Balfour Primary School, Year 4 Wishlist

During her town's Ganesha Chaturthi festival, young Prema comes up with an innovative plan to save the river from pollution. Persevering through multiple obstacles, she convinces her friends to help her create natural clay Ganesha statues to replace the plaster ones that harm the river when they dissolve. Created by an author and artist from different parts of India and set in modern-day India, this inclusive tale of activism, ingenuity and sustainability is sure to inspire young readers.

Endnotes include information about Ganesha Chaturthi, a recipe for homemade sculpting dough and instructions for making an earth-friendly statue

"There is nothing here for us... We leave in the spring for a new land - for a new life in Britannia!"

Oslaf has already lost his home and his family, and is struggling to build a new life in the village of his mother's old friend. So when the chieftan decides to move everyone across the sea to Britannia, Oslaf goes with them. Can they build a new home in a foreign land? And will Oslaf be as brave as the heroes in the tales he loves?

This exciting and dramatic story from Tony Bradman is packed with great characters and insight into the Angles' migration, settlement and partnership with the Saxons in 6th-century Britain.

Michael Morpurgo is a master storyteller, former Children's Laureate and multi-award winner. This is a fresh reissue of a much-loved story with a beautiful new cover. Escaping from China as the Japanese invade, Ashley and Uncle Sung embark on a perilous journey across the Himalayas.

Then Ashley finds himself alone in the hostile mountains, battling for his life. He is just about to give up all hope, when he has a mysterious and terrifying encounter.

Welcome to Professor Brownstone's vault - containing ancient relics from around the world, all collected by his famous ancestors! This fan favourite is coming to shelves in paperback! Follow the epic journey of Brownstone's earliest ancestor, Arthur, and travel back to the age of the Vikings where this bookish young adventurer must find the courage to save his village and defeat the mighty beast Fenrir...

This inspiring picture book tells the true story of world-famous deaf percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie. This is a story of music. Of obstacles.

Of strength and hard work. Of all you can accomplish when you dream. As a child, Evelyn Glennie's ears began to hurt.

Voices became distant whispers. Ringing phones sounded like muffled crunches in her ears. But when she was told that she would need to wear hearing aids for the rest of her life, Evelyn was determined that this this would never stop her from playing music.

Instead of giving up on her dreams, Evelyn found new ways to listen.

A joyous Amazon adventure set in the lush nature of Brazil, Journey to the River Sea is filled with mystery and extraordinary characters. Maia, an orphan, can't wait to reach her distant relatives a thousand miles up the Amazon.

She imagines a loving family with whom she will share great adventures. Instead she finds two spiteful cousins who see the jungle as the enemy and refuse to go outdoors. But the wonders of the rainforest more than make up for the hideous twins and their parents.

And when Maia meets a mysterious boy who lives alone on the wild river shores, she begins a spectacular journey to the heart of an extraordinary and beautiful new world.

Hilda can never sit still for long without setting off on another adventure. She can't resist exploring her enchanting world--a place where trolls walk, crows speak, and mountains move. The magic and folklore of the wild, windswept North come alive in this book about an adventurous little girl and her habit of befriending anything, no matter how curious it might seem.

While on an expedition to illustrate the magical creatures of the mountains around her home, Hilda spots a mountain troll. As the blue-haired explorer sits and sketches, she slowly starts to nod off. By the time she wakes up, the troll has totally disappeared and, even worse, Hilda is lost in a snowstorm. On her way home, Hilda befriends a lonely wooden man, and narrowly avoids getting squashed by a lost giant.

Loved this? Find more books in Luke Pearson's series about Hilda here.

This richly illustrated concertina book takes the reader from the top of a mountain spring, through varying landscapes, and follows a river's journey from its source to the sea. With a focus on the important role waterways play in human and environmental survival, The River That Flows Beside Me explores the changing landscapes along a river's journey and the habits and ecosystems that call the river their home.
Further downstream, readers will journey with the river past beaver dams, floodplains, oxbow lakes, paddle-boarders, bridges and more. On your journey, meet the animals that call the river home, including: White-tailed deer Grizzly bears Otter Smallmouth bass Dragonflies With a primary focus on the river's ecosystems, wildlife and geological processesThe River That Flows Beside Me also explores the way that humans interact with the river landscape, using it both to survive and also to enjoy.

Beginning with a tiny trickle high in the mountains, smaller streams join until they form the world's largest river. Crossing a continent, it winds through lush rainforests until it meets the ocean. From piranhas to the giant anaconda, this mighty waterway is home to the world's most incredible ecosystem.

Welcome to the Amazon River.

In the late morning of May 29th 1953, the sun was shining brightly on the roof of the world, a gentle breeze was blowing and two men were there to witness it for the first time ever. Their names were Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay and the roof of the world was Everest.

This is the breathtaking story of how two very different yet equally determined men battled frost-biting temperatures, tumbling ice rocks, powerful winds and death-defying ridges to climb the world's highest mountain. Join these two unlikely heroes on the most amazing of adventures and discover the impact of hundreds of men and women that helped Hillary and Tenzing achieve their goal.

Alva rushes through the trees in the dead of night with her sniffer wolf, Fen. Being out alone when there's a kidnapper on the loose is reckless, but if she ever wants to be an investigator like her Uncle Magnus, she'll need to be first to the crime scene. But what Alva discovers raises more questions than it answers, drawing her into a dangerous search for truth, and for treasure.

3 copies available
This breathtaking journey along the most important rivers in the world takes us from the Nile to the Amazon, the Mekong Delta to the Mississippi, the Murray to the Waikato. Our seas and rivers tell a compelling story about our planet. Through tracking the life source of people, animals and the land itself, Peter Goes brings alive our history and our lives today. Each illustration includes major events and historical figures connected with its river, but also favourite stories and icons.

Discover all the foul facts about the Smashing Saxons with history's most horrible headlines. All the foul facts about the Smashing Saxons are ready to uncover, including: who got cow pats as Christmas presents why wearing a pig on your head is lucky and how to make a dead Saxon happy. Fully illustrated throughout and packed with horrible stories – with all the horribly hilarious bits included

You’re a farmer’s son living in England in the early 7th century. Your people are descendants of invaders from Northern Europe: the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes, who arrived about 200 years earlier, seized land from the native Britons and made themselves at home here. You will experience first-hand the culture and history of the Anglo-Saxon peoples, including how they survived, ate and dressed, the stories they told, and how they responded to the coming of Christianity. Life is tough, and you’ll soon discover that you really wouldn’t want to be an Anglo-Saxon peasant!