If there ever was an epic that touches upon every conceivable human emotion and poses the most complex of questions, it has to be the Mahabharata, the most famous of stories from India.
In the second book of this exciting three-part series a single roll of the dice reverses the fortunes of the Pandavas.
The peaceful years following the division of the kingdom of Bharata are soon to end because of Duryodhana’s jealousy. With his uncle Sakuni he now plots to secure the entire kingdom for the Kauravas, but will his cunning strategy work? Can the Pandavas ever win against the cunning Sakuni?
Yudhishtira, the oldest of the Pandava brothers and the architect of their misfortune, is prepared to gamble away his territory, his wealth, his brothers, himself – even his wife. What can the Pandavas do now?
If there ever was an epic that touches upon every conceivable human emotion and poses the most complex of questions, it has to be the Mahabharata, the most famous of stories from India.
The deadly rivalry between the royal cousins, the Pandavas and the Kauravas, can only end one way – in the mightiest of battles imaginable. The gods watch in dismay as the opponents draw up their forces.
Will the mighty warriors Bhishma and Drona survive to see the end? And what of Karna? Where will his loyalties lie – with his true friend Duryodhana, or with his brothers, the Pandavas? Lord Krishna sees what is about to happen, and is so concerned that he comes to earth to counsel the mortals, especially the distraught Arjuna.
In the last book of this exciting three-part series, the final battle fought on the field at Kurukshetra decides who will triumph and who will fall.
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ISBN: 978-1-906230-12-8
Lexile® Rating: 900L what is this?
ATOS®/AR Level: 5.9 what is this?
F&P Level: X what is this?
£6.99
No one would have believed that planet Earth was being watched by creatures more intelligent than humankind.
But planet Earth was not only being watched – soon it would be invaded by monstrous creatures from Mars who strode about the land in great mechanical tripods, bringing death and destruction with them.
What can possibly stop an invading army equipped with heat-rays and poisonous black gas, intent on wiping out the human race?
This is one man’s story of that incredible invasion, from the time the first Martians land near his home town, to the destruction of London.
Is this the end of human life on Earth?
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ISBN: 978-1-906230-13-5
Lexile® Rating: 850L what is this?
ATOS®/AR Level: 5.6 what is this?
F&P Level: W what is this?
£6.99
‘On this machine, I intend to explore time ...’
The time traveller has invented a time machine. Its capabilities are beyond even his fertile imagination.
Hundreds of thousand of years in the future, the beautiful Eloi people live in a Garden of Eden. But why are the Eloi so fearful of the dark? What horrors lurk beneath the surface of their world?
What will the time traveller learn about the future? Will he survive the evil he encounters? Even if he can find his stolen machine, will it return him safely home?
What does his future hold? What is the future of the human race?
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ISBN: 978-1-906230-82-1
Lexile® Rating: 700L what is this?
ATOS®/AR Level: 4.8 what is this?
F&P Level: Z what is this?
£6.99
‘I believe the only way to live, is to be true to oneself. The only way to get rid of temptation is to give into it.’
Young, rich and handsome, Dorian Gray seems to have it all. So why do people who were once his friends leave the room when he enters? Can there really be any truth in the dark tales that are told about him? And why does he keep his portrait locked away in an attic room?
Two men hold the answer to Dorian’s secret. One is the artist, Basil Hallward, who paints Dorian’s portrait. The other is Lord Henry Wotton, who convinces the impressionable Dorian that youth and pleasure are the only things worth living for.
Is Dorian Gray really as innocent as he seems? Can love and friendship save him from himself? Or will the secret of the picture of Dorian Gray be a secret he takes to his grave?
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ISBN: 978-1-906230-34-0
Lexile® Rating: 910L what is this?
ATOS®/AR Level: 5.7 what is this?
F&P Level: X what is this?
£6.99
In ancient China a magical monkey appears, creating chaos everywhere he goes. The only way to put his tricks and talents to good use is to make him protector of Xuanzang, a young and handsome monk determined to travel from China to India in search of the precious scriptures.
Monkey and his fellow disciples, Piggy and Sandy, have to protect Xuanzang from monsters and demons who think they can live forever just by taking a bite out of the monk.
Can Xuanzang and his loyal disciples reach India safely and find what they are looking for? Do they have enough confidence and courage to conquer the demons, both those lurking around them and those within their own hearts?
Full of humour and adventure, Journey to the West is a story of self-discovery and the pursuit of excellence. Written by Chinese scholar Wu Cheng’en more than four hundred years ago, it reflects everyone’s pilgrimage towards truth, peace and beauty.
