Al MacCuish

"Welcome to a very secret world. Not many people know this, but inside a special, little red postbox in London, close to Big Ben, there exists a top secret department. It is so top secret that only the Queen of England, her Prime Minister, Spies and Cats know about it. And now you..." This book part of 'The Ministry of Letters' series recounts the adventures of the top-secret government department 'The Ministry of Letters', the place where all the letters and all the words in the world are creat ed. We are introduced to this secret and then told the story of 'Operation Alphabet', one of the most famous adventures ever to have happened to the letters who work in the Ministry. The star of the story is Charlie Foxtrot, who starts school aged fi ve and finds learning the alphabet confusing and strange. We learn how the members of the Ministrys Special Alphabet Service (SAS) set off on an adventure to Scotland to find Charlie and teach him, by song and rhyme, the alphabet and the joy to be fo und in letters and words. They succeed he goes to school the next day and gets full marks in a test and the world lives happily ever after! 'Operation Alphabet' also comes with a special jacket that folds out into an alphabet poster.

In The Bee Who Spoke, we are introduced to Belle, an adventurous and inquisitive eleven-year-old girl who lives in Paris. She travels with her parents to the Ardeche to visit her grandparents for her summer holiday. When she arrives she is presented with a bicycle to explore the glorious Ardeche countryside. Belle sets out on her bicycle and, being bold and ever curious, ventures further and further from her grandparents house. Suddenly, disaster strikes: Belle falls from her bicycle and realizes she has become lost. Fortunately, Belle is found and befriended by a talking Bee, who, as well as guiding Belle safely back to her grandparents house, introduces Belle to some of the plants and animals that are around her and explains to Belle the wonder and harmony that can be found in nature. Belle sees the world with fresh eyes and, at the end of her holiday and having returned to Paris, knows that her new-found knowledge means that she will never see the environment around her in the same way and that her encounter with the Bee is just the start of further adventures. With its engaging, witty story, beautiful illustrations and environmental theme, the wonderful tale of Belle and the Bee will enchant and entertain young readers and spur their curiosity about the natural world.