A lonely little raincloud searches for a friend who might like rain.

When Peter comes to live with his aunt and uncle at their shop on Peculiar Hill, nothing is as he expected. He learns about bogeys and heeble-greebs, strange vegetables, and the odd stuff that bubbles up out of the ground. But when he finds out what happens to tourists in the Vale of Strange, it's up to him to set things right.

Billy's family is not what you'd call ordinary. His mums won't listen to NORMAL music. They love to sing sea shanties and dance jigs in the lounge. Their clothes are highly unusual, they have a rude parrot for a pet, and their taste in house design is, well . . . FISHY. Billy wishes his family could be more like everyone else's. Until a swashbuckling adventure changes everything!

An adventurous merman and kind fisherman find love and each other in this gorgeous update to the Little Mermaid story. Winner of the Polari Prize, the UK's first and largest LGBTQ+ book award. Far out at sea and deep below whispering waves lives a merman searching for a partner. In the forbidden world above, a kind fisherman wonders if something more is waiting for him beyond the horizon. When they find each other under a star-filled sky, their love will change both of their worlds. Celebrate queer joy and the uniting power of love with this award-winning, inclusive retelling of a classic fairy tale.

Drama and Reading for Meaning Ages 4-11 contains over 40 creative drama ideas to help develop reading for meaning in the primary school. The wide range of clearly explained, structured and engaging drama activities will appeal to all primary practitioners who wish to develop more creative approaches to the teaching of reading. The activities show how drama can develop some of the skills associated with reading for meaning such as empathising with characters’ feelings, exploring settings and themes and making inferences based on evidence. The step-by-step activities range from familiar classroom drama strategies such as freeze-frames and hot-seating to less well-known approaches involving whole class drama experiences. The book also serves as an introduction to using drama as a learning medium, with advice on how to set the ground rules and clear explanations of the drama strategies. Each chapter has a detailed explanation of what to do, followed by a number of examples linked to quality texts, including poetry and non-fiction. From bringing books to life in reception and Years 1 and 2, to peeling back the layers of meanings in Years 3 to 6, all the drama activities in this book are designed to improve reading for meaning and help motivate children to read for pleasure, making this an essential resource for all primary settings.

'One delight after another. Told with an open heart, a questing curiosity, and a healthy sense of mischief, Queer as Folklore is essential for every seeker of hidden histories' Patrick Ness, author of the 'Chaos Walking' series Queer as Folklore takes readers across centuries and continents to reveal the unsung heroes and villains of storytelling, magic and fantasy. Featuring images from archives, galleries and museums around the world, each chapter investigates the queer history of different mythic and folkloric characters, both old and new. Leaving no headstone unturned, Sacha Coward will take you on a wild ride through the night from ancient Greece to the main stage of RuPaul’s Drag Race, visiting cross-dressing pirates, radical fairies and the graves of the ‘queerly departed’ along the way. Queer communities have often sought refuge in the shadows, found kinship in the in-between and created safe spaces in underworlds; but these forgotten narratives tell stories of remarkable resilience that deserve to be heard. Join any Pride march and you are likely to see a glorious display of papier-mâché unicorn heads trailing sequins, drag queens wearing mermaid tails and more fairy wings than you can shake a trident at. But these are not just accessories: they are queer symbols with historic roots. To truly understand who queer people are today, we must confront the twisted tales of the past and Queer as Folklore is a celebration of queer history like you've never seen it before.

PRAISE FOR BOOKS IN THE LIKE A NINJA SERIES 'Super engaging and accessible' PIERS TORDAY 'An imaginative and affordable resource' CLASS READS 'Jam-packed with top-class tips you won't want to miss' MC Grammar From Andrew Jennings, the bestselling author @VocabularyNinja, Read Like a Ninja is a one-stop-shop to help children become Grand Masters of their own reading. This is an essential toolkit of fun exercises and resources to support primary school children and get them reading like ninjas! While most focus on just phonics, we know there is much more that goes into making children confident and independent readers. Read Like a Ninja offers step-by-step support for that tricky transition from phonics to fluency to independent reading – and even reading for fun! This book is brimming over with fun activities in all the key areas of reading including phonics, comprehension, fluency, skimming and scanning, retrieval and prediction. It also includes exercises and short texts aimed at each Lexile level, to help your child progress in line with the National Curriculum. Go straight to the 'Parent Zone' for tips and tricks on supporting your child's reading and where to find books at their level as they improve. This pocket-sized book is a real treasure trove of resources, examples and tools – everything you need to get children to become Grand Masters of their own reading. For more must-have Ninja books by Andrew Jennings (@VocabularyNinja), check out Vocabulary Ninja, Maths Like a Ninja, Write Like a Ninja, Spell Like a Ninja, SATs Like a Ninja and Comprehension Ninja.

Schools are undergoing a mental health crisis and adult statistics surrounding male suicide paint a bleak picture of the future for boys in our schools. From bullying and sexism to traditional ideals of masculinity, outdated expectations of what it is to be male are causing boys to suffer. Research also shows that this is having a negative impact on girls in our schools. Clearly, the issue of boys’ mental wellbeing has never been so important. Boys Do Cry examines key research on factors impacting boys’ mental health and arms teachers with a range of practical strategies to start enacting positive change. Combining the latest research, personal anecdote, expert advice, and a uniquely engaging writing style, Matt Pinkett provides focused, evidence-based guidance on what those working in schools can do to improve and maintain the mental wellbeing of boys. The chapters follow an easy-to-navigate three-part structure, detailing personal stories, key research and practical solutions to the problems raised. With sensitivity, Pinkett deals with a diverse range of topics relating to boys’ mental health including: Anger Self-harm and suicide LGBTQ+ masculinity Body image Friendships Pornography This is an essential read for teachers and school leaders who want to ensure they are improving the mental health of boys in their schools, challenging toxic behaviours, and equipping the current generation of boys to become happy, healthy, emotionally articulate men.