In the jungle of Southern India the Seeonee Wolf-Pack has a new cub. He is not a wolf - he is Mowgli, a human child, but he knows nothing of the world of men. He lives and hunts with his brothers the wolves. Baloo the bear and Bagheera the panther are his friends and teachers. And Shere Khan, the man-eating tiger, is his enemy. Kipling's famous story of Mowgli's adventures in the jungle has been loved by young and old for more than a hundred years. 64 pages

There, on top of the mushroom, was a large caterpillar, smoking a pipe. After a while the Caterpillar took the pipe out of its mouth and said to Alice in a slow, sleepy voice, 'Who are you?' What strange things happen when Alice falls down the rabbit-hole and into Wonderland! She has conversations with the Caterpillar and the Cheshire Cat, goes to the Mad Hatter's tea party, plays croquet with the King and Queen of Hearts. . . 64 pages

I want to learn to fly,' Amelia Earhart tells her family one evening. But it is 1920. Flying is expensive and dangerous, and most people think it is for men, not women. But nothing can stop Amelia Earhart, and she works hard to be a pilot. Soon, she is breaking records for flying further and higher than anyone before. She shows the world that anything is possible - for women and not just men. Life is always exciting for Amelia Earhart. At forty-one, she is nearly ready to slow down, but she wants to make one last important flight...

'Then a letter came for Aloo from a famous college in America. They offered him a place. . . a place with a scholarship. Aloo could not believe it at first. He read the letter again and again.' Aloo is very happy, but soon he finds that it is not so easy. He will need money to live on, money for his plane ticket. . . And then there is Mother. . . 64 pages

'Then a letter came for Aloo from a famous college in America. They offered him a place. . . a place with a scholarship. Aloo could not believe it at first. He read the letter again and again.' Aloo is very happy, but soon he finds that it is not so easy. He will need money to live on, money for his plane ticket. . . And then there is Mother. . . 64 pages

From Botswana to New Zealand, from Jamaica to Nigeria, from Uganda to Malaysia, from India to South Africa, these moving stories show us that the human heart is the same in every place. Fear and pain, happiness and sadness belong to us all. These eight stories were winning entries in the 2004 Commonwealth Short Story Competition. 64 pages

Ellen Shore's family is an ordinary American family, and Ellen is six years old when her brother Al is born. Her parents are very pleased to have a son, but Ellen is not pleased,
because now baby Al comes first. And when they are adults, Al still comes first. He begins a rock band and makes records. Soon he is rich and famous - very rich, but he gives nothing to his sister Ellen. She has a difficult life, with three young kids and very little money. And she learns to hate her rich, famous, unkind brother... 64 pages

In the mountains of Transylvania there stands a castle. It is the home
of Count Dracula - a dark, lonely place, and at night the wolves howl
around the walls. In the year 1875 Jonathan Harker comes from England to
do business with the Count. But Jonathan does not feel comfortable at
Castle Dracula. Strange things happen at night, and very soon, he begins
to feel afraid. And he is right to be afraid, because Count Dracula is
one of the Un-Dead - a vampire that drinks the blood of living people... 64 pages

In Sweden, nobody wants a troll to come into their garden, but how do you stop them? On a lonely road at night in Oman, Abdul's car breaks down and he takes a ride with a stranger,
but perhaps it is safer to walk. In England some young people play a scary game, and in Asia, a soldier returns home - at last. Every country in the world has stories about ghosts and spirits and monsters of one kind or another. Some people believe in ghosts, and some don't - but everyone enjoys a good ghost story.

In Sweden, nobody wants a troll to come into their garden, but how do you stop them? On a lonely road at night in Oman, Abdul's car breaks down and he takes a ride with a stranger,
but perhaps it is safer to walk. In England some young people play a scary game, and in Asia, a soldier returns home - at last. Every country in the world has stories about ghosts and spirits and monsters of one kind or another. Some people believe in ghosts, and some don't - but everyone enjoys a good ghost story.

