Showing results by narrator "Joan Walker" in All Categories

In "The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit," a bad rabbit steals a carrot from a good rabbit and scratches him in the process. When a hunter mistakes the bad rabbit for a bird, the bad rabbit inadvertently receives his just desserts.

In "The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin", a naughty squirrel and his many cousins sail to Owl Island on a mission to collect nuts. While obtaining permission from old Owl Brown, naughty Squirrel Nutkin disrespectfully dances around, singing a nonsensical song. As the collecting continues, Squirrel Nutkin's naughty antics only increase. Will old Owl Brown notice?

Jerusalem, 1920: in an already fractured city, 11-year-old Prudence feels the tension rising as her architect father launches an ambitious and wildly eccentric plan to redesign the Holy City by importing English parks to the desert. Prue, known as the 'little witness', eavesdrops underneath the tables of tearooms and behind the curtains of the dance halls of the city's elite, watching everything but rarely being watched herself.

America in the 1920s was a place of drama, tension and hedonism. It glittered and seduced: jazz, flappers, the birth of Hollywood, and a glamorous gangster- led crime scene flourishing under prohibition. But it was also punctuated by momentous events such as the political show trials and the huge Ku Klux Klan march. But it also produced a splendid array of writers, musicians and film stars, from F. Scott Fitzgerald to Bessie Smith and Charlie Chaplin.

Cassie has settled into life in Hedgely when, out of the blue, her troubled cousin, Sebastian, comes to stay for Hallowe'en. Sneering and scornful, Sebastian trails after Cassie and her friends, interfering with their coven projects and belittling the dangers of the faery world. But Cassie, Rue and Tabitha have bigger problems – as the nights grow longer, a dark shadow creeps out of the Hedge and villagers start behaving strangely, possessed with the desire to find a mysterious object.

Collins brings the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie, to English language learners. Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time in any language. Now Collins has adapted her famous detective novels for English language learners. These carefully abridged versions are shorter, with the language targeted at learners of English.

When DS Josie Masters is called out to a house in North Oxford to investigate a serious incident, things take a personal turn. The body is Harry’s - her friend and former colleague. Josie thought Harry lived alone, but evidence suggests he’d had a lodger - a young woman who has fled the scene.

1918. Fleeing from her past, Cathy Carmichael is new to the Sixteen Streets. She has nothing to her name, no plan and nowhere to go. Cathy thinks she's struck gold when she runs into Mrs Sturrocks, an elderly lady who offers her a room at her boarding house. Her son, Noel, might be strange and sulky, but he gives her a job at the Robin Hood pub and before long, Cathy is thriving as the new barmaid. The Sixteen Streets was only meant to be a temporary stop for Cathy...but could it become home instead?

From the ashes of war rose a song of hope.... A warm-hearted, nostalgic and uplifting saga, The Songbirds of Colliers Row by Jennifer Hart is perfect for fans of Call the Midwife, Donna Douglas and Kate Thompson's Secrets of the Singer Girls and for anyone with a song in their heart.... A village without a voice. That's what the locals are saying about Llandegwen, deep in the Welsh valleys.

Amber Whittington-Jones is dying. In her last days she begins to write down her story in an attempt to make sense of her life, to explain to herself, and the one person who still might understand, why she made her choices. But for all her insight, Amber cannot foresee the events that are about to unfold, events that will once again bring her family to its knees and force the past out into the light.

It's 1939 and little Dot May Dun is playing with her brothers in the quiet lanes of their Derbyshire village. The grown-ups' talk of war means very little to Dot but things are starting to change in the village, for good. When a prisoner of war camp is built close to Dot's village, and a Yankee base is stationed nearby, Dot makes friends with the most unlikely of soldiers. But her friendships are threatened when telegrams start to arrive in the village and the real impact of war bears heavily on this close-knit mining community.

An orphan poses nervously for a Renaissance maestro in medieval Siena, and an artist's servant girl in seventeenth-century Amsterdam snatches a moment away from her work to lose herself in tales of knights and battles. In a Victorian photography studio, a woman holds a book that she barely acknowledges while she waits for the exposure, and in a Shoreditch bar in 2008 a woman reading catches the eye of a young man who takes her picture.

Whether you're an investment veteran or just starting out, this concise finance-focused guide will unpick risky "get rich quick" myths, explain proven investment strategies using real-life case studies, and grow your confidence in the markets. Refreshingly honest and accessible, The Investor's Mindset is a much-needed antidote to the bad investment advice peddled online, instead helping you develop the confidence and resolve to build wealth sustainably and achieve financial freedom.

In "The Tale of Ginger and Pickles", a yellow tomcat and a terrier are shopkeepers in a small village. Though the mice customers make Ginger the cat's mouth water and Pickles the dog finds his rabbit shoppers faintly enticing, the two control their impulses and even extend credit to their customers. But how long can this combination last?

When the Tailor of Gloucester sends his cat to buy some food and a twist of silk for a waistcoat, he discovers a secret - the cat has imprisoned mice under some teacups. After the tailor releases the mice, the cat hides the twist of silk in anger. But how can the tailor finish the waistcoat now?

In The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, a farmer's wife believes ducks make poor sitters and takes their eggs to give to her hens to hatch them. The duck Jemima decides to find a safe place away from the farm to lay her eggs. When a fox offers to help, Jemima must keep her guard up. The 12th of Beatrix Potter's 22 charmingly illustrated tales of animals in amusing situations, The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck has children and adults alike since its release in 1907.

Full-cast performance with comprehensive commentary and analysis for any student to fully understand and appreciate the novel. Hardy's world is brought to life in this vivid drama that sets the scene, tells the tale, and puts the characters on trial using theatre-in-education techniques to examine "the leaden gloom of one who has lost all".

Picklewitch lives in a tree at the bottom of the garden. She has a nose for naughtiness, a mind for mischief and a weakness for cake. And unluckily for brainbox and all-round-goody-two-shoes Jack (who's just moved in) - she's about to choose him as her new best friend....

When little Ella's grandmother dies, she is turned out of her home and forced into a life of cruel labour. Even her own mother won't help, too busy with her new husband. Seeking refuge at the Foundling School for Girls, Ella meets Julia, who has been torn apart from her twin, Ned. They must take matters into their own hands if they're to stay together despite their parents' wishes. In a world of hardship and betrayal, three children begin a search for belonging.

Robin Ballantyne is investigating the murder of a British man in Beijing. Is his death linked to a recent series of brutal attacks on women? In a city thick with paranoia and corruption, Robin struggles to separate rumour from reality.