Phil Earle

'Early Readers' are stepping stones from picture books to reading books. Marvin loves going on his adventures with his grandad - escaping from hairy yetis, taking daytrips to Mars and hunting ferocious tigers - all without leaving the house. Marvin thinks his grandad is the bravest person he's ever met; he even has a medal from the war to prove it. And, more than anything else, Marvin wants to be brave too. But when Grandad must go on his final adventure...

'Don't let anything happen to her, you hear?' September 1939. Britain is on the brink of war, and as his dad marches off to fight, Noah makes him a promise: to keep their beloved family dog safe. When the government advises people to have their pets put down in readiness for the chaos of war, hundreds of thousands of people do as they are told. But not Noah. He?s not that sort of boy. With his two friends in tow, he goes on the run, to save his dog...

Masher is the bully of Storey Street. No one ever dares stand up to him and that's the way he likes it. But then Jemima and her family move into the plot of land next door. Jemima isn't afraid of him at all, and she's making him look like a bit of a wimp. To Masher, that just means one thing: war.