Lorena Alvarez

During a school field trip, Sandy wanders away from her classmates and discovers an empty turtle shell. Taking a peek inside, she suddenly finds herself in a magical dimension filled with sculptures, paintings and books - a glorious museum of the natural world. But one painting is incomplete, and Sandy's the one who has to finish it...

Every night, tiny stars appear out of the darkness in Sandy's bedroom. Sandy catches them and creates wonderful creatures to play with until she falls asleep, and in the morning brings them back to life in the whimsical drawings that cover her room. One day, a mysterious pale girl called Morfie appears at school and is fascinated by Sandy's drawings in a way that no one else has been before. But there is a price to pay for this new friendship...

"One of the most popular stories from the Thousand and One Nights. Aladdin agrees to find an old lamp for his "uncle" Abanazar. Rubbing the lamp summons a powerful genie, who makes Aladdin rich. Then Abanazar tricks Aladdin's wife into giving up the lamp, and kidnaps her. What can Aladdin do? The Usborne English Readers series is a new range of graded readers in simplified English for younger learners. They include activities, glossaries and a full audio recording of the text in both British English and American English."

From the beloved story by Hans Christian Andersen. Everyone at the Emperor's court is enchanted by the song of the nightingale; but one day, the Emperor receives a glittering mechanical nightingale and the real bird is forgotten. Then the Emperor falls ill, and it seems that nothing can save him.With fun activities after the story, and online audio in both British English and American English.

In this mesmerising follow-up to Nightlights, Lorena Alvarez explores our relationship with nature and animals. On a school field trip to the river, Sandy wanders away from her classmates and discovers an empty turtle shell. Peeking through the dark hole, she suddenly finds herself within a magical new dimension. Filled with sculptures, paintings and books, the turtle's shell is a museum of the natural world. But one painting is incom-plete, and the turtle needs Sandy's help to finish it...

Introduce little ones to Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella and the Princess and the Pea in this gorgeous book. With simple text and beautiful illustrations by Lorena Alvarez throughout, the stories are perfect for reading aloud to young children or for older children to read by themselves.