Dyslexia-friendly books for children

Hetty and the Battle of the Books

The library is Hetty's very favourite place in school, and since falling out with her best friends Ali, Mei and Rocket she's been spending even more time there. So she's absolutely horrified when she learns that her head teacher is planning to close it down, claiming there aren't enough funds to keep the library going. There's no way Hetty's going to sit back and let this happen. But can she repair her broken friendships and build support for her library campaign?

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Peggy Little-Legs

Peggy the sausage dog feels really sad when she finds she's too small to really compete with the other dogs at puppy school. Her little legs and long body make it hard for her to jump high or run very fast. But when one of her school friends has a dangerous fall, it's Peggy who comes to the rescue, proving that heroes come in all different sizes!

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Suitcase S(witch)

When Zahra accidentally swaps suitcases with a witch, it's the beginning of a whole series of magical mishaps. Her feet take on a dancing life of their own when she puts on a pair of enchanted boots, while her first flying adventure in a charmed cloak nearly ends in disaster! But it's not all bad. She learns a spell that can transform her dad's worst cooking into a gourmet delight and makes a new best friend in the form of a talking cat. When she finds the witch again, will Zahra even want to get her own suitcase back?!

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The Ghost Cat Who Saved My Life

The flat upstairs from Sav is empty, so who or what is making the strange yowling noises she can hear at night? Could it be a ghost cat?! Sav and her best friend Liam decide to investigate, but their ghost hunt takes a very strange turn when Liam gets stuck in the stinky bin room of the flat and it’s a new feline friend who helps to get him out.

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Resist

As the brutal Second World War stretches on with no end in sight, life for ordinary Dutch people in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands is fraught with peril and hardship. There is very little to eat and the population lives under the constant threat of arrest and enslavement. After the murder of her beloved uncle and the capture of her brother by the Germans, Edda is determined to do anything she can to help the resistance fight back against their oppressors. But what can a teenage girl do and how much risk is she willing to take?

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Picture Perfect

Sonal needs to capture a great family picture for her school photography project but it's impossible when everyone's always so busy! Luckily they're heading off on a family camping trip which should provide lots of great photo opportunities, shouldn't it? Faced with an enforced digital detox, will Sonal's family come together and have fun - or will the trip end in complete disaster?

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The Tide Singer

In the wake of a tempest hitting her town, Morwenna is left to take care of a stranger washed ashore. The storm is just another of many that have plagued the town for years - people blame the tide singers, legendary sea people who are said to charm storms with their singing. Morwenna has never believed the tales, but when she is left alone with the stranger, she realises this is no ordinary girl. Can the stories be true? Can the girl control the tides with nothing more than her voice? Her arrival brings danger of a different kind, and Morwenna must draw on all the courage she has in order to stop a conflict that could destroy her home...

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Birdsong

After a devastating accident, a special new friendship helps talented musician Annie heal and rediscover her love of music through the joyous song of a blackbird nesting near her home.

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Fagin's Girl

Orphan Ettie Shaw is penniless and homeless on the streets of London when she is spotted by her older brother Joe. Joe has fallen in with a notorious pickpocket gang run by a man called Fagin, and Ettie has to disguise herself as a boy so she can come back with him to Fagin's lair. At first Ettie is able to help out with mending and other domestic jobs, but when one of the other boys falls ill, Fagin demands that Ettie go out pickpocketing with Joe and everything goes horribly wrong.

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Song of the River

Times are tough for Cari and her mum. A violent storm has flooded the valley where they live, destroying their home and café business. Things seem bleak - but hope appears in the form of a plan to reintroduce beavers into the area, as the changes that these amazing animals make to the waterways might prevent another flood.

Cari knows that she has to get involved. But with the project facing resistance from locals, can she convince them to give the beavers a chance - and will it be enough to save her home from being destroyed for a second time?

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The Small Things

Anna's anxious when she's picked to befriend the new girl in her class. For a start, Ellie is ill and can't come to school herself. So Anna has to communicate with her through a new kind of robot. But Anna is also worried that her life's too small and boring to be of interest to her new friend. Compared to the other girls, she doesn't have anything exciting to talk about and so when Ellie asks her a question, a little white lie pops out. Then another and another. When Ellie finds out the truth, can their friendship survive?

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The Puffin Portal

Grace's family are wardens of the incredible Griffin Map, using its teleport technology to fight crime across Moreland. Right now it's all systems go at Griffin HQ, where Grace, her mum and her brother have their hands full answering a huge number of calls for help. They could really do with another warden on the team - but Mum believes their important work should be kept inside the family. Meanwhile, Grace is investigating a series of puzzling petty thefts. The clues lead her to a ramshackle castle on a lonely island, where the mystery only deepens. Will Grace be able to track down the thief?

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The Beast of Harwood Forest

When Pete, Nancy and Krish arrive at Heathland Camp for a school trip, they're in for an adventure - just not the kind they were expecting. Nearby sits the abandoned Harwood Institute. The crumbling buildings reek of secrets and, at night, strange screams come from the surrounding forest. Nobody knows what experiments took place at the institute during the war, so Pete and his friends make it their mission to find out. But the forest is hiding a sinister secret, and the trio could be in real danger. Are some mysteries best left undisturbed?

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Featherlight

When the lighthouse no longer shines, what else has the power to guide you to shore? Deryn's father is the lighthouse keeper on Featherstone Island, keeping the lantern lit to protect passing boats from the treacherous rocky coastline. But when an emergency arises and her parents have to travel to the mainland for help, Deryn is left alone to keep watch over the lighthouse, and she finds herself in a terrible situation when the lamp runs out of oil during a wild storm. With a fishing boat in peril on the sea, and time running out to rescue those on board, Deryn seeks help from an unusual source. Will she be able to keep the lantern lit through the dark, dangerous night?

