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CELEBRATE STORIES. LOVE READING.
This book has been specially created and published to celebrate World Book Day. World Book Day is a charity funded by publishers and booksellers in the UK and Ireland. Our mission is to offer every child and young person the opportunity to read and love books by giving you the chance to have a book of your own. To find out more, and for loads of fun activities and reading recommendations to help you to keep reading, visit worldbookday.com.
World Book Day in the UK and Ireland is also made possible by generous sponsorship from National Book Tokens and support from authors and illustrators.
World Book Day works in partnership with a number of charities, who are all working to encourage a love of reading for pleasure.
The National Literacy Trust is an independent charity that encourages children and young people to enjoy reading. Just 10 minutes of reading every day can make a big difference to how well you do at school and to how successful you could be in life. literacytrust.org.uk
The Reading Agency inspires people of all ages and backgrounds to read for pleasure and empowerment. They run the Summer Reading Challenge in partnership with libraries; they also support reading groups in schools and libraries all year round. Find out more and join your local library. summerreadingchallenge.org.uk
BookTrust is the UK’s largest children’s reading charity. Each year they reach 3.4 million children across the UK with books, resources and support to help develop a love of reading. booktrust.org.uk
World Book Day also facilitates fundraising for:
Book Aid International, an international book donation and library development charity. Every year, they provide one million books to libraries and schools in communities where children would otherwise have little or no opportunity to read. bookaid.org
Read for Good, who motivate children in schools to read for fun through its sponsored read, which thousands of schools run on World Book Day and throughout the year. The money raised provides new books and resident storytellers in all the children’s hospitals in the UK. readforgood.org
To all of the wonderful libraries
who make reading possible for everyone
First published in Great Britain in 2020
by Egmont UK Limited
2 Minster Court, 10th floor, London EC3R 7BB
Text and illustrations copyright © 2020 Laura Ellen Anderson
The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted
First e-book edition 2020
ISBN 978 1 4052 97639
Ebook ISBN 978 1 4052 9903 9
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: BRAINWASHED FLAMINGO FROGS
CHAPTER 3: LOSE THE PIE BERRY
CHAPTER 4: I BET THEY COULDN’T EAT ME!
CHAPTER 5: MORE OF AN EGGSHELL
CHAPTER 6: MAGIC AND WONDER
CHAPTER 7: A DASH OF DEATH
CHAPTER 8: LLAMA QUEEN
CHAPTER 9: THE WHOLE (NOT VERY) TRAGIC TALE
Sam Wu is Not Afraid of Zombies
CONFESSIONS IN THE CRAFT CORNER
It was a dark and gloomy Friday night in Nocturnia. Young vampire Amelia Fang was engrossed in her favourite Nocturnian tale, The Pumpkin Whisperer. It was reading hour at Catacomb Academy and everyone was enjoying their favourite books.
‘I love this book,’ sighed Amelia, stroking a picture of a glowing white pumpkin. ‘I wish I had magic like the Pumpkin Whisperer. I’d be able to heal poorly pumpkins with the touch of my hand.’
‘THAT WOULD BE PRETTY COOL,’ said her friend, Florence Spudwick, a large and very rare breed of yeti. ‘YOU’D BE LIKE A SUPERHERO, JUST LIKE TOADSTAR!’ Florence waved her comic book around and prodded at a page with a picture of a caped toad wearing a mask. ‘IN THE “BATTLE OF THE POND BEYOND” ISSUE, TOADSTAR DEFEATS A WHOLE ARMY OF BRAINWASHED FLAMINGO-FROGS!’
‘Those comics scare me!’ squeaked Grimaldi, Amelia’s little grim reaper friend, as he floated around, scythe in hand.
‘I don’t think they’re scary!’ said Prince Tangine La Floofle the First, flicking his glittery hair. ‘Although I don’t understand why more books aren’t about me ! I AM half vampire-half fairy, and the most fabulous of them ALL.’
‘CAREFUL, I FINK YOUR BIG ’EAD IS GONNA ROLL OFF IN A MINUTE!’ said Florence as the others giggled.
The sound of