Matty is fifteen and is leaving school in a few weeks' time. He wants to work with animals, and would like to get a job on a farm. But his parents say he's too young to leave home - he must stay in the town and get a job in ship-building, like his father. They also say he can't
go on a camping holiday with his friends. And they say he can't keep his dog, Nelson, because Nelson barks all day and eats his father's shoes. But it is because of Nelson that Matty finds a new life... 64 pages

There, on top of the mushroom, was a large caterpillar, smoking a pipe. After a while the Caterpillar took the pipe out of its mouth and said to Alice in a slow, sleepy voice, 'Who are you?' What strange things happen when Alice falls down the rabbit-hole and into Wonderland! She has conversations with the Caterpillar and the Cheshire Cat, goes to the Mad Hatter's tea party, plays croquet with the King and Queen of Hearts. . . 64 pages

Who wants to live in a house, wear clean clothes, be good, and go to school every day? Not young Huckleberry Finn, that's for sure. So Huck runs away, and is soon floating down the great Mississippi River on a raft. With him is Jim, a black slave who is also running away. But life is not always easy for the two friends. And there's 300 dollars waiting for anyone who catches poor Jim... 64 pages

As they walk through a park in the distant future, Harl and Ellen talk about their work and their lives. But they will never have a life together because their work as scientists is more important to them than their love. Harl plans to leave Earth, on a long and dangerous journey through space. Ellen plans to stay on Earth, to change the way the human mind works. When Harl returns to Earth, Ellen will be long dead... and the world will be a very different place. 64 pages

Sherlock Holmes is the greatest detective of them all. He sits in his room, and smokes his pipe. He listens, and watches, and thinks. He listens to the steps coming up the stairs; he watches the door opening - and he knows what question the stranger will ask. In these three of his best stories, Holmes has three visitors to the famous flat in Baker Street - visitors who bring their troubles to the only man in the world who can help them. 64 page

Good luck in Malaysia, bad news in New Zealand, a chicken and a jug of cider in Britain, a goat and a pumpkin in India, fun and games in a cyber café in Nigeria... The countries change, but people's lives are always strange and wonderful in any place. 64 pages

Good luck in Malaysia, bad news in New Zealand, a chicken and a jug of cider in Britain, a goat and a pumpkin in India, fun and games in a cyber café in Nigeria... The countries change, but people's lives are always strange and wonderful in any place. 64 pages

This is the story of Karen Silkwood. It begins with her death. Why does her story begin where it should end? Certain people wanted her death to be an ending. Why? What were they afraid of? Karen Silkwood had something to tell us, and she believed that it was important. Why didn't she live to tell us? Will we ever know what really happened? The
questions go on and on, but there are no answers. This is a true story. It happened in Oklahoma, USA, where Karen Silkwood lived and worked... and died. 64 pages

The room was on the fourth floor, and the door was locked - with the key on the inside. The windows were closed and fastened - on the inside. The chimney was too narrow for a cat to
get through. So how did the murderer escape? And whose were the two angry voices heard by the neighbours as they ran up the stairs? Nobody in Paris could find any answers to this mystery. Except Auguste Dupin, who could see further and think more clearly than other people. The answers to the mystery were all there, but only a clever man could see them. 64 pages

The room was on the fourth floor, and the door was locked - with the key on the inside. The windows were closed and fastened - on the inside. The chimney was too narrow for a cat to
get through. So how did the murderer escape? And whose were the two angry voices heard by the neighbours as they ran up the stairs? Nobody in Paris could find any answers to this mystery. Except Auguste Dupin, who could see further and think more clearly than other people. The answers to the mystery were all there, but only a clever man could see them. 64 pages

Allegra is an unusual name. It means 'happy' in Italian, but the little girl in this story is sometimes very sad. She is only five years old, but she tells Adrian, her new friend, that she is going to die soon. How does she know? And who is the other Allegra? The girl in a long white nightdress, who has golden hair and big blue eyes. The girl who comes only at night, and whose hands and face are cold, so cold... 64 pages

