Books with author Catherine Banner

FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD LEO NORTH’S prospects in life are limited. He attends military school, lives with his fearful grandmother, and looks after his brother Stirling. He resists his innate powers, because those who demonstrate any sort of magical ability are considered enemies of the state. But when he finds a blank book in the snow, his typical indifference melts away. From the first moment he touches the book, he senses its strange power. Passages start to appear on the pages—revealing family secrets, telling the history of Malonia, and uncovering the story of Ryan and Anna, two teens from a parallel universe. When Leo’s seemingly narrow path takes an unexpected tragic turn, he finds himself on a journey from which he can never really return. And, as he slowly begins to lose touch with reality, Ryan and Anna’s story comes to the forefront. Their idyllic summer romance—seemingly worlds away from Leo—has everything to do with Malonia.

As the daughter of the Pirate King, Tilia Swanson has an unusual upbringing learning skills that aren’t often available for women. As the heir apparent for the Kingdom of Crilan, her skills set her apart as she is trained by the best in the land and taught to harness her magic. However, piracy is in her blood, and draws danger to Tilia in the way that treasure draws pirates. Some treasures are more valuable than others. Will this lesson be learned in time or will the betrayal of those around her be her undoing?

Ten years have passed in war-torn Malonia since the king and queen were murdered and the throne usurped by Lucien and his rebel troops. The people believe the prince has been exiled to a far-away land, saved by a prophecy that threatened those who would harm him. But they ask themselves, Is the prince still alive? Has he actually been murdered along with his parents? A country on the brink of revolution awaits his return in silence. Leo is a rebellious soldier-in-training with secret powers. When wandering home one night, he stumbles upon a mysterious black book lying in the snow. Its strange aura and empty pages both frighten and fascinate him. Soon the pages begin to fill with the stories of Anna and Ryan in England – a country that is only a fairy tale in Malonia. When tragedy strikes, Leo tries to rid himself of the book but its stories haunt even his dreams. In The Eyes Of A King, a fast-paced novel with a unique style, these three fifteen-year-old characters, and the parallel worlds of contemporary England and the dictatorship of Malonia, become increasingly entangled.The Eyes of a King is founded on a detailed world of magic, Malonian traditions, and politics, but its focus is always on the human element. It will appeal to young readers who love epic adventure as well as those who seek a reflection of the day-to-day challenges of their own lives. Adults will also be swept up in this grand tale, in which the ordinary meets the extraordinary, dreams mingle with reality, and heaven and earth may co-exist.From the Hardcover edition.

When she was three, Alena's activist mother died. She's been raised by her half-brother and his boyfriend in East London, which is being targeted by a lone bomber. Alena desperately wants to know about her mother, but her brother won't tell her anything. Alena's played by the rules all her life, but that's over. When she starts digging up information herself and does something that costs her brother his job and puts the family in jeopardy, Alena discovers she can be a troublemaker―just like her mother. Now she must figure out what sort of trouble she's willing to get into to find out the truth.

FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD LEO NORTH’S prospects in life are limited. He attends military school, lives with his fearful grandmother, and looks after his brother Stirling. He resists his innate powers, because those who demonstrate any sort of magical ability are considered enemies of the state. But when he finds a blank book in the snow, his typical indifference melts away. From the first moment he touches the book, he senses its strange power. Passages start to appear on the pages—revealing family secrets, telling the history of Malonia, and uncovering the story of Ryan and Anna, two teens from a parallel universe. When Leo’s seemingly narrow path takes an unexpected tragic turn, he finds himself on a journey from which he can never really return. And, as he slowly begins to lose touch with reality, Ryan and Anna’s story comes to the forefront. Their idyllic summer romance—seemingly worlds away from Leo—has everything to do with Malonia.From the Hardcover edition.

Ukraine is the largest new state to appear on the map of Europe this century. With a population of more than 50 million people and a territory larger than France, the new Ukrainian state faces many challenges, not least of which is to forge a national identity after years of Soviet rule. Burden of Dreams examines daily life in Soviet and post-Soviet Ukraine, showing why Ukrainian nationalism and its program of "Ukrainianization" have appealed to the largest Russian diaspora and to millions of Russified Ukrainians. Focusing on schools, festivals, commemorative ceremonies, and monuments, Catherine Wanner shows how Soviet-created narratives have been recast to reflect a post-Soviet Ukrainocentric perspective. In the process, we see how new histories are understood and acted upon. This reveals regional cleavages and the resilience of cultural differences produced by the Soviet regime. For some people, the system they criticized yesterday is the one they long for today. The struggle to remember or to forget is particularly intense in post-Soviet societies. Burden of Dreams is especially valuable for showing us the monumental task facing a Ukrainian state that is seeking to craft cultural solidarity after years of Soviet rule.

