Grandma Bendy

Grandma Bendy can stretch, twist, and bend her body. She uses her bendiness to help people, and is great at hide and seek! But Grandma Bendy didn’t always use her abilities for good . . . Grandma Bendy introduces young children to reading with leveled text and colorful illustrations.

"The original picture book text for this story has been modified by the author to be an early reader."

The president of Juxon is killed and his supporters are on a murderous rampage, plunging the small country into instant civil war. As the headmaster of a prestigious school and a high profile target for the insurgents, Frederick Wiggins and his family are forced to flee their comfortable lifestyle. Fourteen year old Luther’s highest value, his family, is immediately challenged when they have to leave without his eight year old sister Ellie, who is sleeping over at her grandmother’s in the next town. As the conflict escalates, the family has to adapt constantly to deal with petty hostilities as well as the lack of humanitarian assistance. After a humbling experience with some soldiers, Luther is determined to become street wise. During a major clash between the rebels and the army, they have to flee yet again, this time into neighbouring Belling. All they have is the clothes they are wearing. Now they too must live in a refugee camp. Here they live for nearly a year, surviving and dealing with crisis after crisis. A final catastrophe splits the family. Again, it is Luther’s focus on his highest value that keeps him going when wandering in the forest, searching for his errant older sister. Finally, recovering from his ordeal in the forest, he is helped to come to terms with his new life.

'Striking...an unforgettable cast of characters you'd expect to find in the grandest work of fiction.'—Candice Carty-Williams'Juggling laughter and tears with every page, this remarkable journey of discovery tells of one young woman's captivating search for self in a new and challenging environment.'—Margaret Busby'Brims with the pleasure of a story well-told, and with the command of a writer who is comfortable moving between the many registers of Jamaican English.'—Kwame Dawes'Beautiful, evocative and powerfully engaging. I loved this book.'—Francesca MartinezIt's 1969 and Erna Mullings has just arrived in London from Jamaica.Finding herself in a strange country, with a mother she barely recognises and a stepfather she despises, Erna is homesick, lost and lonely. But her life is about to change irrevocably.A story of reluctant immigration and the relationship between children and the people who parent them, The Day I Fell Off My Island is engrossing, courageous and psychologically insightful. Yvonne Bailey-Smith writes with great warmth and humanity as she explores estrangement, transition and, ultimately, the triumph of resilience and hope.

"The original picture book text for this story has been modified by the author to be an early reader."

Originally published in Horsham, West Sussex by Maverick Arts Publishing Ltd. in 2016.

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