Allegra is an unusual name. It means 'happy' in Italian, but the little girl in this story is sometimes very sad. She is only five years old, but she tells Adrian, her new friend, that she is going to die soon. How does she know? And who is the other Allegra? The girl in a long white nightdress, who has golden hair and big blue eyes. The girl who comes only at night, and whose hands and face are cold, so cold... 64 pages

One day, a farmer tells a farm boy to take everything out of an old building and throw it away. 'It's all rubbish,' he says. In the middle of all the rubbish, the boy finds a beautiful old piano. He has never played before, but now, when his fingers touch the piano, he begins to play. He closes his eyes and the music comes to him - and the music moves his fingers. When he opens his eyes again, he knows that his life is changed for ever... 64 pages

One day, a farmer tells a farm boy to take everything out of an old building and throw it away. 'It's all rubbish,' he says. In the middle of all the rubbish, the boy finds a beautiful old piano. He has never played before, but now, when his fingers touch the piano, he begins to
play. He closes his eyes and the music comes to him - and the music moves his fingers. When he opens his eyes again, he knows that his life is changed for ever... 64 pages

Everybody has bad dreams. Horrible things move towards you in the dark, things you can hear but not see. Then you wake up, in your own warm bed, and turn over to go back to sleep. But imagine that you wake up on a hard floor, in a darkness blacker than the blackest night. You listen to the silence, and smell a wet dead smell. Death is all around you, waiting... In these stories by Edgar Allan Poe, death whispers at you from every dark corner, and fear can send you mad... 64 pages

Everybody has bad dreams. Horrible things move towards you in the dark, things you can hear but not see. Then you wake up, in your own warm bed, and turn over to go back to sleep. But imagine that you wake up on a hard floor, in a darkness blacker than the blackest night. You listen to the silence, and smell a wet dead smell. Death is all around you, waiting... In these stories by Edgar Allan Poe, death whispers at you from every dark corner, and fear can send you mad... 64 pages

Richard is bored with the quiet life of his village. He would like to have a motor-car and drive it... very fast. But Richard lives in a future world where there are no cars, only bicycles and small villages and green forests. And now he is twelve years old, and like the other children, he must do his Year of Sharing. He must live alone in the forest with the wild animals. He must learn to share his world; he must learn how animals live and eat and fight... and die. 64 pages

Richard is bored with the quiet life of his village. He would like to have a motor-car and drive it... very fast. But Richard lives in a future world where there are no cars, only bicycles and small villages and green forests. And now he is twelve years old, and like the other children, he must do his Year of Sharing. He must live alone in the forest with the wild animals. He must learn to share his world; he must learn how animals live and eat and fight... and die. 64 pages

William Shakespeare. Born April 1564, at Stratford-upon-Avon. Died April 1616. Married Anne Hathaway: two daughters, one son. Actor, poet, famous playwright. Wrote nearly forty
plays. But what was he like as a man? What did he think about when he rode into London for the first time... or when he was writing his plays Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet... or when his only son died? We know the facts of his life, but we can only guess at his hopes, his fears, his dreams. 72 pages

'I want to learn to fly,' Amelia Earhart tells her family one evening. But it is 1920. Flying is expensive and dangerous, and most people think it is for men, not women. But nothing can stop Amelia Earhart, and she works hard to be a pilot. Soon, she is breaking records for flying further and higher than anyone before. She shows the world that anything is possible - for women and not just men. Life is always exciting for Amelia Earhart. At forty-one, she is nearly ready to slow down, but she wants to make one last important flight...