Click here to view Scheme of Work
The horsemen stopped close to where Ali Baba was hiding. He could scarcely breathe. As they dismounted he counted them – there were forty in all, and they were carrying bags of gold, silver and precious stones.
When Ali Baba goes into the forest as usual to gather wood to sell, he can hardly imagine that it is the start of an amazing adventure that will change his life.
After he discovers the secret of the treasure cave, his good fortune soon turns into terrible danger. Can he ever live safely again with his wife and family?
Ali Baba’s brother Cassim is a rich man, but cares little for the happiness of others. Where will his selfishness lead him?
Morgiana, the servant girl, is faced with a deadly crisis. Is she clever and brave enough to save herself and Ali Baba’s family from destruction?
As soon as Aladdin started cleaning the lamp there was a sound like a clap of thunder. A swirling cloud of smoke filled the room, changing until it formed the outline of a huge green figure.
Aladdin and his mother live a poor and humble life. Then one day Aladdin meets his long-lost uncle, and his life is changed for ever. Can his new friend be trusted?
When Aladdin persuades the Sultan to let him marry the beautiful Princess Badroulbadour, he thinks his happiness is complete. But what will the Sultan’s Vizier do now that his own son’s chances of marrying the Princess are doomed to failure?
It seems that Aladdin’s beloved Princess has been lost forever when he angers the evil sorcerer. Can Aladdin think of a way to bring his wife and his elderly mother back to safety?
A horrific apparition interrupts the Christmas festivities at King Arthur’s Camelot.
A green giant throws down a deadly challenge: one of the gathering must cut off his head, after which he will return the favour in a year’s time! King Arthur must accept this challenge or appear a coward, but it’s left to young Sir Gawain to act.
Gawain chops off the giant’s head and, horror of horrors, the giant strides over to pick up his head, which then begins to speak. He holds Sir Gawain to his promise, and rides off into the wintry night.
A year passes and Gawain sets off with terrible dread to find the Green Knight and keep to his side of the bargain. Can he avoid his certain doom?
Is it really possible to become famous throughout your country and beyond both as a fearless warrior and as a renowned poet?
Egil Skallagrimsson lived in Iceland a thousand years ago, and this is the story of his long and violent life. He could compose beautiful poetry, but he was also capable of staggering brutality.
Can Egil successfully avenge his father’s exile from Norway, defend his honour against the Norwegian King Erik Bloodaxe, and support the English King Athelstan in his battles against the Scots?
When his travels finally find him at home again in Iceland, how will Egil feel about his family - his loving wife Asgerd, the brother he lost in battle, and his dead sons? And what will he do with his two chests of silver?
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ISBN: 978-1-906230-61-6
Lexile® Rating: 1030L what is this?
ATOS®/AR Level: 6.7 what is this?
F&P Level: Y what is this?
£6.99
Can the path to the ultimate truth about human life be found by leaving behind wealth, comfort, family and security?
Born as the heir to an Indian kingdom, Prince Siddhartha knows only happiness, luxury and love. Fearing the prophecy that the child will one day abandon his princely life, Siddhartha’s father builds him three palaces to provide everything he could ever desire. But the power of destiny cannot be held back by physical walls.
Leaving palace, wife and son behind, Siddhartha embarks on a new life that will ultimately lead him to the one thing that he is in search of – the solution to all human suffering. Now an enlightened Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama wanders the country, spreading the knowledge that he has discovered.
This is the story of the life and teachings of the Buddha, the all-knowing, whose influence still reverberates in every corner of the world.
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ISBN: 978-1-906230-62-3
Lexile® Rating: 1050L what is this?
ATOS®/AR Level: 6.7 what is this?
F&P Level: Y what is this?
£6.99
Can people learn the wisdom of thinking about others, and not just about themselves?
Muhammad is an honest trader living in Mecca. He is happily married to a wealthy merchant, and they have lovely children. Life should be wonderful. But for Muhammad it isn’t enough. He begins to spend long periods of time alone, thinking deeply about life and his relationship with God.
One day when he is in the mountains Muhammad receives a message from God. He must share it with all those around him, knowing that it will completely change the way in which people understand their lives. But will anybody believe in his message? What if some people don’t want to listen?
This is the story of the life of the Prophet Muhammad, the man who brought to the world the message of Islam, a religion that today has millions of followers around the globe.
Catching fish. That’s what I was doing on the day that changed my life for ever.
