to Jason Bourne.

Welcome to the world of infographics! This exciting form of data visualisation uses icons, pictograms and graphics to present information to kids in a whole new way. Marvel at amazing facts about the world of animals — all visualised in beautifully designed infographics.

Say hello to Snip and Snap — two busy, funny and engaging crocodile friends. They might look the same, but they like very different things: Snip likes blue but Snap prefers red; Snip loves fruit while Snap would always rather have cake! Today, Snip and Snap are planning to go out for a picnic. But while Snap is ready for any kind of weather, Snip just doesn't know what to wear! Will the pair ever get to enjoy their picnic treat? A bright, fun-filled introduction to the weather with sturdy flaps to lift and a fantastic fold-out ending.

LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2014 One drowsy summer's day in 1984, teenage runaway Holly Sykes encounters a strange woman who offers a small kindness in exchange for 'asylum'. Decades will pass before Holly understands exactly what sort of asylum the woman was seeking... The Bone Clocks follows the twists and turns of Holly's life from a scarred adolescence in Gravesend to old age on Ireland's Atlantic coast as Europe's oil supply dries up — a life not so far out of the ordinary, yet punctuated by flashes of precognition, visits from people who emerge from thin air and brief lapses in the laws of reality. For Holly Sykes — daughter, sister, mother, guardian — is also an unwitting player in a murderous feud played out in the shadows and margins of our world, and may prove to be its decisive weapon. Metaphysical thriller, meditation on mortality and chronicle of our self-devouring times, this kaleidoscopic novel crackles with the invention and wit that have made David Mitchell one of the most celebrated writers of his generation. Here is fiction at its most spellbinding and memorable best.

You wait, desperately, for news of your daughter. At last, the door opens. But it is not the negotiators, or the FBI. It is her kidnapper. And he has a gun... Two days ago, life was normal. How did it end like this? Every crime scene begins at the end. To know what happened, you must work backwards, piecing together the events that came before. The ultimate thriller writer, Jeffery Deaver puts your brain — and your nerves — to the ultimate test with THE OCTOBER LIST, in a masterful mystery that unfolds from the end back to the beginning with many a breath-taking twist along the way.

In a small New England town, over half a century ago, a shadow falls over a small boy playing with his toy soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see a striking man, the new minister. Charles Jacobs, along with his beautiful wife, will transform the local church. The men and boys are all a bit in love with Mrs Jacobs; the women and girls feel the same about Reverend Jacobs — including Jamie's mother and beloved sister, Claire. With Jamie, the Reverend shares a deeper bond based on a secret obsession. When tragedy strikes the Jacobs family, this charismatic preacher curses God, mocks all religious belief, and is banished from the shocked town. Jamie has demons of his own. Wed to his guitar from the age of 13, he plays in bands across the country, living the nomadic lifestyle of bar-band rock and roll while fleeing from his family's horrific loss. In his mid-thirties — an addict, stranded, desperate — Jamie meets Charles Jacobs again, with profound consequences for both men. Their bond becomes a pact beyond even the Devil's devising, and Jamie discovers that revival has many meanings. This rich and disturbing novel spans five decades on its way to the most terrifying conclusion Stephen King has ever written. It's a masterpiece from King, in the great American tradition of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe.

'I was looking forward to us growing old together. Me and you, growing old and dying together.' 'Douglas, who in their right mind would look forward to that?' Douglas Petersen understands his wife's need to 'rediscover herself' now that their son is leaving home. He just thought they'd be doing their rediscovering together. So when Connie announces that she will be leaving, too, he resolves to make their last family holiday into the trip of a lifetime: one that will draw the three of them closer, and win the respect of his son. One that will make Connie fall in love with him all over again. The hotels are booked, the tickets bought, the itinerary planned and printed. What could possibly go wrong? David Nicholls brings to bear all the wit and intelligence that graced One Day in this brilliant, bittersweet new book, which will delight his fans and bring him many new readers. A novel about love and family, husbands and wives, parents and children, its publication will undoubtedly be one of the major events in the world of books in 2014.

