WriteNow Young Readers Pick & Mix

The are many famous Muslims in this book - for example, Malala Yousafzai, Sir Mo Farah and Muhammad Ali. But there are many more Muslim people who have changed our world. From pirate queens and athletes to warriors and mathematicians, this book is about some of these amazing Muslims.

Our Penguin Readers books include:
• Simple text (CEFR-levelled)
• Pictures to help you understand the story
• Fun exercises to help you learn and practise English

With the print book, you can get even more help online:
• Read the book online
• Listen to the book being read out loud
• Get lesson plans for teachers
• Find answers to check your understanding

A spellbinding, epic and heart-racing magical adventure from an exquisite new storytelling talent.

'Ahmed Pathak is a wonderful new voice' - Katherine Rundell

'Phenomenal' - Sophie Anderson

'One of the best children's books I have read in a decade' - Louie Stowell

India, 1855. The British rule, and all across the country, Indian magic is being stamped out.

More terrifying still, people born with magic are being snatched from their homes. Rumour is that they are being taken across the sea - to England - by the all-powerful, sinister Company.

When Chompa's home is attacked and her mother viciously kidnapped, Chompa - born with powerful and dangerous magic that she has always been forbidden from using - must travel to the smoky, bustling streets of East London in search of her. But Chompa will discover far more treachery in London than she had bargained for - and will learn that every act of her rare magic comes with a price . . .

'Exhilarating, thoughtful and rich . . . Easily one of the year's best books for children' - Guardian

'A wonderful writer who paints a thoroughly convincing heroine' - Daily Telegraph

'An unexpected gem of a story . . . A stellar setting, a gut-punch of a twist, and an unforgettable heroine. This has all the hallmarks of classic children's storytelling' - Nizrana Farook

'Dazzling from start to finish' - Abi Elphinstone

'A gripping and spellbinding fantasy woven together with threads of magic, secrets and colonial history . . . An incredible cast of characters and a truly multicultural Victorian London that we don't see often enough' - Rashmi Sirdeshpande

'A wonderfully vibrant debut . . . A vivid magical adventure' - Jasbinder Bilan

Just like her favourite person in the whole world – her grandad – Hettie’s favourite place in the whole world – the Arts Centre – has gone. And Hettie can’t quite work out how she’s supposed to feel anything like how she did before.

Many years before, Jack is feeling lonely too. But his life changes when he’s taken in by a theatre troupe and learns the secrets of the mysterious people behind the acts.

And many years before that, Araine is also struggling. Her life isn't what she thought it would be, a meagre existence where rich people, with their evenings out at the theatre, don’t have a thing to worry about.

When you’re feeling alone it can be hard to see the light. But though they live years apart, Hettie, Jack and Araine are connected in ways they never imagined.

A magical story full of ghosts, theatre, love, friendship and family from disabled writer, activist, spoken word artist and theatre maker Lisette Auton.

Some bonds are built to last forever . . .

When Alpha was a baby, she washed up by the lighthouse at Haven Point, a remote beach alive with wild magic. Alpha was the first foundling - and now the lighthouse at Haven Point has become a ramshackle home for any disabled child or adult who has ever felt excluded from society.

They call themselves the Wrecklings, looting from passing ships with the help of the mermaids who live in their waters, and whispering superstitions to the wind and the waves. Alpha and her gang spend their days adventuring on the shore - and getting into trouble with the grown-ups.

Then one day, everything changes. When Alpha spots a strange light up on the headland and realizes that her beloved family are in danger of being discovered by Outsiders, it sets in motion a chain of events that will change Haven Point forever.

With their home under threat, the Wrecklings must decide what kind of future they want . . . and what they're willing to do to get it.

In the future, the most underestimated person on the planet may be the only one who can save it.

The year is 3897, and life on Earth is a neon dream, all flashing lights and buzzy noise – and no one remembers that behind the illuminated shell above them there's a night sky filled with stars.

As she turns 11, neurodivergent, freckled Astrifer Nova is nothing like her sporty, high-achieving twin brother, Blaze. And on the day of her Work Path Allocation ceremony which determines the course of her life, she is crushed when she gets assigned to something as boring as the sock factory.

But all is not as it seems, and as she uncovers layers of hidden truths all around her, Astrifer discovers that the world is bigger than she ever imagined – and that it’s up to her and a motley crew of new friends (including one from very far away) to challenge the status quo. Turns out, their differences may be exactly what the planet needs…

Mimi adores her wild, fun, full-of-life gran. Then Gran starts forgetting things. Suddenly there are cracks appearing all around their home - and a mysterious black crow - both of which only Mimi seems able to see.

Mimi is determined to solve the mystery. Luckily she has new friends to help: Titch and Nusrat. Together, they're the Stickleback Catchers: solvers of puzzles and seekers of adventure.

Down by the river, where the gang meet and the silvery sticklebacks swim, they discover a mysterious stone, speckled with stars. But this is no ordinary stone: it's the doorway to another world, a world of talking crows and secrets, magical constellations and memories - and maybe, just maybe, Mimi's chance to bring back Gran forever...

On the day they are born, each Swift is brought before the sacred Family Dictionary. They are given a name and a definition, and it is assumed they will grow up to match. Unfortunately, Shenanigan Swift has other ideas.

So what if her relatives all think she's destined to turn out as a troublemaker, just because of her name? Shenanigan knows she can be whatever she wants - pirate, explorer or even detective.

Which is lucky, really, because when one of the Family tries to murder Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude, someone has to work out whodunit.

With the help of her sisters and cousin, Shenanigan grudgingly takes on the case, but more murders, a hidden treasure and an awful lot of suspects make thing seriously complicated.

Can Shenanigan catch the killer before the whole household is picked off? And in a Family where definitions are so important, can she learn to define herself?

Shenanigan Swift hates burglars . . .

So when the famous criminal gang Ouvolpo target Swift House and swap a valuable painting for an exploding inflatable bird, Shenanigan sets off in pursuit, determined to make them pay

The trail leads to Paris, home of her eccentric French cousins, the Martinets. The two sides of the Family have been squabbling for centuries, but when a body is discovered at the scene of Ouvolpo's latest robbery, the quarrelsome cousins must join forces to solve the mystery

Did Ouvolpo kill hotel caretaker Bernard? Why is Uncle Maelstrom wearing an earring again? And what does it all have to do with a disappearing clown

Can Shenanigan uncover the answers and set right a century-old injustice? Or will she be left adrift as her Family pulls itself apart

The Swifts won the 2023 Nero Children’s Fiction Award and the Barnes & Noble Children's Book Award, and was nominated for the Carnegie Medal.