Miku Takeshita and her family have moved from Japan to live in the UK, but unfortunately the family's enemy demons have followed them… Miku knows she's in trouble when her new supply teacher turns out to be a Nukekubi - a bloodthirsty demon who can turn into a flying head and whose favourite snack is children. That night, in a raging snowstorm, Miku's little brother Kazu is kidnapped by the demons, and then it's up to Miku and her friend Cait to get him back. The girls break into their snow-locked school, confronting the dragon-like Woman of the Wet, and outwitting the faceless Nopera-bo. At last they come face to face with the Nukekubi itself - but will they be in time to save Kazu? The winner of the first Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Award, this is the first of a new trilogy, Takeshita Demons, with the second, Takeshita Demons: The Filth-Licker due to be published in 2011 and Takeshita Demons: Monster Matsuri in 2012. To read more about the Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Award, click here This title is also available as an ebook, in either Kindle, ePub or Adobe ebook editions

Trouble is brewing again for Miku and her friends, Cait and Alex. There's a violent quilt in Alex's bedroom and a mystery visitor has been in the Takeshitas' house, drinking tea out of their best cups. And then Kazu is stolen for the second time. Miku, Cait, Alex and the little Filth Licker must solve the trail of clues leading them to an invisible house full of demons, the home of Nurarihyon, the Master of the Demons. But is he really the evil one they have come to fight, or is someone or something else controlling him. With only a bag of fish-heads to protect them, the children and the Filth Licker meet their final challenge in the frozen palace of the Yuki-Onna, the Snow Woman, where they find Kazu imprisoned in a cage of ice, and where the Snow Woman is determined to destroy them…

Ramzi's dad is acting very strangely. He climbs trees in the middle of the night, and even goes into Ramzi's wardrobe looking for a hen. The trouble is, he's sleepwalking because he's homesick for his native Algeria. So Ramzi, Dad and Mum go back to Dad's Berber village in the desert region of North Africa, and Ramzi meets his Berber grandmother and cousins, and even braves the scary Sheherazad. But can Ramzi help his dad and what will happen when they get back home again. This is a funny, heart-warming family story by an exciting new author, set in Britain and Algeria, with fascinating glimpses of traditional Berber culture and lots of colourful characters.

In this now classic book, internationally famed journalist Ian Buruma examines how Germany and Japan have attempted to come to terms with their conduct during World War II—a war that they aggressively began and humiliatingly lost, and in the course of which they committed monstrous war crimes. As he travels through both countries, to Berlin and Tokyo, Hiroshima and Auschwitz, he encounters people who are remarkably honest in confronting the past and others who astonish by their evasions of responsibility, some who wish to forget the past and others who wish to use it as a warning against the resurgence of militarism. Buruma explores these contrasting responses to the war and the two countries’ very different ways of memorializing its atrocities, as well as the ways in which political movements, government policies, literature, and art have been shaped by its shadow. Today, seventy years after the end of the war, he finds that while the Germans have for the most part coped with the darkest period of their history, the Japanese remain haunted by historical controversies that should have been resolved long ago. Sensitive yet unsparing, complex and unsettling, this is a profound study of how people face up to or deny terrible legacies of guilt and shame.

Miku is going to School Camp in the forest, with her friend Cait and the rest of her class. It should be fun. But Miku has premonitions of danger, and when Oscar goes down with a festering rash, and a rushing wind blows out the bonfire she's sure something bad is going on. Then Alex finds the frog-like Filth-Licker in the boys' toilets, and all at once Miku, Cait and Alex are on a secret mission to overcome the vengeful Shape-Shifters or Super Demons before it's too late?Later that night, with Alex kidnapped by a pyromaniac fox, and Cait possessed by some angry sickle weasels, it's up to Miku and the Filth-Licker to save them all from disaster.Coming in 2012Takeshita Demons: Monster Matsuri

Cassia can't wait for her first visit to India - Bollywood glamour, new friends to admire her uber-cool street-dance moves…. But as she steps into real Indian life, NOTHING is as she expected... Cass is with her mum in Kerala, on a buying trip for their Fair Trade craft shop, and everything seems to be going wrong. There's Mum's new romance with "call-me-V" Mr Chaudury for a start, her own prickly stand-off with pretty, fashion-mad Priyanka, and the devastating news that her mum's business may be on the rocks. But then pop idol Jonny Gold arrives at the beach to promote his new song, Om Shanti Babe, sparking a mystery, new friendships and a race to save the mangrove swamps... Fizzing with energy, and laugh-out-loud funny, this is a roller-coaster journey of discovery, which also has an exciting environmental twist - all against the backdrop of beautiful Kerala.

Trouble is brewing again for Miku Hashimoto and her friends, Cait and Alex. There's an angry quilt in Alex's bedroom and a mystery visitor has been in the Hashimoto's house, drinking tea from their best cups. Miku, Cait, Alex and the little akaname must solve the trail of clues leading them to an invisible house, the home of Nurarihyon, the Master of the Monsters. A matsuri is a giant festival or party? But watch out: a monster matsuri is?monstrous!"I really liked the first 2 instalments, but I LOVE this one! Like Spirited Away combined with a Famous Five camaraderie" GoodReads"This is one to give to the adventure loving nine or ten year old kid who likes being a little scared-some of the demons are more than somewhat frightening (although there's no goryness)." - Charlotte's Library"As with the author's two earlier Takeshita Demons titles this is a fast-paced, compulsive read that appeals to a wide audience; children as young as 8 or 9 through to adults. Each of the titles is a standalone read but the characters in the three are consistent. This time Miku and her friends must solve the trail of clues to finally banish evil from their world." - Julia Eccleshare (children's editor of the Guardian).- Previously published by Frances Lincoln Children's Books as Takeshita Demons: Monster Matsuri