Randall Munroe left NASA in 2005 to start up his hugely popular site XKCD 'a web comic of romance, sarcasm, math and language' which offers a witty take on the world of science and geeks. It's had over a billion page hits to date. A year ago Munroe set up a new section — What If — where he tackles a series of impossible questions: If your cells suddenly lost the power to divide, how long would you survive? How dangerous is it, really, in a pool in a thunderstorm? If we hooked turbines to people exercising in gyms, how much power could we produce? What if everyone only had one soulmate? From what height would you need to drop a steak to ensure it was cooked by the time it reached the ground? What would happen if the moon went away? This book gathers together the best entries along with lots of new gems. From The Lord of the Rings, Star Trek and the songs of Tim Minchin, through chemistry, geography and physics, Munroe leaves no stone unturned in his quest for knowledge. And his answers are witty and memorable and studded with hilarious cartoons and infographics. Far more than a book for geeks, WHAT IF explains the laws of science in operation in a way that every intelligent reader will enjoy and feel the smarter for having read.

This title looks at New Zealand through a variety of themes such as location, landscape and climate, population and health, settlements, family life, religion and beliefs, education and learning, employment and economy, industry and trade, farming and food, transport and communications, leisure and tourism and environment and wildlife. Includes maps, statistics panels and simple graphs and charts; and a topic web showing links with this series to other subject areas.

Welcome to the world of infographics! This exciting form of data visualisation uses icons, pictograms and graphics to present information to kids in a whole new way. Marvel at amazing facts about the countries of the world — all visualised in beautifully designed infographics.

It is Christmas Eve, and the Famous Five are very excited about their mountain of presents — even Timmy! But when Timmy barks furiously he is sent outside, leaving a thief free to steal all the presents. Can Timmy still manage to save the day? In addition to the 21 novels in the Famous Five series, Enid Blyton wrote a clutch of short stories based on the characters. These were published in magazines and were collected in the Famous Five Short Story Collection (Hodder). For the first time, the complete text of Happy Christmas, Five! appears in an individual volume, illustrated in full colour.

Over the past four years, Alex Ferguson has been reflecting on and jotting down the highlights of his extraordinary career, and here he reveals his amazing story as it unfolded, from his very early days in the tough shipyard areas of Govan. Sir Alex announced his retirement as manager of Manchester United after 27 years in the role. He has gone out in a blaze of glory, with United winning the Premier League for the 13th time, and he is widely considered to be the greatest manager in the history of British soccer. Over the last quarter of a century there have been seismic changes at Manchester United, with the only constant element the quality of the manager's league-winning squad and United's run of success, which included winning the Champions League for a second time in 2008. Sir Alex created a purposeful, but welcoming, and much envied culture at the club which has lasted the test of time. He discusses managing these seismic changes, and the growth of Man U as a global sports power. He shares the farewells to Roy Keane and David Beckham, describes the process of building a new Champions League side around Ronaldo and Rooney, and ruminates upon the great rivalries with Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, and City. He also shares his thoughts on the psychology of management, and his passions and interests outside the game.

The tenth novel in the critically acclaimed Lincoln Rhyme series, from Number One bestselling author Jeffery Deaver. Robert Velasquez, an American citizen living in South America, is shot in the Bahamas by a sniper. The killing was commissioned by the U.S. government, who received a tip-off that Velasquez was planning a terrorist attack on a U.S. oil company headquarters. But this intelligence was fatally incorrect: anti-American Velasquez ordered a protest at the oil company, not an attack. Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are drafted in to investigate. While Sachs traces Velasquez's steps in New York, Rhyme travels to the scene of the crime in Nassau, where he finds himself on a dangerous path trailed by the sniper himself. As details of the case start to emerge, the pair discover that not all is what it seemed. Can they achieve justice and escape with their lives intact?

In Cornwall, they have seen it rise: in an angel of death and endless, unseasonal snow. Across the ocean, on a remote Canadian island, the blood and offerings and smoke of England seem nothing more than distant rumours of hysteria. Until the girl disappears. And the whale comes. And The Plague spreads. And nothing is as it was before.

Jenna Metcalf was with her mother the night she disappeared in tragic and mysterious circumstances, but she remembers nothing. Over ten years have passed, and still Jenna reads and rereads her mother's journals, hoping to find some clue hidden there, in the meticulous recording of her scientific research with elephants. Desperate for answers, Jenna uses all her savings to recruit the aid of a private detective — and a psychic. Jenna knows her mother loved her. She knows she would not leave her. And she will not rest until she finds out what happened that night. In her most gripping mystery since House Rules, Jodi Picoult brings us a powerful story of a young girl's determination to uncover the truth, however shocking and life-changing it might be.