Ali Sparkes

1.34 a.m. It's always 1.34 a.m. Every night without fail, at 1.34 a.m. on the dot, Elena, Matt, and Tima wake up. Except, something's changed. The beam that gave them the ability to communicate telepathically with animals has started to come through early. And that's because the Earth is slowing down. Just one second's delay is causing freak tidal waves, forest fires, chaos in the skies. And it's only getting worse. Do Elena, Matt, and Tima have the power to get the Earth back on track? Or could this mean the end of everything? Find out in the gripping finale to this electrifying series.

It's not every day a couple of eagles pay you a visit in the middle of the night and tell you your friend, who happens to be hundreds of miles away, is in terrible danger. But Matt and Elena are not everyday people. They're Night Speakers, with the ability to communicate with animals, and an uncanny habit of getting into save-the-world situations. But what is shaking the birds' world so much that it would drive them to fly hundreds of miles? Something huge and horrifying is happening, and Tima is in the middle of it. Can Matt and Elena get to her in time? Something is going on below the surface, and only the Night Speakers can stop us all from falling into the cracks. . . The fourth standalone adventure in the Night Speakers series - action adventures about contemporary children with extraordinary powers, told with award-winning author Ali Sparkes's classic humour and energy.

Build your child’s reading confidence at home with books at the right level Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available. Nothing mysterious happens in Puggle … that is until Dev finds a pebble – a pebble with a painting and the word “HELP” on it. Intrigue builds as more and more pebbles appear around the village. Who keeps sending them? And why? Join Dev and his friends as they seek to solve the Pebble Puzzle in this humorous mystery story by Ali Sparkes. White Plus/Band 10+ books provide challenging plots and vocabulary as well as opportunities to practise inference, prediction and reading stamina. Pages 46 and 47 allow children to re-visit the content of the book, supporting comprehension skills, vocabulary development and recall. Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.

Spin has always dwelled in the darkness. He was happy to lurk alone, until Elena, Matt and Tima came to disrupt his night-time world. Elena, Matt, and Tima are Night Speakers. They wake up at the same time, every night, and since the beginning of these wake-up calls they have all had the power to speak any language. And that doesn't stop with humans. Something weird is going on at the hospital-children are going in, and not coming out. The Night Speakers are investigating, but even they, with their incredible powers of communication with the animal world, are struggling to find out the truth. But Spin's got a ringside seat. Because Spin's got a secret, and he's about to come out of the shadows The third standalone book in the Night Speakers series - action adventures about contemporary children with extraordinary powers, told with award-winning author Ali Sparkes's classic humour and energy.

Jasmine can't help speaking in rhyme and it's quite inconvenient to rhyme all the time. When she gets to school she finds that it's worse. The whole of her class can only speak in verse! Books with short chapters are a great way for children who are reading independently to extend reading stamina and progress to the next step of their reading journey. This Read with Oxford Stage 6 book has rhyming verses, short chapters, an engaging story and humorous colour illustrations. Tips for parents and fun after-reading activities help you to get the most out of the story. Featuring much-loved characters, great authors, engaging storylines and fun activities, Read with Oxford offers an exciting range of carefully levelled reading books to build your child's reading confidence. Find practical advice, free eBooks and fun activities to help your child progress on oxfordowl.co.uk. Let's get them flying!

Since the 1.34 a.m. wake up calls began, Elena, Matt, and Tima had all had the power to talk to animals, birds and insects like no other human could. None of them would ever trade that for a full eight hours sleep. It was too amazing. But an amazing life has its complications. Like finding a body in the dark. Like having to stop the world from ending. You can fit a lot in your day when you don't sleep. New from award-winning author, Ali Sparkes, with huge appeal for both boys and girls. Fast-paced action adventure about contemporary children with mysterious powers, told with Ali's classic humour and lightness of touch.

Night after night Elena, Matt, and Tima wake at exactly the same time, with no idea why. It's messing them up and fracturing their lives . . . until they venture out into the dark and find each other. And then the sleepless trio realize their astounding power - they can speak any language; they can even communicate with animals. But something is happening over on the industrial estate-something which is emitting sounds that only they can hear, and killing any winged thing that crosses its path. There's nobody to fight it but themselves, for only they can possibly understand it and what it means to do . . . A new edge-of-your-seat series from award-winning author, Ali Sparkes, with huge appeal for both boys and girls. Fast-paced action adventure about contemporary children with mysterious powers, told with Ali's classic humour and lightness of touch.

The Earth and Sky collection of texts provides children with the perfect foundation for practising the 10 comprehension strategies in Project X Comprehension Express. There are 9 texts in the collection covering highly-engaging fiction and non-fiction. Each text is carefully levelled to be accessible to every child - including those just behind age-related expectations. This collection of texts is part of Project X Comprehension Express. It is a whole-class teaching programme specially built to help children in Years 4-6 (P5-P7) master comprehension and excel in the new National Reading Test. It includes Handbooks, Workbooks, Expert Tip flashcards and an Expert Tip poster. Online teaching resources and best practice films are available on www.oxfordowl.co.uk to ensure its easy implementation.

