Journey to space! George and the Blue Moon

Work out your space weight and discover more cool space facts from George and the Blue Moon by Lucy and Stephen Hawking.

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Fascinated by the universe? Dream of going to Mars? If you’re interested in space travel, then you’ll want to get your hands on this exciting adventure story by Lucy and Stephen Hawking.

It follows the story of George and his best friend, Annie who have been selected as junior astronauts – part of a programme that trains up young people for a trip to Mars in the future.
But when they arrive at space camp, George and Annie quickly learn that strange things are happening – on Earth as well as up in our skies. Mysterious space missions are happening in secret, and the astronaut training they’re undertaking gets scarier and scarier.

Get set to blast off and be immersed by this exciting space adventure. The book is packed with top space facts from astronauts too!

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Did you know? 5 cool space facts:

  1. You could jump over really high bars with ease on the Moon or Mercury – but find it hard to even take a step over a bar on the ground on Jupiter!
  2. As we speak, there is a Rover the size of a car, which has just celebrated its third birthday on Mars.
  3. When you go up into space in a spacecraft, you pass through a line which seems to divide the blue of the Earth’s atmosphere with the black of space. This is called the Karman line and it is about 100km above the surface of the Earth. It marks the start of space!
  4. Earth – our blue planet – is exceptional in our solar system as it is nearly three quarters covered by the oceans.
  5. How much do you weigh? If you weigh 34 kilos on Earth, here is your weight in kilos on other bodies in our solar system!
  • Mercury 12.8 kilos
  • Venus 30.6 kilos
  • The Moon 5.6 kilos
  • Mars 12.8 kilos
  • Jupiter 80.3 kilos
  • Saturn 36.1 kilos
  • Uranus 30.2 kilos
  • Neptune 38.2 kilos

So you could jump over really high bars with ease on the Moon or Mercury – but find it hard to even take a step over a bar on the ground on Jupiter.

Find out more about Lucy Hawking on her website and follow her on Twitter @journeytospace.

EXCITING PRIZE! To celebrate the start of National Science Week, join us on Twitter @puffinbooks for a chance to win a family day out at the Science Museum with four tickets to Legend of Apollo and Hidden Universe 3D – and a copy of the book. Four runners up will win a copy of George and the Blue Moon.

To enter, tell us on @puffinbooks Twitter the one thing you’d pack to take to the moon. #GeorgeandtheBlueMoon. Enter between 11-13 March 2016.

Who should you dress up as for World Book Day?

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  • Dress up as Daisy –  Download the free mask.
  • Dress up as Greg –  Download your free simple instructions  and mask.
  • Dress up as The BFG – Download the delumptious instructions here.
  • Dress up as the Very Hungry Caterpillar – Download the free template.

Quick costume hacks: take a look at five quick and easy character costume ideas on Mumsnet. 

Join us on WORLD BOOK DAY for fun and games on PopJam and Twitter @puffinbooks. 

See the delumptious new #RoaldDahl100 book covers!

Whoopsy-splunkers! Wondercrump! We are SO excited to reveal the dazzling new book covers. More MARVELLOUS than George’s medicine, more MAGIC than the magic finger and as FANTASTIC as Mr Fox.  

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And here’s a dazzling short video of our wonderful paperbacks.

Which ones are you excited to read next? Continue reading

Funny books for February

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Howdy! This month on Puffin we’re celebrating funny books, our funniest characters and all the things that will make you laugh out loud. And enter our competition for a chance to win a rib-tickling bundle of books.

So, read all about our NEW books to make you chuckle.  Plus settle down for some creative, colouring and puzzling fun with our activity sheets. There’s enough to keep your LOL-ing your way through half-term. .

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Long Haul by Jeff Kinney

All Greg Heffley wants to do is stay indoors and play videogames. His mum has other plans. She’s taking the whole Heffley family on a summer road trip.

 

 

 

Continue reading

Win a Class Pass to the Bear Hunt, Chocolate Cake and Bad Things Exhibition

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Today is international Chocolate Cake Day! To celebrate this momentous occasion we’ve teamed up with Penguin Schools and Stratford’s Discover Children’s Story Centre to launch a lip-licking poetry competition…

Write a poem about your favourite cake to be in with a chance of winning tickets for your whole class to visit the amazing Michael Rosen’s Bear Hunt, Chocolate Cake and Bad Things Exhibition. Step inside a humongous Chocolate Cake, explore Bad Things in the Dread Shed and go on a Bear Hunt. The exhibition will run at Discover (Stratford) until 10 April, after which it will go on tour to Cornwall, Manchester and Liverpool.

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Read a funny extract from Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul

ZOO-WEE MAMA! The Long Haul comes out in paperback this week, and it has free limited edition bumper stickers in the back!  

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A family road trip SHOULD be a lot of fun…  To get you in the mood for the new paperback, read an extract from The Long Haul – EXCLUSIVE EXTRACT: Wimpy Kid The Long Haul.

