Wonder English

Auggie wants to be an ordinary ten-year-old. He does ordinary things—eating ice cream, playing on his Xbox. He feels ordinary—inside. But ordinary kids don't make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. Ordinary kids aren't stared at wherever they go. Born with a terrible facial abnormality, Auggie has been home-schooled by his parents his whole life. Now, for the first time, he's being sent to a real school—and he's dreading it. All he wants is to be accepted—but can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, underneath it all?

The year 1972 saw the beginning of a five-year span in which Stevie Wonder released five groundbreaking, critically acclaimed albums, garnering him more than half a dozen Grammys and more than 10 million albums sold, securing his place as one of the most important American musicians and songwriters in history. For the first time, uncover the untold story of an extraordinary artistic journey that shaped the greatest creative era in popular music history.

It all came down to me. The one who followed the rules, never went looking for trouble - I kept to myself. I just wanted to take care of my family. To not constantly look over my shoulder, worried about the things that went bump in the night. I just wanted to survive. But that wasn't meant to be. As luck - or fate, or something - would have it, the trouble found me. I followed a rabbit through the wreckage of a half-ruined world to get back what was mine, and wound up at the end of it. In Wonderland. But there's nothing magical about it.

First published more than 50 years ago, this award-winning classic brings Rachel Carson's unique vision to a new generation of listeners. The Sense of Wonder is Carson's intimate account of adventures with her young nephew, Roger, as they enjoy walks along the rocky coast of Maine and through dense forests and open fields, observing wildlife, strange plants, moonlight, and storm clouds, and listening to the "living music" of insects in the underbrush.

Eleven-year-old Anna O'Donnell stops eating, but remains miraculously alive and well. A nurse, sent to investigate whether she is a fraud, meets a journalist hungry for a story. Set in the Irish Midlands in the 1850s, Emma Donoghue's The Wonder – inspired by numerous European and North American cases of 'fasting girls' between the sixteenth century and the twentieth – is a psychological thriller about a child's murder threatening to happen in slow motion before our eyes.

This book invites curious minds of all ages into a world filled with real-life adventures, unsolved mysteries, and eye-opening stories about lost treasures. Whether you’re a history buff, a trivia lover, or a parent looking to spark your child’s imagination, this captivating collection is a portal to countless mysteries.

Their names still echo down the ages: The Great Pyramid at Giza. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The Temple of Artemis. The statue of Zeus at Olympia. The mausoleum of Halikarnassos. The Colossus at Rhodes. The Lighthouse of Alexandria. The Seven Wonders of the World were staggeringly audacious impositions on our planet. They were also brilliant adventures of the mind, test cases of the reaches of human imagination. Now only the pyramid remains, yet the scale and majesty of these seven wonders still enthral us today.

Among the tangled waterways and giant anacondas of the Brazilian Rio Negro, an enigmatic scientist is developing a drug that could alter the lives of women for ever. Dr Annick Swenson's work is shrouded in mystery; she refuses to report on her progress, especially to her investors, whose patience is fast running out. Anders Eckman, a mild-mannered lab researcher, is sent to investigate. A curt letter reporting his untimely death is all that returns. Now Marina Singh, Anders' colleague and once a student of the mighty Dr Swenson, is their last hope.

Is there a way to find truth in the stuff of legend? You may think you know Andre the Giant - but who was Andre Roussimoff? This comprehensive biography addresses the burning questions, outrageous stories, and common misconceptions about his height, his weight, his drawing power as a superstar, and his seemingly unparalleled capacity for food and alcohol. But more importantly, The Eighth Wonder of the World transports listeners beyond the smoke and mirrors of professional wrestling into the life of a real man.

When a high-ranking officer gallops into the quiet Mistyvales, he brings a warning that shakes the countryfolk to their roots. But for Aedan, a scruffy young adventurer with veins full of fire and a head full of ideas, this officer is not what he seems. The events that follow propel Aedan on a journey that only the foolhardy or desperate would risk, leading him to the gates of the nation's royal academy - a whole world of secrets in itself. But this is only the beginning of his discoveries.

Thousands of years ago, a magnificent golden capstone sat atop the Great Pyramid of Giza. It was a source of immense power, capable of bestowing upon its holder absolute global rule for a thousand years....

A young woman’s struggle to save her family and her soul during the most extraordinary year of 1666, when plague suddenly visited a small Derbyshire village and the villagers, inspired by a charismatic preacher, elected to quarantine themselves to limit the contagion.

Bee Bearhorn had a number-one hit single in 1985 - and was never heard of again. Fifteen years later she is found dead in her flat and nobody seems to care. But Ana Wills always day-dreamed about the exotic half-sister she hasn't seen in years. And when she comes to London to clear Bee's flat, she uncovers a life more exotic than she imagined: a secret country cottage, mysterious weekends away and even a missing cat. With Bee's closest friends - mad Lol and strong, silent Flint - Ana sets out to discover exactly what did happen to Bee Bearhorn, the one-hit wonder....

Huston Smith, the man who brought the world's religions to the West, was born almost a century ago to missionary parents in China during the perilous rise of the Communist Party. Smith's lifelong spiritual journey brought him face-to-face with many of the people who shaped the 20th century. His extraordinary travels around the globe have taken him to the world's holiest places, where he has practiced religion with many of the great spiritual leaders of our time.

On 23 March, 1844, General Tom Thumb, at 25 inches tall, entered the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace and bowed low to Queen Victoria. On both sides of the Atlantic, this meeting marked a tipping point in the 19th century - the age of the freak was born. Bewitching all levels of society, it was a world of astonishing spectacle - of dwarfs, giants, bearded ladies, Siamese twins and swaggering showmen - and one that has since inspired countless novels, films and musicals.

When Leah and her friends are magically transported to Egypt, they realize they've also been taken back in time – they're stuck in the year 1900! And, even worse, school bully has somehow travelled back with them! But when they meet Khalid and his aunt Amina, an Egyptian archaeologist who's on an expedition to discover a mythical amulet, Leah and her friends are excited to join the hunt. With a mysterious figure working to sabotage Amina, The Wonder Team will have to work together to uncover the clues and dodge booby traps as they search for the pharaoh’s treasure.

Seth and his talking cat Nightshade arrive in the magical town of Gramichee to gain an apprenticeship: he's finally read to qualify as a magician. But he soon discovers that the existing apprentices are under attack at the town's Scrumdiddlyumptious Cafe, which is far more deadly than it is delightful. Seth's got his hands full, as usual. Can he pass his exams, discover who's murdering the apprentices and stop them before they strike again?

Since his early days of plant restoration, amateur plant scientist Matt Candeias has been enchanted with flora and the greater environmental ecology of the planet. Now, he looks at the study of plants through the lens of his ever-growing houseplant collection.

As war rages between the Bureau of Supernatural Investigations and the League of Magicians, magician Amari is caught in the middle – and she’s lost her magic. Plus her superstar agent brother Quinton is back and he’s determined to keep Amari safe, which means leaving the agent missions to him. So when she discovers that her enemy Dylan is trying to unlock a destructive new power – which would make him invincible – it’s up to Amari and her friends to stop him. Soon they are on the trail of a series of magical inventions – the Despicable Wonders – which hold the key.

Born to parents who were enthusiastic naturalists, and linked through his wider family to a clutch of accomplished scientists, Richard Dawkins was bound to have biology in his genes. But what were the influences that shaped his life and intellectual development? And who inspired him to become the pioneering scientist and public thinker now famous (and infamous to some) around the world? In An Appetite for Wonder we join him on a personal journey back to an enchanting childhood in colonial Africa.