The Earth and Sky collection of texts provides children with the perfect foundation for practising the 10 comprehension strategies in Project X Comprehension Express. There are 9 texts in the collection covering highly-engaging fiction and non-fiction. Each text is carefully levelled to be accessible to every child - including those just behind age-related expectations. This collection of texts is part of Project X Comprehension Express. It is a whole-class teaching programme specially built to help children in Years 4-6 (P5-P7) master comprehension and excel in the new National Reading Test. It includes Handbooks, Workbooks, Expert Tip flashcards and an Expert Tip poster. Online teaching resources and best practice films are available on www.oxfordowl.co.uk to ensure its easy implementation.

What if your new best friend was a ghost? Getting struck by lightning whilst huddling under a tree isn't exactly the way Alisha and Theo would have chosen to get out of sports day . . . Surviving the strike makes them see life differently. It also makes them notice Doug and Lizzie. Struck by lightning under that same tree on the common in 1975, the two teenagers have been hanging out there ever since. Doug and Lizzie are funny, clever, brave - and quite happy about making friends with a pair of ten-year-olds. OK, fair point, they are dead, and Doug's trousers are worryingly flared. But you can't have everything. But something sinister is going on at school - although only Theo and Alisha seem to be able to see it. What can it mean when ragged faceless entities keep staring in through the windows? Not all ghosts are friendly like Doug and Lizzie . . . but are these phantoms really the harbingers of doom for all the kids at Beechwood Junior? A fun and fast-paced ghostly mystery with lightning strikes, floating phantoms, and four fantastic friends just trying to get on with their everyday lives . . . or deaths . . . From the prize-winning author of Frozen in Time, the Shapeshifter series, and many more!

When the ground opens up underneath Bella, it's only the start of her adventures ... Oxford Reading Tree All Stars is an engaging chapter fiction series which combines age-appropriate content with imaginative stories, perfect for inspiring and stretching able infants. The series develops comprehension skills and provides a wide variety of fiction topics and styles, alongside illustrations that aid understanding. All the books in this series are carefully levelled, so it's easy to match every child to the right book - one which will develop their reading skills and fuel their love of reading. Help with children's reading development is also available at www.oxfordowl.co.uk.

Ordinary kids: extraordinary powers: amazing adventures. There's a lot of strange stuff going on for Dax Jones. To start with there's the mysterious letter from his dad telling Dax to go to a secret location and find something from his dead mother. Perhaps it's a clue about how he became a shapeshifter. Then there's the weirdness at school. The scientists are up to something, but Dax is sworn to secrecy-he can't even tell his best mate. So when his classmates are suddenly taken away 'for their own safety', Dax's fox senses tell him all is not as it seems. If Dax continues with his quest to find out more about his mother he could be leaving his friends in danger. Is he really willing to risk their lives in his search for the truth about his existence? With appeal for both boys and girls, this exciting finale to the original Shapeshifter series is a fast-paced action adventure about contemporary children with super powers, told with award-winning Ali Sparkes's humour and lightness of touch. Perfect for fans of Alex Rider, Robert Muchamore's CHERUB series, and Young Bond.

Ordinary kids: extraordinary powers: amazing adventures. The fantastic Shapeshifter series continues with Dax and his friends settling into their new secret hideaway in the Lake District. The whole place has been fortified so that the Children of Limitless Ability won't ever be under threat again. After dodging death once too often for his liking, Dax is looking forward to a quieter time-building a tree house in the grounds and shifting to a fox or a falcon and exploring the countryside. But all is not well in the spirit world-strange messages are coming through and Dax, Gideon, Lisa and Mia must once again join forces. Could the messages be coming from Luke and Catherine, Gideon's dead brother and sister? Perhaps they're even still alive? In which case, they have to rescue Luke from Catherine's evil clutches-but is Dax really a match for her? With appeal for both boys and girls, this is a fast-paced action adventure about contemporary children with super powers, told with award-winning Ali Sparkes's humour and lightness of touch. Perfect for fans of Alex Rider, Robert Muchamore's CHERUB series, and Young Bond.

Ordinary kids: extraordinary powers: amazing adventures. When Dax receives an urgent call, he knows he has to drop everything and race to the aid of his friends. But that's not as easy as it sounds. Strange things are happening - unbelievable occurrences that seem to be following Dax and his friends wherever they go. And that's not all that's after them . . . Government agents are stalking their every move - tracking them down. The very people who are supposed to be protecting them seem to be the biggest threat. Who can they trust? Where should they run? Each of the friends must call upon their special powers to try to outwit their pursuers - but will these abilities spell the end for them all? With appeal for both boys and girls, this is a fast-paced action adventure about contemporary children with super powers, told with award-winning Ali Sparkes's humour and lightness of touch. Perfect for fans of Alex Rider, Robert Muchamore's CHERUB series, and Young Bond.