Research shows that the seemingly simple act of being read to brings remarkable health & happiness benefits. It stimulates thought & memory encourages the sharing of ideas & feelings hopes & fears. It enriches our lives & minds. This unique book offers a selection of prose & poetry especially suitable for reading aloud to children. It

Includes:: extracts ranging from modern day favourites (David Almond Frank Cottrell Boyce & Neil Gaiman) to old classics (Kipling Dickens & E. Nesbit) & features a foreword from Michael Morpurgo. Each piece has been chosen by the Reader Organisation whose team has unique experience in the effect & benefits of books that immediately capture children's interest & imagination.

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The American Government invested millions in Helmand Afghanistan in the 1950s & 1960s to transform the barren desert into a veritable oasis. It became the largest international development effort after the Marshall Plan. Little America was the name for this specific region first used in the 1940s by Afghanis themselves. Four decades later in 2009 the region was again the focus of the US efforts in the country as waves of Marines descended upon the Helmand River Valley. In this extraordinarily insightful illuminating book Rajiv Chandrasekaran focuses on southern Afghanistan in the year of Obamas surge. Little America is a story of the long arc of American involvement & of the campaign to salvage a victory in southern Afghanistan on Obamas watch. & reveals the epic tug of war that occurred between the president & a military that once on the ground increasingly went its own way. This political battles profound ramifications for the region & the world are laid bare through a cast of fascinating characters
- disillusioned & inept diplomats frustrated soldiers headstrong officers
- who played a part in the process of pumping millions of dollars of American money & soldiers into Afghan nation-building. He addresses the British involvement around Kandahar prior to the arrival of the US Marines & reveals the uneasy
- & at times openly hostile
- relationship between the United States & Britain as they began in 2009 to share responsibility for Helm&. What emerges is a detailed picture of unsavoury compromise
- warlords who were to be marginalised were suddenly embraced the Karzai family transformed from foe to friend fighting corruption no longer a top priority
- & a venture that has become unsustainable in every way: politically financially & strategically. As in his award-winning Imperial Life in the Emerald City by bringing to life a corner of a conflict & Chandrasekaran reveals the bigger story of the war. Has the war in Afghanistan been worth the money spent & bloodshed? Through vivid on-the-ground storytelling Little America takes readers toward an answer in a way no other book on Afghanistan has.





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Bring love happiness & fulfilment into your own life & those around you with this gift book of inspirational guidance "es & stories of angels & spirits from the other side. I saw the angel in the marble & carved until I set him free." ~ Michelangelo A Little Angel Love is a delightful gift book of messages stories affirmations "es based on angel inspirations & afterlife communication. Discover a wealth of practical things to do to bring happiness into your life & other peoples by spreading a little angel love. Learn how to achieve your potential in life angelic things to do every day & how to pursue your dreams. Also read amazing anecdotes from people who spoke to their loved ones after they died or received visitations from angels & spirit guides & experienced prophetic dreams. A perfect gift of angelic inspiration." ...

Rita Blackthorns heart was barren & hard. In all of her life she had never truly loved. But she had hated. Beneath the loving gaze of her daughters soft green eyes her heart swelled with dark & dangerous emotions. Young Cathy Blackthorn has never experienced any loving response from her mother; it is her beloved aunt Margaret with a heart as big & warm as the summer sky who has been more of a mother than her own could ever be. & when Cathys father Frank Blackthorn brings home a London street urchin & announces this will be the son he & Rita have never had Cathy despairs of ever winning her parents love. Cathy is a generous soul though & tries to give the young lad a chance to prove himself but unlike her best friend David Leyton something about him makes her more than uneasy... ...

Its Tillys birthday & shes off to a REAL theatre with her auntie a REAL ballerina! Join Tilly as she steps backstage to experience the excitement of a ballet performance from the dressing rooms to centre stage! But will Tilly be given the chance to dance under the spotlight? Of course she will! This is the magical sequel to the bestselling The Ballet Class. ...

Its time for bed Little Bear. Follow Little Bears bedtime routine
- from putting his toys away to snuggling down in his stripy
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Little Bear has lost his trousers! He sets off in search of them & discovers that all the toys have seen them but no one seems to know where they are now. With help from Old Bear Rabbit Duck Dog & Bramwell Brown will he ever find his trousers? A brand new paperback edition of the beautifully-illustrated classic picture book from popular author-illustrator Jane Hissey. The amusing story is perfect for sharing with young children. ...

Little Bear loves his little boat. He rows it around the lake. He fishes from it. He lies & dreams in it. But then something strange happens. Little Bear begins to grow & one day he no longer fits in his little boat. Poor Little Bear. Does getting bigger mean giving up the things you love? Every child who experiences growing pains will appreciate Little Bear's story. They will smile with satisfaction as the solution unfolds to Little Bear's problem in simple lyrical words & charming illustrations. ...

Teddy bears are loved the world over & here are forty of them
- all small in size but big in character
- for you to knit &

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This is the heart-warming tale of a gorilla & his tiny friend from the master picturebook-maker. A very special gorilla is taught a very special skill: sign language. He appears to have everything he needs but one day he signs that he is said & needs a friend. His keepers bring him a tiny cat called Beauty & the two of them become inseparable. But when the gorilla gets angry & causes damage to the TV will his keepers think him unfit to be friends with such a small defenceless animal? Not if Beauty can think fast & prove what a special friendship they share... ...