As if the plague wasn't bad enough, here comes the fiery antidote! As famous diary-keeper Samuel Pepys, you'll witness four days and four nights of fire and live to tell the tale. Find out how people lived in the London of 1666, how they coped in the aftermath and all importantly, whodunnit! - or at least who we think dunnit! This title in the best-selling children’s history series, You Wouldn't Want To…, features full-colour illustrations which combine humour and accurate technical detail and a narrative approach placing readers at the centre of the history, encouraging them to become emotionally-involved with the characters and aiding their understanding of what life would have been like living through the Great Fire of London in 1666. Informative captions, a complete glossary and an index make this title an ideal introduction to the conventions of information books for young readers. It is an ideal text for Key Stage 2 shared and guided reading and helps achieve the goals of the Scottish Standard Curriculum 5-14.

Vlad and the Great Fire of London is a full colour, 32 page fiction picture book. Supporting the KS1 English National Curriculum topic it is narrated by Vlad the flea. Vlad and his friend, Boxton the rat are living in London when one night by witness the start of the fire that destroys most of the City of London. The book also contains a fact file.

Acclaim for The Great Fire of London "Popular narrative history at its best, well researched, imaginatively and dramatically written. . . . The author marshals his story and his mass of contemporary quotations with great skill." —Times Literary Supplement "The brilliance of its narrative chapters . . . a marvelous eye for evocative detail. Hanson’s prose is animated by the ferocious energy of the fire and seems to be guided by its inexorable movement. He creates the literary equivalent of the special effects in a disaster movie. . . . A rich mixture of imagination and research." —The Daily Telegraph (London) "He writes with knowledge and verve. As if making a television documentary on a natural disaster, he includes a gripping technical chapter on the mechanism and chemistry of combustion. This works brilliantly. . . . The book gains immeasurably from the author's eye for detail and from his understanding of the beliefs and prejudices of the day. . . . Informative and lively account." —The Sunday Times (London) "The best depiction of the Great Fire seen to date. . . . He manages to describe not only the atmosphere of the event itself, but also the experience of living in seventeenth-century Britain." —Soho Independent "A riveting book for those who like their history with a bit of mystery." —The Brisbane News "A rollicking good yarn." —The Age (Melbourne) "Blends high-class original research with a narrative style that mimics fiction. . . . Horrific subjects have served this man well and he has a knack for plugging into the dark themes that run like molten rivers beneath our social veneer." —New Zealand Herald "Neil Hanson’s descriptions of the inferno are like CNN reports from Kosovo." —Camden New Journal "It's not the technical data which makes the book so riveting though. It's the flair with which Hanson invests his account with qualities usually reserved for novels–narrative drive, persuasive character sketches, vivid scene stealing." —Sunday Star Times (New Zealand)

As a man brought up in a British coal-mining village in the 1860s, you have to endure the dangers and difficulties of working underground in a Victorian mine. Learn how to get by with a succession of 'Handy hints', such as not forgetting to take a canary down the mine with you. Find out how pit ponies are used, how the coal is mined, and how to survive deep underground. You'll soon learn that you really wouldn't want to be a Victorian miner! This title in the best-selling children’s history series, You Wouldn't Want To…, features full-colour illustrations which combine humour and accurate technical detail and a narrative approach placing readers at the centre of the history, encouraging them to become emotionally-involved with the characters and aiding their understanding of what life would have been like working as a Victorian miner. Informative captions, a complete glossary and an index make this title an ideal introduction to the conventions of information books for young readers. It is an ideal text for Key Stage 2 shared and guided reading and helps achieve the goals of the Scottish Standard Curriculum 5-14.

You are a young boy in the city-state of Athens at the height of the Ancient Greek civilisation. Following several years in one of the city's schools, your father wants you to prove yourself at the most famous athletic competition of all – the Olympics. This title in the best-selling children’s history series, You Wouldn't Want To…, features full-colour illustrations which combine humour and accurate technical detail and a narrative approach placing readers at the centre of the history, encouraging them to become emotionally-involved with the characters and aiding their understanding of what life would have been like competing in the ancient Greek Olympics. Informative captions, a complete glossary and an index make this title an ideal introduction to the conventions of information books for young readers. It is an ideal text for Key Stage 2 shared and guided reading and helps achieve the goals of the Scottish Standard Curriculum 5-14.

