Dave Goulson’s passionate drive to reintroduce the bumblebee to its native land is one of the highlights of a book that includes exclusive research into these curious creatures, history’s relationship with the bumblebee and advice on how to protect it for all time.
2013. 3v.
Autobiographies and Biographies
Ferguson, Alex. Alex Ferguson: my autobiography.
His compelling story starts in Govan, a shipbuilding district of Glasgow: always honest and revealing, he reflects on his epic journey, and a managerial career that embraced unprecedented European success for Aberdeen and 27 triumphant years with Manchester United.
2013. 4v.
Jason, David. David Jason: my life.
Born the son of a Billingsgate market porter at the height of the Second World War, David Jason’s early life was spent dodging bombs and bullies, both with impish good timing. David’s is a touching, funny and warm-hearted story, which follows his incredible six decades at the top of the entertainment business.
2013. 1v.
Saunders, Jennifer. Bonkers: my life in laughs.
Jennifer Saunders' funny, touching and disarmingly honest memoir, filled with stories of friends, laughter and occasional heartache.
2013. 3v.
Stibbe, Nina. Love, Nina: despatches from family life. General fiction.
In the 1980s Nina Stibbe wrote letters home to her sister describing her trials and triumphs as a nanny to a London family. There's a cat nobody likes, a visiting dog called Ted Hughes (Ted for short) and suppertime visits from a local playwright – Alan Bennett.
2013. 4v
Tovey, John and Clark, Veronica. A dog called Dez: the true story of how one amazing dog changed his owner’s life.
When John Tovey lost his sight at the age of 42, he thought his life was over. He was wrong, it was just beginning. John asked for help and was introduced to a bouncy black labrador called Dez.
2013. 3v.
Food and drink
Stein, Rick. Rick Stein’s India.
Whether sampling Bhapa maach paturi (spicy steamed fish) in Calcutta, exploring the impact of spicy Konkan cuisine on European settlers or trying his hand at a hot Tandoori grill, Rick is searching for the soul of Indian food - the real flavours, ingredients and techniques that make up this fiery and fragrant cuisine.
2013. 3v.
History
Schama, Simon. The story of the Jews: finding the words: 1000 BCE-1492 CE.
From the invention of a single deity and the killing of his embodied Son through to the production of urban modernity, so much bears the imprint of Jewish thinking and culture.
2013. 8v.
Self help
Toksvig, Sandi. Peas & queues: the minefield of modern manners.
How do you get rid of unwanted guests? What do you do if there’s a racket in the quiet carriage? Who are you supposed to kiss - and is it one kiss or two? Thankfully, Sandi Toksvig has come to the rescue with her entertaining guide to modern manners.
2013. 3v.
War
Hastings, Max. Catastrophe: Europe goes to war 1914.
Max Hastings answers how World War I could ever have begun. Ranging across Europe, from Paris to St. Petersburg, from kings to corporals, he traces how tensions kindled into a blaze of battles; battles of movement and dash where Napoleonic tactics met with weapons from a newly industrialised age.
2013. 10v.
Mallinson, Allan. 1914: fight the good fight: Britain, the army and the coming of the First World War.
Allan Mallinson has written a new history of the origins - and the opening first few weeks fighting - of what would become known as the war to end all wars. He explains the grand strategic shift that occurred in the century before the war and the British Army’s regeneration after its drubbings in its fight against the Boer.
2013. 8v.
Children and young adult fiction
Suggested reading age 0-4
Andreae, Giles and Wojtowycz, David. Mad about minibeasts!
From slugs and snails to bustling beetles and beautiful butterflies these rhymes are full of humour and great to read aloud.
2011. 1v.
Bently, Peter and Oxenbury, Helen. King Jack and the dragon.
Night is falling, bedtime is looming and playtime is nearly over - but brave King Jack is more than a match for the dragons and terrible beasties.
Every day Tiddler is late for school, and every day he has another tall tale for his teacher. But did he really ride a seahorse? Did he really meet a mermaid? And who will believe him when he really does get captured in a net?
2008. 1v.
Suggested reading age 5+
Meadows, Daisy. Alexandra the Royal Baby Fairy.
The whole of Fairyland is very excited – there’s going to be a new royal baby! But when Foster the stork fails to deliver the new bundle of joy on time, the Royal Baby Fairy asks friends of the fairies, Rachel Tate and Kirsty Walker, for their help.
2013. 1v.
Suggested reading age 7+
I like this poem : a collection of best-loved poems chosen by children for other children.
This is a rich and varied collection of poems - all of them chosen by children aged from five to 15. Highwaymen and naughty children, sharks and baboons, the Snitterjipe and the Jabberwocky, all have their part to play.
1979. 1v.
Loser, Barry and Smith, James. I am still not a loser.
Barry has a new problem: Gordon Smugly has stolen his best friend, Bunky. Join Barry as he attempts to get Bunky back, organises a girly-screamvoice test and tries to avoid seeking his teacher kissing his gran.
2013. 1v.
Mackay, Janis. The accidental time traveller.
One ordinary day, Saul is on his way to the corner shop when a girl suddenly appears in the middle of the road. She doesn’t understand traffic, or the things in shops, and she’s wearing a long dress with ruffled sleeves. Her name is Agatha Black. Agatha Black is from 1813, and Saul needs to find a way to get her back there.
2013. 1v.
Morpurgo, Michael. Little foxes.
Bullied at school, nagged in Aunty May’s council flat, there’s only one place Billy really feels alive - in the wilderness by the canal. There he watches a cygnet on the water and protects a family of fox cubs. Then his secret place is discovered and the fox family decimated. Unwanted Billy and the last fox run for their lives.
2008. 1v.
Morpurgo, Michael. This morning I met a whale.
At sunrise, young Michael spots a whale on the shores of the Thames and thinks he must be dreaming. But the creature is real and it has a message for him - one that only an open-minded child can deliver to the rest of the world. The whale warns that the earth’s days are numbered.
2009. 1v.
Strong, Jeremy and Clifford, Rowan. My brother’s famous bottom gets crowned!
Nicholas’s neighbours are celebrating the Queen’s coronation and everyone’s gone bonkers! Dad’s dressing up as a banana and why has Cheese got a crown on his bottom? It’s going to be the biggest street party they’ve ever had.
