The Name is Kade

by Alan Gibbons and Robbie Gibbons

Published 12 November 2012

The name is Kade, Jack Kade. I take the jobs the cops can’t do. I clear the skyways of the scum of the universe. I hunt down the gangsters, the kidnappers, every kind of low life. It’s a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.

A call from Earth brings Kade back from Saturn. His old enemy Zab Hecko is free and intent on destroying the human race. To make things harder, Hecko’s had a face transplant. Can Kade find him before it is too late?

Told in the style of a Raymond Chandler novel, this is a funny, action-packed sci-fi noir.

  • Help Key Stage 3 students move from Level 3c to Level 3b in reading.
  • Support comprehension with graphic novel-style illustrations.
  • Encourage shared and guided reading using the ready-made tasks and discussion points on the activity pages at the back of the book.

Gladiator

by Alan Gibbons and Robbie Gibbons

Published 12 November 2012

Inside, the helmet was dark and stuffy. I couldn’t see a thing. The sounds of the waves and the sea breeze had suddenly stopped. I got this weird feeling, like the air was bending around me. Like the ground was shifting under my feet.

You find an old helmet on the beach. It’s rusty and looks as if it’s been there for years. You slip it over your head to see how it feels.

When you take it off again, you’re inside a dark tunnel. Someone hands you a sword. You’re a gladiator. And the crowd outside is baying for your blood.

•Help Key Stage 3 students move from Level 3b to Level 3a in reading.
•Support comprehension with the exciting, age-appropriate illustrations.
•Help readers explore the world of Roman gladiators and Roman soldiers using the lively non-fiction section.
•Encourage shared and guided reading using the ready-made tasks and discussion points on the activity pages at the back of the book.


Lone Wolf

by Alan Gibbons and Robbie Gibbons

Published 28 August 2012

He saw it in flashes: a shadow of prickly fur, the gleam of teeth. The sight of it snatched the breath from Danny’s lungs. He knew what the creature was. He thought they had died out in Britain hundreds of years ago, but there was no doubt about it.

He was looking into the yellow eyes of a wolf.

People have been going missing in the town. But Danny’s got something else on his mind: how to avoid Carver and his gang.

Running away from them into the dark woods beyond the estate, he meets something even more frightening…

  • Help Key Stage 3 students move from Level 3a to Level 4c in reading.
  • Support comprehension with the graphic novel style illustrations.
  • Encourage shared and guided reading using the ready-made tasks and discussion points on the activity pages at the back of the book.

Being Rooney

by Alan Gibbons

Published 20 February 2014

How did an ordinary schoolboy from Liverpool become one of England’s top goal scorers?

This biography tells the story of Wayne Rooney’s life in football from his early days at Everton to being signed by Manchester United and his top moments in club and international football. Plus Wayne himself shares some of the secrets of his success.

  • Help Key Stage 3 students move from Level 3b to Level 3c in reading.
  • Support comprehension with the stunning photos of the best games and goals, as well as glimpses into Wayne’s early life.
  • Encourage shared and guided reading using the ready-made tasks and discussion points on the activity pages at the back of the book.
  • Suitable for Key Stage 3 students with a reading age of 9 years.

On the Run

by Robbie Gibbons and Alan Gibbons

Published 20 February 2014

He found them in a ditch by the side of the road. The girl was pinned, helpless. The animal on top of her was too big to be an ordinary wolf: razor claws, a muscular, human-like upper body. It was a werewolf, like Danny. His nightmare had followed him here, to a place where he thought he was safe.

In this exciting sequel to Lone Wolf, Danny is alone, on the run, in a new town. During the day he works in a local kebab shop. At night he tries to control his werewolf appetites.

However, he will not be on his own for long. Carver’s friends have tracked him down and want to avenge their gang leader’s death. But when Danny steps in to rescue a strange girl from their clutches, the fight takes an unexpected turn.

  • Help Key Stage 3 students move from Level 3a to Level 4c in reading.
  • Support comprehension with the age-appropriate, graphic-novel-style illustrations.
  • Encourage shared and guided reading using the ready-made tasks and discussion points on the activity pages at the back of the book.
  • Suitable for Key Stage 3 students with a reading age of 9 years and 6 months.

Invasion

by Robbie Gibbons and Alan Gibbons

Published 20 February 2014

We splash onto the shore and start running. Bullets whistle and punch into the beach. Wrecked landing craft lie on their side. Waves wash up dead bodies floating face down. I stare. Training doesn’t prepare you for this.

Tommy Doran is an infantryman in the British Army. It’s June 1944 and he is about to take part in the biggest invasion in history: D-Day. Will he and his best mate Joe get through the German defences and make it home alive?

This first-person narrative follows them through the anticipation and boredom of waiting to boarding ship in bad weather at Southampton, the Channel crossing, to the fear and tumult of landing on Gold Beach.

Factual pages contextualise the narrative, giving readers the bigger picture. Archive photography and newly commissioned illustration bring the historical events described to life.

The book will be available in time for the 60th anniversary commemorations of D-Day in June 2014.

  • Help Key Stage 3 students move from Level 3a to Level 4c in reading.
  • Support comprehension with the age-appropriate illustrations and the historical photographs to take readers inside the soldiers’ experience.
  • Encourage shared and guided reading using the ready-made tasks and discussion points on the activity pages at the back of the book.
  • Suitable for Key Stage 3 students with a reading age of 9 years and 6 months.