The Ruins of Gorlan: The Ranger’s Apprentice / John Flanagan
They have always scared him in the past—the Rangers, with their dark cloaks and shadowy ways. The villagers believe the Rangers practice magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people. And now 15-year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger’s apprentice. What he doesn’t yet realize is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of battle and surveillance, they fight the battles before the battles reach the people. And as Will is about to learn, there is a large battle brewing. The exiled Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces for an attack on the kingdom. This time, he will not be denied. . . . (Amazon)
The diamond girls /Jacqueline Wilson
Dixie is the youngest of the Diamond family. She and her sisters, dreamy Martine, glamorous Rochelle and tough Jude, could hardly be more different from each other but their Mum’s tried to teach them the value of sticking together. Now Mum’s expecting yet another baby and she’s convinced this one’s a boy. Time to move to a bigger place, she insists, and the girls scarcely have time to protest before they find themselves at their new house. It’s rough, dilapidated and filthy and before they’ve even unpacked the furniture, Mum goes into labour!
By the time Mum comes home with the new baby, Jude’s been in a fight, Rochelle’s found a new boyfriend and Martine’s stormed off. Only Dixie stays loyally by Mum’s side – so only Dixie spots her secret… (Amazon)
The Thornthwaite Inheritance / Gareth P. Jones
Ovid and Lorelli Thornthwaite have been trying to kill each other for so long that neither twin can remember which act of attempted murder came first. But whoever struck first, trying to take each other’s lives is simply what they do. Until one day a lawyer arrives at their house to take stock of its contents, and his accompanying son attracts their attention. Soon a new battle evolves – one in which the twins have to work together to solve the mystery of their parents’ deaths. Can Lorelli and Ovid overcome their old animosities, and will they ever get to finish that game of chess? (Amazon)
The wind in the willows / Kenneth Grahame
The tales of Ratty, Mole, Badger and Toad. When Mole goes boating with the Water Rat instead of spring-cleaning, he discovers a new world. As well as the river and the Wild Wood, there is Toad’s craze for fast travel which leads him and his friends on a whirl of trains, barges, gipsy caravans and motor cars and even into battle (Amazon)
Danny, the Champion of the world / Roald Dahl
Danny lives in an old gypsy caravan with his father “the most marvelous and exciting father a boy ever had.” And when Danny discovers that his father is a poacher, he cooks up the most fantastic pheasant snatching plan, now if only they can pull it off together …