When Ping sees Hanno in the zoo, he is excited, but also unhappy. Hanno is a magnificent African gorilla, big and black and much stronger than a man. But how can this wonderful wild animal live in a cage, behind bars and locked doors? Then Hanno escapes from the zoo. And a few days later his footprints are seen near Green Knowe, the old house deep in the English countryside where Ping is spending his holiday. . . 64 pages

What does the name 'Agatha Christie' mean? To many people, it means a book about a murder mystery - a 'whodunnit'. 'I'm reading an Agatha Christie,' people say. 'I'm not sure
who the murderer is - I think it's . . .' But they are usually wrong, because it is not easy to guess the murderer's name before the end of the book. But who was Agatha Christie? What was she like? Was her life quiet and unexciting, or was it full of interest and adventure? Was there a mystery in her life, too? 64 pages

What does the name ''Agatha Christie'' mean? To many people, it means a book about a murder mystery - a ''whodunnit''. ''I''m reading an Agatha Christie,'' people say. ''I''m not sure who the murderer is - I think it''s . . .'' But they are usually wrong, because it is not easy to guess the murderer''s name before the end of the book. But who was Agatha Christie? What was she like? Was her life quiet and unexciting, or was it full of interest and adventure? Was there a mystery in her life, too?

What does the name 'Agatha Christie' mean? To many people, it means a book about a murder mystery - a 'whodunnit'. 'I'm reading an Agatha Christie,' people say. 'I'm not sure who the murderer is - I think it's . . .' But they are usually wrong, because it is not easy to guess the murderer's name before the end of the book. But who was Agatha Christie? What was she like? Was her life quiet and unexciting, or was it full of interest and adventure? Was there a mystery in her life, too? 64 pages

Marilla Cuthbert and her brother Matthew want to adopt an orphan, to help on the farm at Green Gables. They ask for a boy, but they get Anne, who has red hair and freckles, and who talks and talks and talks. They didn't want a girl, but how can they send a child back, like an unwanted parcel? So Anne stays, and begins a new life in the sleepy, quiet village of
Avonlea in Canada. But it is not so quiet after Anne comes to live there. . . 64 pages

Marilla Cuthbert and her brother Matthew want to adopt an orphan, to help on the farm at Green Gables. They ask for a boy, but they get Anne, who has red hair and freckles, and who talks and talks and talks. They didn't want a girl, but how can they send a child back, like an unwanted parcel? So Anne stays, and begins a new life in the sleepy, quiet village of Avonlea in Canada. But it is not so quiet after Anne comes to live there. . . 64 pages

From Botswana to New Zealand, from Jamaica to Nigeria, from Uganda to Malaysia, from India to South Africa, these moving stories show us that the human heart is the same in every place. Fear and pain, happiness and sadness belong to us all. These eight stories were winning entries in the 2004 Commonwealth Short Story Competition. 64 pages

I often walked along the shore, and one day I saw something in the sand. I went over to look at it more carefully ... It was a footprint - the footprint of a man!'In 1659 Robinson Crusoe was shipwrecked on a small island off the coast of South America. After fifteen years alone, he suddenly learns that there is another person on the island. But will this man be a friend - or an enemy?

Mr Ross lives on an island where no visitors come. He stops people from taking photographs of him. He is young and rich, but he looks sad. And there is one room in his house which is always locked. Carol Sanders and her mother come to the island to work for Mr Ross. Carol soon decides that there is something very strange about Mr Ross. Where did he get his money from? How can a young man buy an island? So she watches, and she
listens - and one night she learns what is behind the locked door. 64 pages

Mr Ross lives on an island where no visitors come. He stops people from taking photographs of him. He is young and rich, but he looks sad. And there is one room in his house which is always locked. Carol Sanders and her mother come to the island to work for Mr Ross. Carol soon decides that there is something very strange about Mr Ross. Where did he get his money from? How can a young man buy an island? So she watches, and she
listens - and one night she learns what is behind the locked door. 64 pages

Ellen Shore's family is an ordinary American family, and Ellen is six years old when her brother Al is born. Her parents are very pleased to have a son, but Ellen is not pleased,
because now baby Al comes first. And when they are adults, Al still comes first. He begins a rock band and makes records. Soon he is rich and famous - very rich, but he gives nothing to his sister Ellen. She has a difficult life, with three young kids and very little money. And she learns to hate her rich, famous, unkind brother... 64 pages

