An extract from Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek. A touchingly honest, candidly hysterical memoir from breakout teen author Maya Van Wagenen. Read by Amber Faith and Lee Adams.

'School is the armpit of life . . . and my school is no exception'

Stuck at the bottom of the social ladder at 'pretty much the lowest level of people at school who aren't paid to be here,' Maya Van Wagenen decided to begin a unique social experiment: spend the school year following a 1950s popularity guide, written by former teen model Betty Cornell. Can curlers, girdles, Vaseline, and a strand of pearls help Maya on her quest to be popular?

The real-life results are painful, funny, and include a wonderful and unexpected surprise-meeting and befriending Betty Cornell herself. Told with humour and grace, Maya's journey offers readers of all ages a thoroughly contemporary example of kindness and self-confidence.

'The real deal. . . A teenage John Green for the next generation. Stunning.' Margaret Stohl, bestselling co-author of the bestselling Beautiful Creatures series

'Popular is wonderful. It is charming, touching, entertaining - and brought back a lot of memories about my own high school anxieties. I will be saving my copy to give to my daughter when she is a little older' Jo Elvin, Glamour

'I was inspired by [Maya's] journey and made a point of saving a copy of 'Popular' for my sister, who starts middle school this fall. Maybe if I had read it when I was her age, it could have saved me from a world of hurt, or at least put that world in perspective.' Maude Apatow, New York Times Book Review

'Made me smile, giggle and question what my idea of popularity really is . . A must read this summer' Guardian Books Blog

'Honest, funny, and thought-provoking.' Gretchen Rubin, #1 bestselling author of The Happiness Project

'Her year-long experiment in popularity is timeless; the intelligent and humane way she gets to the heart of the matter is uniquely her. Funny, determined, and wry, Van Wagenan has written a wise, heartfelt guide for other kids eager to keep up.' Rachel Hartman, NYT bestselling author of Seraphina

'A talented writer, she's funny, thoughtful and self-effacing . . . Teens will readily identify with her' Kirkus

About the author:
Maya Van Wagenen is fifteen years old. When she was eleven, her family moved to Brownsville, Texas, the setting of Popular. When not hunched over a desktop writing, Maya enjoys reading, British Television, and chocolate. She now lives with her parents and two siblings in a rural Georgia. She is a sophomore in high school but still shares a room with her sixth grade brother. Remarkably they have not yet killed each other.

Maya Van Wagenen: Popular (Audiobook extract) Read by Amber Faith & Lee Adams

An extract from Danger is Everywhere. Taken from the tape recordings of the enigmatic and ultra-cautious dangerologist Docter Noel Zone, DANGER IS EVERYWHERE is a brilliantly funny audiobook for avoiding danger of all kinds that will have you laughing out loud (very safely) from start to finish.

DOES IT WARN YOU ABOUT WHAT TO DO IF A SHARK COMES UP OUT OF THE LOO WHILE YOU ARE SITTING ON IT? 
Yes it does.

AND WHAT TO DO IF A VOLCANO ERUPTS UNDERNEATH YOUR HOUSE? 
After you've made sure it's not a neighbour's barbecue, this audiobook will let you know exactly how to deal with it.

DOES IT INCLUDE AMAZING SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC COMPOSED BY DOCTER NOEL ZONE HIMSELF?
Yes it does. But make sure you keep the volume safely down.

Hear more of Docter Noel Zone’s potentially life-saving tips in the Danger Is Everywhere audiobook. 
Download from iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/gb/audiobook/danger-is-everywhere-handbook/id906413128 


David O'Doherty: Danger is Everywhere (Audiobook extract) Read by David O'Doherty

An extract from Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan. An unabridged recording voiced by MacLeod Andrews and Nick Podehl.

One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, teenager Will Grayson crosses paths with . . . Will Grayson! Two teens with the same name who run in two very different circles suddenly find their lives going in new and unexpected directions. Culminating in epic turns-of-heart on both of their parts, they team up to produce the most fabulous musical ever to grace the high-school stage. 

