"Go on an adventure with Owly and Wormy!"--Back cover of Volume 1

If there is anyone who should be the children's playwright laureate it is David Wood' (Evening Standard) The Owl and the Pussycat Went to See - '... the funniest, prettiest and most melodious children's show I have ever seen' (Guardian); The BFG - 'Any child not delighted by the BFG must have a head filled with squashed flies, and deserves to be fed for a year on disgustatious snozzcumbers' (Guardian); The Plotters of Cabbage Patch Corner - 'A milestone in children's entertainment' (Theatre Review); Save the Human - 'A first-rate show, it's colourful, entertaining and thought-provoking' (Sunderland Echo)

500 Essential Graphic Novels is an all-in-one guide to this exciting form of visual literature. Including more than 350 authors and 400 artists, this lush volume contains an essential mix of some of the finest visually-stunning stories of our time. From politically-charged non-fiction sagas to imaginative fantasy tales, this ultimate guide has something to satisfy everyone's taste. The first of its kind, this book focuses on each graphic novel separately, honing in on art technique, style and prose, plus an age rating system so parents will know what is suitable for their children. Chapters are divided by genre, complete with individual plot synopses and star-scaled reviews for each book, providing the reader with a concise and balanced understanding of today's best graphic novels.

General Knowledge Book

Lesley Day was born in a small village in Staffordshire, England. As a young girl she always wanted to write but it wasnt until her late forties that she started to write seriously. When she is not writing she enjoys oil painting as a way of relaxing.

Wonderfully Wordless: The 500 Most Recommended Graphic Novels and Picture Books is the first comprehensive best book guide to wordless picture books (and nearly wordless picture books). It is an indispensable resource for parents and teachers who love graphic storytelling or who recognize the value of these exceptional books in working with different types of students, particularly preschool, English as a Second Language (ESL), and special needs, and creative writers. Every age group will benefit from Wonderfully Wordless, from babies and toddlers encountering their first books, to elementary age children captivated by the popular fantasy and adventure themes, to teenagers attracted to graphic novels because of their more intense content and comic book format. Even adults who are not yet readers will benefit from this uniquely authoritative resource because it will provide a bridge to literacy and give them books that they can immediately share with their children. Wonderfully Wordless is the ultimate guide to wordless and almost wordless books. Its 500 exemplary titles are a composite of 140 sources including recommendations from reference books, award lists, book reviews, professional journals, literary blogs, and the collections of many of the most prominent libraries in the United States and the English-speaking world. The US libraries include the Boston Public Library, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Denver Library, New York Public Library, and Seattle Public Library, as well as the academic libraries at Bank Street College, Miami University, Michigan State University, Penn State University, Stanford University, and University of Chicago. The international libraries include the University of Oxford, British Council Library India, British Library, Hong Kong Public Libraries, National Library of the Philippines, Toronto Public Library, Trinity College Library (Dublin), Vancouver Public Library, and the National Library of New Zealand. The 500 books included here are generated from a database with 7,300 booklist entries. In essence, the ranked list emerging from this compilation will constitute “votes” for the most popular titles, the ones most experts agree are the best. By pooling the expertise from the US and other English-speaking countries, Wonderfully Wordless is an unrivaled core list of classic and contemporary titles. This authoritative reference book conveys not the opinion of one expert, but the combined opinions of a legion of experts. If a single picture is worth a thousand words, then a multitude of the picture-only texts is worth a compendium. Wonderfully Wordless is organized by theme and format and readers should have no problem zeroing in on their favorite topics. There are thirty-one chapters organized by topics such as Christmas Cheer, Character Values, Comedy Capers, Pet Mischief, Creative Journeys, Fascinating Fantasies, and Marvelous Mysteries. There is a full spectrum of wordless fiction and nonfiction, concept books, visual puzzles, board books, cloth books, woodcut novels, graphic novels, and more.

Jimmy “Boomer” Benjamin has arrived at the place he has dreaded and dreamed of for the past fifteen years: the town he grew up in. Nearing retirement and seeking closure to a novel that has plagued him for decades, Jimmy is determined to break the long-held silence that muted two murders. One was rumoured to have been committed by his father. The other was a part of his own nightmarish past—and resulted in his excommunication from his community. Jimmy’s journey begins and ends at Lighthouse Pier on the bleak and beautiful shores of Lake Erie, where memories, visions, shadows, love, and violence converge and break—for better or worse. Encouraged and directed by his novel, his opus of truth, his testament to fiction, Jimmy gives himself permission to come home. Follow the Silence is a disturbing portrait of racism and homophobia in small-town Ontario, a stirring investigation into collective memory, and a deeply felt examination of one man’s reckoning with his past. Timely, moving, and populated by a cast of unforgettable characters, Follow the Silence shows readers the remarkable power of truth.