Books with author Mark Hoffmann

Look through fresh eyes at the stories of some of history's most remarkable women, in this inspiring collection of short stories by the finest female authors writing historical fiction for children today - The History Girls. Subjects include: Queen Boudicca, Aethelfled, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Julian of Norwich, Lady Jane Grey, Elizabeth Stuart, Aphra Behn, Mary Wollestonecraft, Mary Anning, Mary Seacole, Emily Davison, Amy Johnson and the Greenham Common women.

The latest story in the Stravaganza series unravels amid ever-more-dangerous politics and intrigue. Sky, a new Stravagante, is whisked away from his dreary life in London to Giglia, the Talian version of Florence. Featuring favorite characters from the first two titles in the series, including Georgia and Falco, as well as a host of exciting new characters, this breathtaking adventure will not disappoint.But beware-in the beautiful City of Flowers, much that seems beautiful is in fact poisonous...

Grace loves stories, and with a boundless imagination she acts them all out. One day, her teacher asks who would like to play the lead in the play Peter Pan. Grace eagerly raises her hand, but Raj tells her she isn't a boy, and Natalie tells her she can't because she is black. Nana sets Grace straight: she can do anything she sets her mind to! Grace's talent bursts forth, and she wins the audition hands down. Binch's radiant illustrations add to this inspiring story.

The statue of David by Michelangelo has stood in Florence for over five hundred years but until now we have known nothing about the young man it was modelled on. Now Mary Hoffman has written the life of Gabriele, the young stonecutter, son of the sculptor's wet nurse, who walks in Florence in 1501, looking like that, and is immediately plunged into adventures involving politics, spying and coping with the man woman - and men - who are attracted to him.

In the Talian town of Classe, magic and piracy come to life. Isabel, a younger twin by a matter of minutes, is transported there by her talisman-a pouch of silver mosaic tiles. Once she stravagates to Classe, she meets Flavia, a successful female merchant whose son is an outcast and a pirate. Isabel discovers that Classe is under threat of attack, but what can she do to save the city?

The award-winning author of the Stravaganza series has done it again with this atmospheric adventure set in Renaissance Italy. Sixteen-year-old Silvano da Montacuto has wealth, good looks, and a new hawk-but none of these can save him when his bloody dagger is found near a dead body. For his own protection, he is sent to a Franciscan House, where he poses as a novice, or a young monk. There, he lays eyes on Chiara, a lovely novice at a nearby abbey who is also living in secret. When they fall in love, their secret identities make it impossible to reveal their feelings to one another. Murder seems to have followed Silvano, and soon several other dead bodies turn up. Who is committing the crimes? Will a young man accused of multiple murders be able to clear himself? And what about the girl he adores? Fans of Mary Hoffman's critically acclaimed Stravaganza series won't be disappointed in the romance, colorful web of intrigue, and rich, marvelous setting.