The Wind Singer

The first book in William Nicholson's award-winning fantasy adventure series, perfect for fans of Philip Pullman, Mortal Engines and Star Wars.In the walled city state of Aramanth, rules are everything. When Kestrel Hath dares to rebel, the Chief Examiner humiliates her father and sentences the whole family to the harshest punishment. Desperate to save them, Kestrel learns the secret of the wind singer, and she and her twin brother, Bowman, set out on a terrifying journey to the true source of evil that grips Aramanth...

Hanno, Ira, Bowman, Kestrel and Pinpin Hath are an unhappy family in the world of Aramanth, ruled over by Maslo Inch and his Examiners. Life there is strictly regulated. From the age of two, every citizen must sit regular examinations, the results of which dictate the entire family's social standing, right down to what they can wear. Everyone must live by the Oath of Dedication, they must 'strive harder to reach higher.' But there is no soul in Aramanth and Kestrel and her twin brother are becoming increasingly rebellious. Kestrel is drawn to the wind singer, an ancient statue which stands in the city's square which, myth has it, used to sing until the evil spirit lord, the Morah, stole its voice. Somehow Kestrel knows that to restore happiness to Aramanth, she must restore the voice of the wind singer. She embarks on a dangerous and thrilling mission with Bowman but they also find Mumpo in tow. Mumpo is the school dunce who nobody likes but who adores Kestrel. As their journey progresses, they pass through many diiferent lands and meet some very strange races. Each step of the way they learn that there is more to the world than their walled city, which other races laugh at and regard as some sort of prison. Helped by the Mudpeople, relentlessly pursued by the Old Children and fighting off the wild and blood-thirsty Omchakas and Ombarakas, the children finally face a showdown with the Morah and its unstoppable army of beautiful young Zars. Stepping through fire and aided by the ancient animals of the forests surrounding the palace of the Morah, they manage to find the voice of the wind singer. In an exhilirating race against time and the Zars, they use every ounce of courage to get back to Aramanth. In a gloriously happy final scene, they give the wind singer back its voice and the spell of Morah is broken. Happiness reigns again in Aramanth. Í̂.

Kestrel can't stand the structure and rules of Aramanth. In defiance, she climbs the wooden tower known as the wind singer and brings the wrath of the Chief Examiner on her family. Her beloved father is taken, and only Kestrel and her twin brother Bowman can save him . . . and themselves. It is a terrifying quest, travelling along the Great Way and into the fire. Kestrel and Bowman must defeat the power of the Morah and retrieve the voice of the wind singer to release Aramanth from the grip of evil.

The final part of the Wind on Fire trilogy, read by the author.

Sequel to the Smarties Award-winning title, The Wind Singer, read by the author.

New York Times bestselling author Rainbow Rowell's epic fantasy, the Simon Snow trilogy, concludes with Any Way the Wind Blows. In Carry On, Simon Snow and his friends realized that everything they thought they understood about the world might be wrong. And in Wayward Son, they wondered whether everything they understood about themselves might be wrong. Now, Simon and Baz and Penelope and Agatha must decide how to move forward. For Simon, that means choosing whether he still wants to be part of the World of Mages — and if he doesn't, what does that mean for his relationship with Baz? Meanwhile Baz is bouncing between two family crises and not finding any time to talk to anyone about his newfound vampire knowledge. Penelope would love to help, but she's smuggled an American Normal into London, and now she isn't sure what to do with him. And Agatha? Well, Agatha Wellbelove has had enough. Any Way the Wind Blows takes the gang back to England, back to Watford, and back to their families for their longest and most emotionally wrenching adventure yet. This book is a finale. It tells secrets and answers questions and lays ghosts to rest. The Simon Snow Trilogy was conceived as a book about Chosen One stories; Any Way the Wind Blows is an ending about endings—about catharsis and closure, and how we choose to move on from the traumas and triumphs that try to define us.

From the Newbery Award-winning author of Across Five Aprils and Up a Road Slowly comes a tale of a brave young man’s struggle to find his own strength during the Great Depression. “A powerfully moving story.”—Chicago Daily News In 1932, American's dreams were simple: a job, food to eat, a place to sleep, and shoes without holes. But for millions of people these simple needs were nothing more than dreams. At fifteen years of age, Josh has to make his own way through a country of angry and frightened people. This is the story of a young man’s struggle to find a life for himself in the most turbulent of times.

A gorgeous compendium of Joni Mitchell's handwritten lyrics and drawings, originally handcrafted as a gift for a select group of friends in 1971 and now available to the public for the first time In 1971, as her album Blue topped charts around the world, Joni Mitchell crafted one hundred copies of Morning Glory on the Vine as a holiday gift for her closest friends. For this stunningly beautiful book, Joni hand-wrote an exquisite selection of her own lyrics and poems and illustrated them with more than thirty of her original pictures. Handcrafted, signed, and numbered in Los Angeles, the existing copies of this labor of love have rarely been seen in the past half-century. Now, during Joni's seventy-fifth birthday year, Morning Glory on the Vine: Early Songs and Drawings will be widely available for the first time. In this faithfully reproduced edition, Joni's best-loved lyrics and poems spill across the pages in her own elegant script. The lively, full-color drawings depict a superb array of landscapes, still lifes, portraits of friends, self-portraits, innovative abstractions, and more. All the artwork from the original book is included, along with several additional pictures that Joni drew of her friends from the same period. Finally, the refreshed volume features an original introduction written by Joni. Morning Glory on the Vine is a gorgeous and intimate keepsake and an invitation to explore anew the dazzling, visionary world of Joni Mitchell.