Based on the story of Jonathan Swift . Retold by Clare West . ... "Soon I felt something alive moving along my leg and up my body to my face, and when I looked down, I saw a very small human being, only fifteen centimetres tall... I was so surprised that I gave a great shout." By the book But that is only the first of many surprises which Gulliver has on his travels. He visits a land of giants and a flying island, meets ghosts from the past and horses which talk... Classics, modern fiction, non-fiction and more. Written for secondary and adult students the Oxford Bookworms Library has seven reading ... |
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Based on the story of Anna Sewell . Retold by John Escott . ... When Black Beauty is trained to carry a rider on his back, or to pull a carriage behind him, he finds it hard at first. But he is lucky - his first home is a good one, where his owners are kind people, who would never be cruel to a horse. But in the nineteenth century many people were cruel to their horses, whipping them and beating them, and using them like machines until they dropped dead. Black Beauty soon finds this out, and as he describes his life, he has many terrible stories to tell. Classics, modern fiction, non-fiction and more. Written for ... |
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Based on the story of Thomas Hardy . Retold by Clare West . ... On a stormy winter night, a stranger knocks at the door of a shepherd's cottage. He is cold and hungry, and wants to get out of the rain. He is welcomed inside, but he does not give his name or his business. Who is he, and where has he come from? And he is only the first visitor to call at the cottage that night... In these three short stories, Thomas Hardy gives us pictures of the lives of shepherds and hangmen, dukes and teachers. But rich or poor, young or old, they all have the same feelings of fear, hope, love, jealousy... Classics, modern fiction, ... |
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Based on the story of Mark Twain . Retold by Diane Mowat . ... 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... Classics, modern fiction, non-fiction and more. Written for secondary and adult students the Oxford Bookworms Library has seven reading levels from A1 - C1 of the ... |
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Based on the story of Buchi Emecheta. Retold by Rosemary Border . ... When her father dies, Aku-nna and her young brother have no one to look after them. They are welcomed by their uncle because of Aku-nna's bride price - the money that her future husband will pay for her. In her new, strange home one man is kind to her and teaches her to become a woman. Soon they are in love, although everyone says he is not a suitable husband for her. The more the world tries to separate them, the more they are drawn together - until, finally, something has to break. Classics, modern fiction, non-fiction and more. Written for ... |
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Based on the story of William Shakespeare . Retold by Anna Trewin. ... Life is sweet for Othello . He is deeply in love with his new wife, Desdemona, and as the Duke's general, he is the most important person in Venice's army. But Othello does not know that his flag-bearer, Iago, hates him and wants revenge. As Iago begins to succeed with his clever plans, a frightening emotion takes hold of Othello's hear: will jealousy destroy him? This is one of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies, retold here as a story, not a play. Classics, modern fiction, non-fiction and more. Written for secondary and adult ... |
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Based on the story of William Shakespeare . Retold by Alistair McCallum . ... This is the most famous of all Shakespeare's plays - a story of young love. What's in a name? Does it really matter if you are called Montague or Capulet? When Romeo, son of Lord Montague, falls in love with the most beautiful girl he's ever seen, he finds that it does matter. It makes all the difference in the world, because both families hate each other. For a time, Romeo and Juliet manage to keep their love secret. But when Romeo is sent away from Verona, hope begins to die. Can any of their friends help the young lovers to be ... |
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Based on the story of Arnold Bennett. Retold by Nick Bullard . ... Every town should have a "card" - someone who gets talked about, someone who does mad and wonderful things, someone who makes you laugh. Bursley in the Five Towns has a "card": Edward Henry Machin (Denry for short). Denry begins life in a poor little house where the rent is twenty-three pence a week. But before he's thirty, he's made a lot of money, and had more adventures than you and I have had hot dinners. The town of Bursley never stops talking about him. Whatever will young Denry do next? Classics, modern fiction, non- ... |
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Based on the story of Bram Stoker . Retold by Diane Mowat . ... 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... Classics, modern fiction, non-fiction and more. Written for ... |
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Based on the story of Jane Austen . Retold by Clare West . ... The moment I first met you, I noticed your pride, your sense of superiority, and your selfish disdain for the feelings of others. You are the last man in the world whom I could ever be persuaded to marry' said Elizabeth Bennet. And so Elizabeth rejects the proud Mr Darcy. Can nothing overcome her prejudice against him? And what of the other Bennet girls - their fortunes, and misfortunes, in the business of getting husbands? This famous novel by Jane Austen is full of wise and humorous observation of the people and manners of her times. Classics, modern ... |
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Based on the story of Charlotte Bronte . Retold by Clare West . ... Jane Eyre is alone in the world. Disliked by her aunt's family, she is sent away to school. Here she learns that a young girl, with neither money nor family to support her, can expect little from the world. She survives, but she wants more from life than simply to survive: she wants respect, and love. When she goes to work for Mr Rochester, she hopes she has found both at once. But the sound of strange laughter, late at night, behind a locked door, warns her that her troubles are only beginning. Classics, modern fiction, non-fiction and more. ... |
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Based on the story of Katherine Mansfield . Retold by Rosalie Kerr. ... "Oh, how delightful it is to fall in love for the first time! How exciting to go to your first dance when you are a girl of eighteen! But life can also be hard and cruel, if you are young and inexperienced and travelling alone across Europe... or if you are a child from the wrong social class... or a singer without work and the rent to be paid." By the book Set in Europe and New Zealand, these nine stories by Katherine Mansfield dig deep beneath the appearances of life to show us the causes of human happiness and despair. Classics, modern ... |
