The Secret Secret Passage

Lonely and forlorn after their mother's death and their sudden arrival at Aunt Mabel's seaside boarding-house, John, Mary and Ben Mallory are unimpressed with their new life in England. But there are wonderful surprises in store for them when they discover a secret way into the grand and empty house next door. Soon all sorts of unexpected events will unfold as the siblings encounter a whole host of eccentric characters and happenings. Completed in 1963, The Secret Passage is Nina Bawden's first children's novel and was written especially for her own three children after they had discovered a secret passage in the cellar of their house. It beautifully reflects her own inquisitive nature - as she herself has said: 'I was a keyhole child, fearsomely curious' - wedded to her subtly innovative ability to empathise with the child's view.

Reproduction of the original.

While weekend guests at the mansion of Mr. Boddy, Mr. Green, Colonel Mustard, Mrs. White, Mrs. Peacock, Miss Scarlet, and Professor Plum must figure out who is the perpetrator of a series of crimes. Original.

An atmospheric love story with a twist by the author of The Rabbit Back Literature Society. In a small hillside town, Olli Suominen - publisher and discontented husband - is constantly losing umbrellas. He has also joined a film club. And Greta, an old flame, has added him on Facebook. As his life becomes more and more entangled with Greta's, and his wife and son are dragged into the aftermath of this teenage romance, Olli is forced to make a horrible choice. But does he really want to know what the secret passages are? Can he be sure that Greta is who she seems to be? And what actually happened on that summer's day long ago? Tense, atmospheric and often very funny, Secret Passages in a Hillside Town is another magical Finnish story from the author of the acclaimed The Rabbit Back Literature Society.

Adam opens the door to a world where he faces terrible danger.

Ever since my cosmic twin disappeared, nothing makes sense anymore. Friends, work, life—well, you get the picture. For all of five minutes I thought therapy might be the answer. But then I remembered: I’m a cartoonist. Why waste a skilled professional’s time when I could just spend 10 years of my life making an autobiographical comic and call it a “voyage of self-discovery”? So here it is: the opening chapter of my life. It’s 1985 in a small Quebec town called Notre-Dame du Lac. We’re going to get to know a little girl who enjoys chatting with the forest (that’s me!), a younger brother with demonic tendencies, a tyrannical older brother, and two marvelous parents who may or may not be aliens. And please, PLEASE, take my advice, dear reader. If you ever find yourself in the midst of an existential crisis, don’t make a comic about it. See a therapist instead. Much love!

Achim is eleven years old when he moves from the orphanage to the house by the sea. Here everything is strange and new. But one day he discovers an unusual door that leads to a circular room with walls made of rough stone. The light coming through the window is hazy, as if the room is under water. It is a magic room—which he calls “The Adopted Room”—belonging to another world. And on a bed in the room sits a boy who is waiting to take Achim with him into the realm of the powerful Nameless One. Achim learns that the boy, Arnim, is the long-dead son of Achim’s new parents. When he died in a car accident at the age of four, Arnim was supposed to have become a bird and flown free to the land of the dead, which can be seen through the window of The Adopted Room. But the Nameless One has somehow locked Arnim inside, so he cannot leave. Achim, however, finds he can turn into a bird, slip through the window, and fly across the strange land. And thus begins a journey in which Achim must fight the Nameless One and free Arnim so he can finally leave his parents and they can let go of their grief. Antonia Michaelis’s fresh voice helps to address the delicate issues of death, grief, and mourning, portraying them as an essential part of life. The Secret Room is full of humor and adventure, but also brings to light these difficult life issues in a way that young readers can understand. The first in a trilogy, with its sequel, The Secret of the Twelfth Continent, to follow next spring, this captivating mid-grade novel is sure to become a favorite series with young readers.

It begins with a queer and rich old woman found stabbed to death in her chair and not a clue to the murderer. Then so many clues turn up that even the story-book detective is bewildered. Then nearly everybody turns out to be somebody else under an alias, and all the clues lead nowhere...