Told in alternating voices from two award-winning, popular names in young-adult fiction - John Green (author of The Fault in Our Stars) and David Levithan (author of Boy Meets Boy) - this unique collaborative novel features a double helping of the heart and humour that has won both authors legions of fans.

** John Green has a huge online presence through his 1.1 million Twitter followers and YouTube channel Vlogbrothers, which has been viewed over 200 million times and has 660,000 subscribers, making it one of the most successful online channels in history.

John Green & David Levithan: Will Grayson, Will Grayson (Audiobook extract) Read by Macleod Andrews

An extract from the downloadable audiobook edition of An Abundance of Katherine's, from New York Times bestelling author John Green.

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type is girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact. On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight Judge Judy - loving best friend riding shotgun - but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl. 

Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself.

** From the New York Times bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska, John Green.
** John has a huge online presence through his 1.1 million Twitter followers and YouTube channel Vlogbrothers, which has been viewed over 200 million times and has 660,000 subscribers, making it one of the most successful online channels in history.

John Green: An Abundance of Katherines (Audiobook extract) Read by Jeff Woodman

The wonderful actress Gemma Arterton has brought the Worst Witch books by Jill Murphy to life with the new audiobooks! 
So want to hear how she got into character and why she loves the Worst Witch? We interviewed her down in the Puffin recording studio fresh from her adventures at Miss Cackles Academy for Witches – and it seems Mildred may have met her match. Gemma exclusively revealed that there are a few uncanny similarities between herself and Mildred (even her cat is just like Tabby!) The comparisons get even spookier as Gemma reveals her teacher was also a lot like Miss Hardbroom . . .  listen to the full interview.

More about the Worst Witch
Hold on to your broom for magical mayhem! Lovable but disaster-prone Mildred Hubble is a trainee at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches, but she's making an awful mess of it. She keeps getting her spells wrong and crashing her broomstick. Yet she manages to get by until she turns Ethel, the teacher's pet, into her deadly enemy and chaos ensues . . .

Worst Witch Audiobooks
The Worst 


Gemma Arterton on reading the Worst Witch audiobooks

Alan Bennett reads five much-loved stories by Kenneth Grahame, Lewis Carroll and AA Milne.

Alan Bennett’s distinctive readings of these cherished children’s stories have become classics in their own right. Portraying each character in his own inimitable fashion, his delightfully expressive voice perfectly conveys the sparkling humour, charm and magic of these timeless tales.

The Wind in the Willows tells the classic story of Ratty, Mole, Badger and Toad (of Toad Hall) and their waterside adventures.

Alice in Wonderland sees Alice following a white rabbit down a hole and embarking on a series of adventures with some of the most weird and wonderful characters ever encountered.

Through the Looking Glass continues Alice’s adventures, as she sees another world in the looking glass and wishes she could go there.

In a selection of stories from Winnie-the-Pooh, Pooh goes visiting and gets into a tight place, Eeyore loses a tail, Piglet meets a Heffalump, Eeyore has a birthday, and an ‘expotition’ to the North Pole is mounted. T

he House at Pooh Corner finds Pooh and Piglet building a house for Eeyore, whilst Tigger comes to the forest and has breakfast. Piglet nearly meets the Heffalump again, Pooh invents a new game, and Owl moves house.

Duration: 7 hours 50 mins approx.


Read more at https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/1113083/alan-bennett-reads-childhood-classics/#pv49LerKlhMlYSs9.99

Alan Bennett Reads Childhood Classics (BBC Audiobook Extract)

Philip Pullman returns to the world of His Dark Materials with this magnificent first volume of The Book of Dust.

Eleven-year-old Malcolm Polstead and his dæmon, Asta, live with his parents at the Trout Inn near Oxford. Across the River Thames (which Malcolm navigates often using his beloved canoe, a boat by the name of La Belle Sauvage) is the Godstow Priory where the nuns live. Malcolm learns they have a guest with them - a baby by the name of Lyra Belacqua....

Alan Bennett Reads Childhood Classics (BBC Audiobook Extract)

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