Brenda Usherwood

Jo, Bessie and Fanny take their cousin Rick on an adventure he'll never forget to the magic Faraway Tree, where he meets Moon-Face, Silky the fairy and Saucepan Man, and visits all the different lands at the top of the Faraway Tree. Like the Land of Spells, the crazy Land of Topsy-Turvy, and the land of Do-As-You-Please, where the children ride a runaway train!

Jo, Bessie and Fanny have a visit from snooty friend Connie. Connie won't believe in the Faraway Tree and the magical people who live there - Moon-face, Silky the fairy and Saucepan Man. There's only one way to prove her wrong - together the children climb the tree, and visit some of the lands at the top of it, like the Land of Secrets and the Land of Treats. And after a few adventures, Connie learns to be a nicer person altogether!

In June 1897 Kate happily celebrates her eleventh birthday, but her joy is short lived as tragedy strikes and she has to grow up quickly. Her spirit and sense of humour help her survive the hardship of the workhouse, but will they help restore the happiness she lost as a child?  Book 2 of series.

Grieving for the baby she was forced to have adopted and rejected by her family, Daisy agrees to be evacuated to the Lakes. When she meets a young airman, Harry Driscoll, she hopes to have a second chance at love, but her past is about to come back to haunt her.

Patsy dreams of having a proper family again when her seafaring father returns to set up as a carrier at the Liverpool docks. But her happiness is short lived when her father is killed in an accident and her mother seduces her boyfriend Bruno.

Megan’s world is torn apart when her sister dies in an accident. Then she finds the man she loves is not who she thought he was. Megan starts her own business in an effort to get on with her life, but will she ever love again?

Marjorie Preston thinks her dreams are going to come true when she is asked to go to London as assistant to the singer Denby Sinclair. But in London disaster strikes, and she is left alone, so will she ever become a successful star of the stage? Book 2 of  series.  X rated, contains offensive language and graphic violence.

After her mother's death, Ellie keeps her deathbed promise and rejects the advances of Gideon Walker, a local craftsman. Exiled to live with her aunt and uncle, she is forced into a marriage that promises stability and status but is in fact a loveless hell! X rated, explicit sexual content.

Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy the dog find excitement and adventure wherever they go in Enid Blyton's most popular series.

In their second adventure, the Famous Five find a thief at Kirrin Cottage. They think they know who it is, but need to prove it.

Will the discovery of a very old map help uncover the true culprit?

Three spinetinglers guaranteed to have you hiding under the covers! A spiders web starts catching more than flies; Granny gives a gift that will turn your hair white; and a wish goes horribly wrong.

Lee is in trouble at school and finds himself sorting out shoes in the cupboard, but when he meets a strange old woman the boot is on the other foot.

When the Graphicat on the classroom computer screen slides out and onto the desk, frightening events are threatened.

A story centring around Kevin Pelham who is unjustly accused of stealing money from the staff cloakroom at school. The problems and difficulties in living down a bad name are highlighted, as Kevin has been in trouble before and his father is in prison.

How would you feel if your mother had royal-blue hair and wore lavender fishnet tights? But Minna's whole family (including her mum's punk boyfriend, Crusher Maggot) is a bit unusual. Being the only sensible one is not easy for Minna...

Alex, abandoned as a baby in the stony arms of the Sphinx on London's Embankment, is adopted by a family. His happy life with them is disturbed when he inherits a lot of money, and questions of his past and real identity arise.

On the moors above Haverston, an unknown beast is attacking livestock, and Haverston itself is threatened by another beast - the threat of unemployment - as the local mill is about to close...

Cassy hears sinister footsteps in the middle of the night. Suddenly she is packed off to stay with her beautiful, feckless mother. There is no explanation. Something has gone frighteningly wrong. Danger is coming after Cassy. And behind it lurks the dark wolf-shape that seems to slink into everything. Even her dreams.

