Books with author KateThompson

Everyone in Kinvara is conscious that time is flying past, faster and faster - to such an extent that when JJ asks his mother what she would like as a birthday present she ask for more time. JJ dismisses this as mere wishful thinking, an impossibility, for who know where the time goes? The Liddys have been musicians for generations and JJ is no exception but what he discovers is that a shadow from the past hangs over their family - did his great-grandfather murder the village priest? When he sets out to buy his mother time, he discovers the fate of a flute, which will provide the key to both problems - it is the vital clue. He makes the transition to Tir na n'Og, the land of eternal youth, where the fairy people are also having a problem with time and it falls to his lot to locate the leak between the two parallel worlds. JJ finds where time goes! Music proves to be the touchstone for communication between the fairy and the human domains and the book is saturated with the lure of Irish music for JJ's whole existence is built round the ceili and each chapter relates to a tune, printed out as a heading so that the reader can also become a performer. As for the "New Policeman", Larry O'Dwyer, he is an enigmatic figure who has a significant bearing on the plot but whose identity is kept a superbly guarded secret to the very last surprising moment.

Switcher Tess is about to discover her dark sideTess is a Switcher, able to change into any creature at will. She believes she has experienced everything her powers have to offer—until she meets Martin, another Switcher, who seems to have a mysterious power over the Dublin rats. Martin has found a use for his gift that Tess could never have imagined. It is dangerous and terrifying, but also exciting, and Tess can’t resist the temptation to explore Martin’s dark and thrilling world. Will she find the strength to resist, or will she be pulled permanently into darkness?

Tess has a secret power—and it just might save the world from disasterThirteen-year-old Tess is a Switcher, able to change into any animal at will. No one knows her secret, or so she thinks. But one day a strange, scruffy boy follows her home from her Dublin bus stop. The boy’s name is Kevin, and he’s a Switcher too. Kevin convinces Tess that their powers are needed for something important: stopping the snowstorms that are rapidly advancing from the Arctic. Tess and Kevin will have to stretch their abilities to the very limit in order to save the world from frozen destruction.

The unsung and remarkable stories of the women who held London's East End together during not one, but two world wars. 'Inspiring tales of courage in the face of hardship' Mail on Sunday Meet Minksy, Gladys, Beatty, Joan, Girl Walker . . . While the men were at war, these women ruled the streets of the East End. Struggling against poverty to survive, and fighting for their community in our country's darkest hours.But there was also joy to be found. Across the East End the streets were alive - you need only walk a few steps for a smile from a neighbour or a strong cup of tea.From taking over the London Underground, standing up to the Kray twins and crawling out of bombsites, The Stepney Doorstep Society tells the vivid and moving stories of the matriarchs who remain the backbone of the East End to this day.____________'Astonishing' Radio 5 Live'An importance glimpse into a vanishing world' Sunday Express'Crammed full of fascinating stories' BBC 2 Steve Wright

The world is drowning. Freak storms and devastating hurricanes sweep across the countryside. No one has enough food or firewood—electricity is an option only for the tyrannical Commander—and then the Commander begins stealing young children away. Pup's little brother is one of the missing.Determined to save his brother, Pup confronts the Commander and finds himself “volunteered” for a special force. One that will slip through the barriers of time into a land where the sun never sets . . . just as another boy from Kinvara did long ago. With the future of both realms at stake, the fairies and humans must take drastic measures to stop the destruction. But not everyone wants the human race to survive. . . .The thrilling conclusion to the story that began in the acclaimed The New Policeman.

A special three-in-one edition of Kate Thompson’s Switchers fantasy trilogy, including Switchers, Midnight’s Choice, and Wild Blood In Switchers, thirteen-year-old Tess has a secret power—and it just might save the world from disaster.She is a Switcher, able to change into any animal at will. No one knows her secret, or so she thinks. But one day, a strange, scruffy boy named Kevin follows her home from her Dublin bus stop. He’s a Switcher, too, and he convinces Tess that their powers are needed to stop the snowstorms that are rapidly advancing from the Arctic. Tess and Kevin will have to stretch their abilities to the very limit to try to save the world from frozen destruction. In Midnight’s Choice, Tess believes she has experienced everything her powers have to offer—until she meets Martin, another Switcher, who seems to have a mysterious power over the Dublin rats. Martin’s gift is dangerous and terrifying, but also exciting, and Tess can’t resist the temptation to explore his dark and thrilling world. Will she find the strength to resist, or will she be pulled permanently into darkness? In Wild Blood, it’s time for Tess to choose her final form.Within days, she will turn fifteen and lose her power, remaining locked into a single shape. But what shape should she choose? As she tries to decide, Tess travels to her uncle Maurice’s farm in County Clare. She’s distracted from her weighty decision by the feeling that there’s something strange about the woods near the farm. What does it have to do with Tess’s choice? Her journey will take her to places she never could have imagined, as she approaches once and for all her final Switch.

Traveling to the land of eternal youth was the only way J.J. Liddy could stop time from leaking from his world to T'ir na n'Og. But fifteen years after returning from the land of the faeries, J.J. wonders if that long-ago visit is responsible for the strange things now happening to those around him.Why does his daughter Jenny roam barefoot through the wilds, when she should be in school? When did the mysterious white goat begin to patrol the hillside? What is the secret project that J.J.'s son Donal is attempting? And who is the ghost guarding the stone beacon at the top of the mountain—and why has Jenny befriended him?Finding answers to these questions will take J.J. and his family on the most important and dangerous journey of their lives. If they fail, it will undo all the good that J.J. accomplished fifteen years ago. But if they succeed, they will defeat the forces that are gathering to destroy all of mankind, and finally secure the future of the last of the high kings.

Introduce children to God s Word with this wonderfully illustrated and fun-to-use resource that follows the gospels for every Sunday of the three-year Lectionary, as well as for the major feasts of the liturgical year. These pages will enable young children to learn about Jesus in an imaginative and enjoyable way. Each double-sided activity sheet reinforces the Sunday gospel message with pictures to color and complete, drawing activities, and simple puzzles. Wherever practical, the back page looks ahead to the following Sunday and motivates the children to explore the readings on their own. The sheets are ideal for use by catechists, teachers, group leaders, and parents. Introduce them as an additional resource in children s liturgy celebrations; use them to produce a children s newsletter or include them in the parish newsletter or magazine; use them in religion classes, parish groups, or at school. Simply photocopy as many as you need, one for each child. Together with its companion book, Footprints in Faith (for children 7-12 years old) Step by Step will be a valuable resource for your parish religious education program or school.

Who knows where the time goes?There never seems to be enough time in Kinvara, or anywhere else in Ireland for that matter. When J.J.'s mother says time's what she really wants for her birthday, J.J. decides to find her some. He's set himself up for an impossible task . . . until a neighbor reveals a secret. There's a place where time stands still—at least, it's supposed to. J.J. can make the journey there, but he'll have to vanish from his own life to do so. Can J.J. find the leak between the two worlds? Will a shocking rumor about his family's past come back to haunt him? And what does it all have to do with the village's new policeman . . . ?

The "Alchemist's Apprentice" tells the rags to riches story of Jack, the blacksmith's boy. Jack's quest leads him on a quixotic set of travels which have a rollicking Tom Jones feel to them. Eventually, after both hardship and luxury, Jack finds himself with the alchemist himself dabbling in alchemy, until finally, he holds in his hand the precious and long awaited nugget but by that time, of course, it is too late. For, the marvels of life cannot be bought.