You are a 12-year-old girl living in Britain in the 1880s. You are about to start work for a wealthy family. You will be busy all day long as a Victorian servant. This title can be used as a background approach to wider issues in Victorian times, such as class divides, daily life and the position of men and women. This title in the best-selling children’s history series, You Wouldn't Want To…, features full-colour illustrations which combine humour and accurate technical detail and a narrative approach placing readers at the centre of the history, encouraging them to become emotionally-involved with the characters and aiding their understanding of what life would have been like working as a Victorian servant. Informative captions, a complete glossary and an index make this title an ideal introduction to the conventions of information books for young readers. It is an ideal text for Key Stage 2 shared and guided reading and helps achieve the goals of the Scottish Standard Curriculum 5-14.

You are a Victorian schoolchild. Growing up in Britain in the 1880s wasn't easy. For a young child in school the going is tough and the punishments are hard. This title in the best-selling children’s history series, You Wouldn't Want To…, features full-colour illustrations which combine humour and accurate technical detail and a narrative approach placing readers at the centre of the history, encouraging them to become emotionally-involved with the characters and aiding their understanding of what life would have been like as a Victorian schoolchild. Informative captions, a complete glossary and an index make this title an ideal introduction to the conventions of information books for young readers. It is an ideal text for Key Stage 2 shared and guided reading and helps achieve the goals of the Scottish Standard Curriculum 5-14.

It's the end of the 15th century, and your local castle is looking for a jailer. Are you up to the job? Your charges will include all sorts of people, from hardened criminals to people with mental illnesses, and you won’t be expected to treat them kindly… This title in the best-selling children’s history series, You Wouldn't Want To…, features full-colour illustrations which combine humour and accurate technical detail and a narrative approach placing readers at the centre of the history, encouraging them to become emotionally-involved with the characters and aiding their understanding of what life would have been like in a medieval dungeon. Informative captions, a complete glossary and an index make this title an ideal introduction to the conventions of information books for young readers. It is an ideal text for Key Stage 2 shared and guided reading and helps achieve the goals of the Scottish Standard Curriculum 5-14.

The year is 1819. You are a 14-year-old boy named Thomas Nickerson, living in Nantucket. It is one of the most important centres of the American whaling industry. You want to fulfil your boyhood dream of becoming a whaler by joining your friends aboard the whaling ship Essex. The Essex is bound for the Pacific Ocean, and a place in history. But you have no idea of the horrors – whale attacks, shipwreck, cannibalism – that lie ahead… This title in the best-selling children’s history series, You Wouldn't Want To…, features full-colour illustrations which combine humour and accurate technical detail and a narrative approach placing readers at the centre of the history, encouraging them to become emotionally-involved with the characters and aiding their understanding of what life would have been like on a 19th-century whaling ship. Informative captions, a complete glossary and an index make this title an ideal introduction to the conventions of information books for young readers. It is an ideal text for Key Stage 2 shared and guided reading and helps achieve the goals of the Scottish Standard Curriculum 5-14.

The year is 1842, and you have been taken from your mother in London to work in a cotton mill in smoky Manchester. The work is hard and dangerous: you are likely to go deaf and suffer from lung disease, and you could easily lose limbs. Is there no hope for you? Will things ever get better? Will you see your mother again? This title in the best-selling children’s history series, You Wouldn't Want To…, features full-colour illustrations which combine humour and accurate technical detail and a narrative approach placing readers at the centre of the history, encouraging them to become emotionally-involved with the characters and aiding their understanding of what life would have been like working in a Victorian mill. Informative captions, a complete glossary and an index make this title an ideal introduction to the conventions of information books for young readers. It is an ideal text for Key Stage 2 shared and guided reading and helps achieve the goals of the Scottish Standard Curriculum 5-14.