You're the new girl in school. You're just trying to fit in - and it's not working. Then someone accuses you of theft, and you think things can't get any worse. Until you get caught in a freak storm...

The next thing you know, you're in the future. Being shot at for being out after curfew. You don't even recognise your hometown. And you're heading for a confrontation from your worst nightmare.

What if you could change the past to save the future?

Five absorbing stories set in the north-west of England. Meet cussed, rebellious Miss Brady, who lives with a badger on a barge; the reviled old shepherd, Reicker; Sally Beck, a topiary gardener with an extraordinary past; the reclusive Egg Man; proudly independent Jakey... and the young people whose lives they profoundly affect.

Three children at Nitshill Road School are surprised when Celeste appears in their playground and from then on life there is never the same.

Charlie and his friend Dodger dress up as a pantomime horse at the library Book Bonanza, with hilarious results.

It is 1953, Sally's mother is seriously ill in hospital , her father is abroad and her big brother is in the Army so Sally has to stay with grumpy Mrs Spinks next door. Then something absolutely terrible happens - but who can she tell?

Lucy is fourteen and life is too complicated. Her teachers want her to choose her GCSE subjects, but how can she. Everyone else knows what they want to do, why can't Lucy?

Anastasia often feels swamped by her family, but after the arrival of a baby brother serious action is called for!

Poised on the brink of a year's adventure in France, 18-year old Jess learns of Bridie and Jack, her mother's parents, whose love kept them together in spite of family divisions; of Granny Dorothy's daily toil in the dirt and grime of the buffing-shop; and of her parents' first meeting. And of course, there's Jess's story too.

With both parents working, Jessica, Ollie and baby Harry have to adapt to a new way of life with surprising results.

Amber Brown has to choose. Will she spend Thanksgiving with her Mum in Washington or in New York with her Dad? On top of that a new girl at school has a colourful name too! What will she do?

Harry is a poisonous centipede but he’s not very brave. Harry likes to eat things that are juicy and munchy! But there are some things that a poisonous centipede must never try to eat – dangerous things like flying swoopers, belly wrigglers, furry biters and the most dangerous of all… Hoo-Mins!

Monty is allergic to ghosts, they make him sneeze. As soon as he sets foot in the Brinsley Codd School for Sensible Thought he knows it's haunted, but he cannot convince the teachers.

Milly's left foot was capable of things other feet could dream of, but can Milly make a lucky strike for her school?

Bestonerff FC are in trouble and need money, but when their Golden Goal trophy is stolen, football fan Milly has a plan.

This is the story of Jeanette, adopted and brought up by her mother as one of God's elect. Zealous and passionate, she seems destined for life as a missionary, but then she falls for one of her converts.

At sixteen, Jeanette decides to leave the church, her home and her family, for the young woman she loves. Innovative, punchy and tender, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is a few days ride into the bizarre outposts of religious excess and human obsession.

CONTENT WARNING: contains scenes of a sexual nature

When fifteen-year-old Cissie Brodie loses her parents to cholera, she is forced out of the family cottage and left to raise her nine siblings alone. Although desperately poor, Cissie determines to build a new home for the Brodies. It is only a rough stone shelter, but to Cissie and her family it is enough to keep them from the workhouse. But can love, when it arrives, teach Cissie not to fear the world beyond the dwelling place?

Every once in a while, circumstance traps a group of people in a pattern of tragedy and violence from which they struggle vainly to fight free. Thus it was with the Master of Cock Shield Farm, Angus McBain, a man too easily tempted to sin, and those in and around his household.

This is the story of a group of repertory actors in Liverpool in the mid-1950’s. Stella is a sad and lonely woman, who calls the speaking clock for comfort.

The story of three women: Ellen, Emmie and Gwen who are caught up in the destruction of the Second World War. Ellen’s home is destroyed by bombs, Gwen is concerned for the safety of her family and Emmie fears for her merchant seaman fiancé, thousands of miles away in the South Atlantic.