A family road trip is supposed to be a lot of fun . . . unless, of course, you’re the Heffleys. The journey starts off full of promise, then quickly takes several wrong turns. Gas station bathrooms, crazed seagulls, a fender bender, and a runaway pig—not exactly Greg Heffley’s idea of a good time. But even the worst road trip can turn into an adventure – and this is one the Heffleys won’t soon forget.

 

Heading on holiday with your family soon? Here are a few fun Wimpy Kid activity sheets to keep you occupied on the road.

 

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Exciting books to read in 2016

The New Year and new school term is all about fresh starts and, of course, deciding what to read next. Whether you’re after action and adventure, stories of friendships or books to make you laugh, these are the big debuts and highlights from Puffin for your reading list this year. Happy reading!

 New books by your favourite authors…

9780141361413Romans on the Rampage: Jail Break! by Jeremy Strong

Perilus and his family are in trouble again! This is a laugh out loud book that brings Romans to life for young readers. It is a good pick to support kids learning about Romans at school.

Out now

 

 

 

 

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The Diary of Dennis the Menace, The Great Escape! by Steven Butler 

The naughtiest boy in fiction returns for another prankster-packed story. In this story Dennis has been packed off to an elite boarding school. Help! Desperate to get back to Bash Street he plots his great escape.

Out in February

 

 

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Jolly Foul Play by Robin Stevens

Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong have returned to Deepdean for a new school term and meet the new head girl and her group of prefects, who are not good eggs! The fourth book in the Murder Most Unladylike Mystery series is another thrilling read.

Out in March

 

 

 

9780141355320Mabel Jones and the Forbidden City by Will Mabbitt

Mabel fans will be thrilled to hear their favourite heroine is back for a second adventure. Follow her exciting quest as she swashbuckles her way through the jungle to save her little sister from the wicked Witch Queen.

Don’t miss! Look out for the latest Danger book out this year and the exciting new Rick Riordan out in May.
 

 
 

 

Unmissable books to read for the first time or again…

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The Butterfly Club by Jacqueline Wilson

New in paperback, is this terrific tale about teeny-tiny Tina, a triplet who is much smaller than her two sisters. A story about learning to be independent. Out now

 

 
 

 
 

 
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The BFG by Roald Dahl

Whoopsy splunkers! Read it before you see it. Our delumptious giant is coming to the big screen in July 2016, so now’s the time to read or re-read this gloriumptious story. Out now

 

 

 

 

 

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid – The Long Haul by Jeff Kinney

Out in paperback this month is the ninth Wimpy Kid book. Join Greg for a laugh out-loud story of a family road trip, that of course is packed with disasters, a lost key, a crazed seagull and even a runaway pig. Out in January

 

 

 

 

 

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Fortune Cookie by Cathy Cassidy

Grab your tissues, Sweet Honey is the sixth and final book in Cathy Cassidy’s Chocolate Box Girls series. Out in February

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (Book 1) by Rick Riordan

Half boy. Half God. All Hero. The first in the Percy Jackson book series is one to read for the first time – or for demigod fans to read again.

Out now

 

 

 
 

 

Debut fiction – new authors to discover in 2016

KOBD_title_blkKnights of the Borrowed Dark by Dave Rudden

The first book in a new series about an orphan boy who discovers he is part of a secret army that protects the world from a race of shadowy monsters.

Out in April

 

The Crooked Sixpence by Jennifer Bell

Welcome to a world where nothing is quite as it seems. The story follows  Ivy Sparrow’s magical adventures in Lundinor, a city beneath London where ordinary objects have extraordinary powers.

Out in June

Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

‘Annabelle has lived in Wolf Hollow all her life: a quiet place, still scarred by two world wars. But when cruel, manipulative Betty arrives in town, Annabelle’s calm world is shattered…’ This powerful story is set to be a future children’s classic.

Out in July  

Step Inside a Humongous Chocolate Cake…

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Want to splash splosh your way through a river, stumble trip through a forest and crawl and tiptoe your way into a bear cave on your very own Bear Hunt? Check out poet Michael Rosen’s new exhibition at The Discover Children’s Story Centre in Stratford.

Explore hidden rooms and find clues that reveal the inspiration behind Michael’s writing.  See your face on TV in his Grandparents’ sitting room and scribble on the chalkboard in his old school classroom, where you’ll also find fun rhythm and word games that will help you create your own poem to take home.

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Michael Rosen: “This exhibition is one of the most exciting things to have happened in my writing career. I am someone who has found a way of writing that is often about digging up stuff to do with my past and here is Discover making that into a giant exhibition that families and schools will be able to explore. Just as exciting for me, as someone who works with children and students, is the idea that this exhibition will act as a springboard for children, teachers and parents to talk together about things that they remember or think up, and this, I hope, will turn into writing and performing new poems and stories.”

The amazing Bear Hunt, Chocolate Cake and Bad Things exhibition is running at Discover until 10 April, before it goes on a UK tour! Find out about tickets, tour dates and upcoming locations on the Discover website.

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Photography by Andrew Baker.

 

 

Puffin Books for Everyone