There are way more than billions of galaxies in space and just trying to imagine the far corners of the universe is an incomprehensible feat for the human brain! This handy pocket-sized book manages to squeeze in a huge amount of intergalactic information, with details of rockets, planets, black holes, space stations, shooting stars and famous astronauts. With amazing photographs and lots of facts and figures, this is a perfect starter guide to the wonders of space.

When she was three, Alena's activist mother died. She's been raised by her half-brother and his boyfriend in East London, which is being targeted by a lone bomber. Alena desperately wants to know about her mother, but her brother won't tell her anything.Alena's played by the rules all her life, but that's over. When she starts digging up information herself and does something that costs her brother his job and puts the family in jeopardy, Alena discovers she can be a troublemaker—just like her mother.Now she must figure out what sort of trouble she's willing to get into to find out the truth.

Ukraine is the largest new state to appear on the map of Europe this century. With a population of more than 50 million people and a territory larger than France, the new Ukrainian state faces many challenges, not least of which is to forge a national identity after years of Soviet rule. Burden of Dreams examines daily life in Soviet and post-Soviet Ukraine, showing why Ukrainian nationalism and its program of "Ukrainianization" have appealed to the largest Russian diaspora and to millions of Russified Ukrainians. Focusing on schools, festivals, commemorative ceremonies, and monuments, Catherine Wanner shows how Soviet-created narratives have been recast to reflect a post-Soviet Ukrainocentric perspective. In the process, we see how new histories are understood and acted upon. This reveals regional cleavages and the resilience of cultural differences produced by the Soviet regime. For some people, the system they criticized yesterday is the one they long for today. The struggle to remember or to forget is particularly intense in post-Soviet societies. Burden of Dreams is especially valuable for showing us the monumental task facing a Ukrainian state that is seeking to craft cultural solidarity after years of Soviet rule.

All life on Earth relies on the natural world to survive. We depend on nature for our health, food and most of our medicines. We depend on healthy ecosystems and natural resources for our homes and modern lives. But humans have become greedy. We are taking a lot more from nature than we need and we are knowingly causing climate change, which is threatening the survival of all life on Earth. For the first time just one species, humans, is have a massive impact on the planet. Many scientists have named this a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene. There are now 7.7 billion of us in this Age of Humans. But we humans have the knowledge and understanding to stop climate change, live wisely and sustainably in harmony with nature. We have discovered and rediscovered ways of making energy, growing food and technological solutions that will help us share the world’s natural resources and protect global biodiversity. There is enough space, enough water and enough natural resources for all life on Earth to thrive. If we share what we need and share the stories of success, together we will save planet Earth. That’s exactly what Eco Warriors do… Want to be one? This book offers concerned young people everything they need to get started…exploring the big issues, discovering amazing and inspiring individuals and campaigns, and finding out how making tiny changes can start to make a big difference.

Ten years have passed in war-torn Malonia since the king and queen were murdered and the throne usurped by Lucien and his rebel troops. The people believe the prince has been exiled to a far-away land, saved by a prophecy that threatened those who would harm him. But they ask themselves, Is the prince still alive? Has he actually been murdered along with his parents? A country on the brink of revolution awaits his return in silence. Leo is a rebellious soldier-in-training with secret powers. When wandering home one night, he stumbles upon a mysterious black book lying in the snow. Its strange aura and empty pages both frighten and fascinate him. Soon the pages begin to fill with the stories of Anna and Ryan in England – a country that is only a fairy tale in Malonia. When tragedy strikes, Leo tries to rid himself of the book but its stories haunt even his dreams. In The Eyes Of A King, a fast-paced novel with a unique style, these three fifteen-year-old characters, and the parallel worlds of contemporary England and the dictatorship of Malonia, become increasingly entangled.The Eyes of a King is founded on a detailed world of magic, Malonian traditions, and politics, but its focus is always on the human element. It will appeal to young readers who love epic adventure as well as those who seek a reflection of the day-to-day challenges of their own lives. Adults will also be swept up in this grand tale, in which the ordinary meets the extraordinary, dreams mingle with reality, and heaven and earth may co-exist.