For younger children
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The Factory Made Boy
By Christine Nöslinger
Just imagine if little boys and girls could be ordered from a factory, like cars and washing machines.
In this story, Mrs Bartolotti unexpectedly receives a parcel in the post that turns out to be a small boy. Conrad is a perfect, factory-made child who never does anything wrong. Conrad is also clever and can do many things – he reads encyclopaedias, he knows all about Zaire and can do his 49 times table.
But when the people from the factory realise that they have delivered the child to the wrong address, they come to take him back. Conrad doesn’t want to go back so Mrs Bartolotti hatches the perfect plan to keep him. But can she turn a perfect child into the little monster he needs to be?
Expect food fights, naughtiness, many horrible children (as well as a couple of nice ones) and lots of attitude!
Published by Andersen Press – £4.99
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For older children
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The Mystery of Wickworth Manor
By Elen Caldecott
This story has an unhappy ghost, terrible mysteries from the past and an evil murder.
A group of primary pupils are meeting other children who will be starting at the same secondary school in the new term. One of them, Curtis, finds a portrait in his bedroom of a young black servant dressed in livery. But why is the portrait hidden in the bedroom, and not in pride of place alongside the other portraits in the manor?
Then Paige finds an intriguing letter, written over 200 years ago by Miss Verity Burton, who used to live at the Manor, that mentions the portrait. There is a mystery begging to be unravelled! So Paige and Curtis, in their very different ways, start work to find out what happened all those years ago …
Published by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC – Price: £5.99
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Our Books of the Week is in association with the ReadingZone
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