In the mountains of Transylvania there stands a castle. It is the home of Count Dracula - a dark, lonely place, and at night the wolves howl around the walls. In the year 1875 Jonathan Harker comes from England to do business with the Count. But Jonathan does not feel comfortable at Castle Dracula. Strange things happen at night, and very soon, he begins to feel afraid. And he is right to be afraid, because Count Dracula is one of the Un-Dead - a vampire that drinks the blood of living people... 64 pages

Richard Walton is in trouble again. He has lost his job, and he has borrowed money from his sister, Jennifer - again. And now he has disappeared. Jennifer is looking for him, and so
are the police. They both have some questions that they want to ask him. How did he lose his job? Why did he fly to Frankfurt? Who gave his girlfriend those very expensive gold ear-rings? Only Richard can answer these questions. But nobody can find Richard. 64 pages

Richard Walton is in trouble again. He has lost his job, and he has borrowed money from his sister, Jennifer - again. And now he has disappeared. Jennifer is looking for him, and so
are the police. They both have some questions that they want to ask him. How did he lose
his job? Why did he fly to Frankfurt? Who gave his girlfriend those very expensive gold ear-rings? Only Richard can answer these questions. But nobody can find Richard. 64 pages

When the children dug a hole in the gravel-pit, they were very surprised at what they found. 'It' was a Psammead, a sand-fairy, thousands of years old. It was a strange little thing - fat and furry, and with eyes on long stalks. It was often very cross and unfriendly, but it could give wishes - one wish a day. 'How wonderful!' the children said. But wishes are difficult things. They can get you into trouble... 64 pages

When the children dug a hole in the gravel-pit, they were very surprised at what they found. 'It' was a Psammead, a sand-fairy, thousands of years old. It was a strange little thing - fat and furry, and with eyes on long stalks. It was often very cross and unfriendly, but it could
give wishes - one wish a day. 'How wonderful!' the children said. But wishes are difficult things. They can get you into trouble... 64 pages

All they could hear was the wind, and the waves crashing on to the rocks. All they could see was the night. They could not see the ship, broken in two. They could not see the people
holding on to the dark wet rock, slowly dying of cold. And they could not hear the cries for help - only the wind. How could they save the people on the rock? Was their wooden boat stronger than the iron ship? Were a man and his daughter stronger than the great waves that broke the ship in two? The Forfarshire was wrecked off the north-east coast of England in 1838. This is the true story of Grace Darling - a girl who became a famous heroine on that stormy night. 64 pages

All they could hear was the wind, and the waves crashing on to the rocks. All they could see was the night. They could not see the ship, broken in two. They could not see the people
holding on to the dark wet rock, slowly dying of cold. And they could not hear the cries for
help - only the wind. How could they save the people on the rock? Was their wooden boat stronger than the iron ship? Were a man and his daughter stronger than the great waves that broke the ship in two? The Forfarshire was wrecked off the north-east coast of England in 1838. This is the true story of Grace Darling - a girl who became a famous heroine on that stormy night. 64 pages

This famous play by William Shakespeare, written in about 1600, is one of the finest in the English language. Why does Hamlet, the young Prince of Denmark, look so sad? Why does he often say strange things? His family and friends are worried about him. Perhaps he is mad! But Hamlet thinks that he has discovered a terrible secret about a recent crime in his family. Now he has no time for Ophelia, the sweet girl who loves him, or his friends, who were at school with him. He sits alone, and thinks, and plans. What will he decide to do? Will he ever be happy again? 64 pages

This famous play by William Shakespeare, written in about 1600, is one of the finest in the English language. Why does Hamlet, the young Prince of Denmark, look so sad? Why does he often say strange things? His family and friends are worried about him. Perhaps he is mad! But Hamlet thinks that he has discovered a terrible secret about a recent crime in
his family. Now he has no time for Ophelia, the sweet girl who loves him, or his friends, who were at school with him. He sits alone, and thinks, and plans. What will he decide to do? Will he ever be happy again? 64 pages