Although Simon has no idea why Jesus is beckoning to him from the beach, he agrees to leave his nets and follow him.
A robust, enthusiastic fisherman, Simon makes more mistakes and asks more questions than the other disciples. Why then, he wonders, does Jesus call him Peter, which means ‘rock’?
When Jesus is arrested everybody except Simon Peter flees, but is he brave enough to stand by Jesus until the end? After Jesus’s death, how will Simon Peter spread Jesus’s teachings? Will he make the right decisions? Can he calm the rivalries developing among Jesus’s followers?
Is he brave enough to die for his beliefs?
Click here for the Simon Peter concordance
I had been given a simple but enormous task. This was the role for which I had spent my whole life preparing.
After encountering John the Baptist, Jesus’s work begins. He will meet many people; some will help him, many will need his help, and some will become his enemies.
Jesus challenges the way people live, the way they relate to God, and the way Jewish law is enforced. Although he is a man of peace, he is not afraid to challenge authority, no matter where this might lead.
What exactly are Jesus’s responsibilities as God’s son? How will he lead people towards a new relationship with God?
How much can a man achieve in one short lifetime? How much more can he achieve by his death?
Click here for the Jesus of Nazareth concordance
Unfortunately for me, nothing is ever simple.
Poor Judas – he just can’t decide what to do with his life. Everybody expects him to follow in his father’s footsteps, but he has too many doubts. Then one day he meets a man who changes everything.
With new hope and a new sense of purpose, Judas leaves his home and his family to follow Jesus. But for how long can Judas accept the simplicity of Jesus’s work? How soon will his mind return to its former complex ways?
Tortured by increasing doubts, troubled by rivalry within the group, and sensing that time is running short, Judas feels compelled to take action. What will he do? How will he do it?
Why has this man, so anxious to do good, become one of the most notorious people in history?
Click here for the Judas Iscariot concordance
A great roaring came from the mouth of the cave and to our horror we saw an enormous giant striding towards us. His skin was a sickly green, and his eyes burned red like fiery coals.
Sindbad makes an enormous fortune from his voyages, but he cannot resist joining further dangerous expeditions to far off lands. Will anything persuade him to remain at home in Baghdad?
When Sindbad finds himself in the valley of huge serpents, there seems no way out. What clever plan does he use to escape?
How can Sindbad and his friends possibly survive when they are trapped by a gigantic monster who seems determined to cook and eat each of them in turn?
The Old Man of the Sea is weak and feeble, and asks for Sindbad’s help. But can he be trusted?
After Sindbad marries for the first time, tragedy strikes when his wife falls sick and dies. When he finds a second bride, will they ever find happiness together?
Who expects their life to change completely in one moment?
The foundations of Jewish law are under threat from the followers of a man called Jesus. These people have reached Damascus. They must be stopped. Saul, uncompromising and brutal, is the man for the job. But by the time Saul reaches Damascus he is blind and in shock. What could have happened to him on that journey?
How does a man react when his beliefs are turned upside down? Now calling himself Paul, can he convince his former enemies to trust him? Can he convince the world that Jesus’s teachings are for everyone?
Through treacherous journeys, passionate preaching and long letters, Paul tries to tell the world what he believes, but will it make any difference?
Click here for the Paul of Tarsus concordance
My darkness lifted, never to return. This man was truly the light of the world.
Mary’s childhood in Magdala leaves her with emotional scars she fears will never heal – until she meets Jesus.
Recognising the importance of Jesus’s work, she decides to do all that she can to support him, but what good can a woman do in a man’s world?
Will Mary ever be accepted by Jesus’s other disciples? What will she learn from the miracles she witnesses and from her many conversations with the Son of God? To Mary the message seems simple, so why can’t others believe?
After witnessing Jesus’s agonising death, Mary is the first to see the empty tomb, the first to see the risen Christ. What role can she play in spreading the news about Jesus after his death?
Click here for the Mary Magdalene concordance
Can you spare the time to listen to my account? I should like to tell the whole story, just once before I die.
Mary is a young woman living a simple life in Nazareth, when an angel’s visit changes her life forever. She has been chosen by God to bear him a son. She alone amongst women has been chosen to bear the agony and the joy.
From the moment of his birth, she knows that Jesus’s life will be like no other: she has been warned of the pain that lies ahead. When Jesus begins his work, how will she react to her increasing awareness of the dangers facing her son?
When Mary experiences anguish that no mother should ever experience, is her faith strong enough to sustain her? Might there be grounds for joy in the midst of such brutality?
Click here for the Mary of Galilee concordance
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