The Kingfisher First Dictionary is the ideal introductory dictionary for young children. One thousand five hundred entry words are clearly defined & each word is used in a sample sentence to reinforce understanding of its usage. Over 1 000 colour photographs & illustrations enhance definitions. Coloured letter sidebars allow children to move quickly through the book to find the page they want. ...

For the first time Kingfisher brings its expertise in beautifully-designed trusted non-fiction to the sphere of learning to read. This new graded reading scheme will grip childrens interest. Developed with literacy experts the four-level series will guide young readers as they build confidence & fluency in their literacy skills & progress towards reading alone. LEVEL 3 READING ALONE Extent: 32pp words per page: up to 100 Sentence structure & vocabulary will be more varied with a wider range of sentence types vocabulary & punctuation. * Natural language which is clear & precise * High-quality arresting photos with lots to talk about * Artwork in an attractive variety of styles * Clear design which helps the narrative flow making obvious links between the text & images * Features to engage readers such as fact boxes diagrams & graphics captions glossary * Prompts to encourage readers to think & talk about the topic * Careful progression over four levels in both language & design features * Helpful advice for parents about sharing books with their children * Online resources for teachers to encourage use in schools ...

I have lost my father in battle my sister to Elizabeth Woodvilles spy my brother-in-law to Elizabeth Woodvilles executioner my nephew to her poisoner & now my son to her curse... The gripping & ultimately tragic story of Anne Neville & her sister Isabel the daughters of the Earl of Warwick the most powerful magnate in England through the Cousins Wars. In the absence of a son & heir he ruthlessly uses the two girls as pawns but they in their own right are thoughtful & powerful actors. Against the backdrop of the court of Edward IV & his beautiful queen Elizabeth Woodville Anne turns from a delightful child growing up in intimacy & friendship with the family of Richard Duke of York to become ever more fearful & desperate as her fathers enemies turn against her the net closes in & there is in the end simply nowhere she can turn no one she can trust with her life. ...

Anne Neville & her sister Isabel are daughters of the most powerful magnate in 15th century Engl&. Ever ruthless always plotting in the absence of a son & heir Warwick sets about using his daughters as pawns in his political games. Anne grows from a delightful child brought up at the court of Edward IV & his queen Elizabeth Woodville intimacy & friendship with the family of Richard Duke of Gloucester. Her life is overturned when her father turns on his former allies escapes England & invades with an enemy army. Widowed at 14 fatherless with her mother locked in sanctuary & her sister a vengeful enemy Anne faces the world alone. But fortune's wheel turns once again. Anne plots her escape from her sister's house finds herself a husband in the handsome young Duke of Gloucester & marries without permission in secret. But danger still follows her. She finds that she has a mortal enemy in the most beautiful queen in Engl&. Anne has to protect herself & her precious only son from the treacherous royal court the deadly royal rival & even from the driving ambition of her husband
- Richard III.
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'I have lost my father in battle my sister to Elizabeth Woodville's spy my brother-in-law to Elizabeth Woodville's executioner my nephew to her poisoner & now my son to her curse...' The gripping & ultimately tragic story of Anne Neville & her sister Isabel the daughters of the Earl of Warwick the most powerful magnate in England through the Cousins' Wars. In the absence of a son & heir he ruthlessly uses the two girls as pawns but they in their own right are thoughtful & powerful actors. Against the backdrop of the court of Edward IV & his beautiful queen Elizabeth Woodville Anne turns from a delightful child growing up in intimacy & friendship with the family of Richard Duke of York to become ever more fearful & desperate as her father's enemies turn against her the net closes in & there is in the end simply nowhere she can turn no one she can trust with her life. ...

Who invented the House of Windsor as a royal name? Who founded Westminster Abbey? Which king had twenty-one illegitimate children? David Halliam answers all these questions & more. Here is a continuous history of the English monarchy showing how the nine dynasties rose & fell. The book describes the most memorable features of the life & times of each king or queen
- from Egbert crowned in 802 & considered the first king of England to Queen Elizabeth II
- as well as recording the extraordinary lives of their queens consorts mistresses & bastard children. It also tells the story of the Saxons describes what has happened to the monarchs mortal remains & relates many lively incidents of royal history that rarely appear in the text books. Read of the saintly Edward the Confessor who is believed to have refused to consumate his marriage; of the rumbustious Henry VIII given to beheading those who displeased him; of the little gentleman in black velvet who caused the death of William III; & of Queen Victorias strange servant the Munshi Queen Emma who endured a trial by ordeal; & Anne Boleyn widely suspected of being a witch. A complete list of the monarchs reigns & a genealogical table showing the royal descent down thirty-seven generations from Egbert to Elizabeth II adds to the volumes reference value.

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The Anglo-Saxon era is one of the most important in English history covering the period from the end of Roman authority in the British Isles to the Norman Conquest of 1066 in which the very idea of England was born. In The Kings& Queens of Anglo-Saxon England Venning examines the rulers of Anglo-Saxon England beginning with the legendary leaders of the Anglo-Saxon invasion as Hengest & Horsa or Cerdic & Cynric & moving on through such figures as Aethelbert of Kent the first king to be converted to Christianity & his daughter Aethelburh whose marriage began the conversion of Northumbria to Alfred of Wessex & his dynasty the Viking invasions & the last of the Anglo-Saxon kings Harold Godwineson. ...

Which kings guards massacred a group of his supporters by mistake? Who had an oversized tongue & had to slobber when they ate food? Who was so large when they died that they had to be buried in a square coffin? Who survived seven assassination attempts? As you can tell from the bizarre questions above it wasnt all thrones & sceptres for British kings & queens. Some of them were completely batty & others were downright vicious. On the other hand some monarchs were an icon to the people & represented the power & importance of Britain & Engl&. Kings & Queens A Very Peculiar History explores some of the most marvellous monarchs to have ruled Britain & ekes out their bizarre habits & idiosyncracies featuring quirky stories & fascinating facts & lists. ...

A considered attempt to set out what we can know about the rulers of what is now Wales in the early medieval period Timothy Vennings new book does not shy away from problems of dating & interpretation in the use of the meagre source material. Venning takes a regional approach & rather than try to provide a water-tight narrative is happy to present different possibilities & traditions weighing up their likelihood & pointing the reader in the direction of further discussion as necessary. The book starts with coverage of the Iron Age background as well as the shadowy post-Roman era finishing with the period of Anglo-Norman expansion & Welsh resistance & co-existence for which we are on much firmer ground. ...

A copiously illustrated guide to the monarchs of the British Isles & Ireland from pre-Saxon times to the present complete with concise genealogical charts & details of key historical events. The book is divided into five sections together with a Compendium at the end. Part One presents information about Pre-Saxon rule including details about ancient British chiefs Roman rulers & the Roman Conquest. Part Two provides information about Scotland Ireland & Wales with sections on Robert I & the Wars of Independence The Union of the Crowns the Princes of Wales & the High Kingship of Irel&. Part Three discusses the Saxons Normans & Plantagenets. Part Four gives details about the Tudors & Stuarts. Part Five presents an in-depth discussion of the houses from Hanover to Windsor. Parts Two to Five provide all the essential information you will need to know about Kings & Queens including details of birth parents accession to the throne coronation authority personal status death date & burial place for each monarch. In addition an overview is given for each reign outlining major events & personal tragedies war celebrations & conspiracies. ...