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Arctic Star

Winter 1943. Teenagers Francis, Joseph and Stephen are Royal Navy recruits on their first mission at sea during the Second World War. Their ship is part of an Arctic convoy sailing to Russia to deliver supplies to the Soviets. The convoys have to navigate treacherous waters, sailing through a narrow channel between the Arctic ice pack and German bases on the Norwegian coast. Faced with terrifying enemy attacks from both air and sea, as well as life-threatening cold, gales and pack ice, will all three boys make it home again?

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The Missing Bunny

Annie is really excited about her new pet rabbits and can't wait to welcome them into the amazing new home her dad has built for them. But when Annie is in a rush to get to school the next morning, she doesn't check that the door to the hutch is shut properly, and one of the rabbits, Humbug, escapes. Can Annie find Humbug in time to save her from the neighbourhood fox?

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The Creatures of Killburn Mine

When a meteorite crashes to Earth near Crooked Oak, Pete, Nancy and Krish are determined to find it. But they're not the only ones. After spotting one of their teachers up on the moor where the meteorite landed, they start to wonder if his strangely altered behaviour and appearance might be connected to the arrival from outer space. But nothing could prepare them for the horror they uncover deep down in Killburn Mine.

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Porky Pies

Porky Pies is always telling lies, trying to terrify his brothers and sisters into believing that the Big Bad Wolf is back. But when the biggest fibber in the litter tries to plan his most daring prank yet, the joke is on him this time. So who will have the last laugh?

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Drowning in My Bedroom

Gayla is trapped when floodwater pours into her bedroom in a residential centre for kids with disabilities. The other children have been evacuated while Gayla waited for her father, but now the streets around are cut off and she's all alone with no way out. Junjun's makeshift shack has been washed away in the flood and he needs to find medicine for his sister, who's sick after drinking contaminated water. At first these two young people seem to have little in common and pity each other, but as the waters continue to rise, can they find a way to work together to survive?

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Little House

Juno's furious about being sent to stay with her grandfather for the summer. She'll miss all the fun she and her friends had planned for the holidays. She'll also miss her mum, but it's her mum's fault for leaving anyway. Then Juno discovers a long-forgotten little family in her grandfather's attic. As she works to carefully craft a new home for them, can she learn to forgive her mum and understand her reasons for going away?

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The Storm and the Minotaur

Money is scarce in George's family and so at the age of nine he has to join his father underground, hewing coal in the local mine. It's far from the dreams George had of continuing his education, and it's also a dangerous way to earn a living that has already claimed the life of his dad's older brother. Not long after he starts work, a summer storm leads to flooding in the mine. Trapped down in the dark, George spots a shadowy figure that seems to be telling George to follow him. Can a ghost from the past lead him back to safety, or will George meet the same fate as his long-lost uncle?

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The Piano at the Station

When Lacey gets sent to lunch-time music lessons to keep her out of trouble at school, she discovers a love and talent for the piano that opens up a whole new world. But when Lacey's music teacher leaves unexpectedly, will she be thrown back into turmoil?

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The Boy Who Stole the Pharaoh's Lunch

While awaiting punishment in his headmaster's office for his latest piece of mischief, prankster Seth picks up an Egyptian amulet from the desk and is whisked back in time to Ancient Egypt. In a village by the Nile, Seth finds a place for himself, working for the local tradesmen and playing with the local children. One of his new friends, Mery, has a pet hyena that Seth grows to love, so when he hears that the hyena is going to be roasted as part of a feast for the visiting pharaoh, Seth decides to save him. But what consequences will Seth have to face for stealing the pharaoh's lunch?

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Nightjar

When Noah's dad visits from New York, he and Noah come across an injured nightjar during a walk in the countryside. Noah is determined to save the bird, but his dad believes they should leave it alone to let nature take its course. As father and son argue, it becomes clear that Noah is angry about more than just the bird. He feels abandoned and misunderstood by his dad, who has moved to the US and started a new family there that doesn't seem to have room for Noah. Can they find a way to build a new relationship and rediscover the common ground between them?

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Jodie

Jodie never wanted to come on the residential trip to the field centre. A loner at school, she's forced into a dormitory with other girls from her class who don't understand her and talk about her behind her back. Even though they're not trying to be mean, Jodie feels excluded and miserable, and eventually escapes out onto the salt marshes in search of a little dog she can hear barking in the distance. But the salt marshes are dangerous and Jodie gets trapped by the incoming tide. Stuck in the sucking mud, will anyone even notice that she's gone? And where is the little dog that keeps barking so mournfully?

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Finding Her Feet

Lily always feels a little bit left out. Shy and anxious, she finds school really hard, particularly as most of the other girls all seem so confident. Most of the time, Lily wishes that she could just disappear. But during a game of football in PE, Lily's teacher spots her natural talent and invites Lily to join the local girls' team, where she starts to make friends with some of the other players. Finally, she thinks she's found a place where she fits in, but will a vicious argument with one of her teammates put all her progress in jeopardy?

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Calling the Whales

When a majestic whale is stranded near their Scottish hometown, Tulsi and Satchen are determined to save it. But after their boat capsizes in a storm, they're left dangerously adrift. Just as all seems lost, help arrives from an unexpected source. An adventure with a powerful eco message at its heart.

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