Books with author Siobhán Parkinson

The year is 1914 and Amelia Pim will soon be thirteen. There are rumours of war and rebellion, and Dublin is holding its breath for major, dramatic events. But all that matters to Amelia is what she will wear to her birthday party and how she can be the envy of her friends.But where are Amelia's friends when disaster strikes her family? Now that the Pims have come down in the world, what use will Amelia have for a shimmering emerald-green dress?When Mama's political activities bring the final disgrace, it is Amelia who must hold the family together. Only the friendship of the servant girl Mary Ann seems to promise any hope.

It's 1916 but Amelia Pim's thoughts are on Frederick Goodbody and not on the war in Europe. Then Frederick enlists. The pacifist Quaker community is shocked but Amelia is secretly proud of her hero and goes to the quayside to wave him farewell. For her friend MaryAnn, there are problems too, with her brother's involvement in the Easter Rising. What will become of the two young men and what effect will it have on the lives of Amelia and MaryAnn?A story of conflict, hope and courage. Sequel to the No. 1 Bestseller AMELIA.

To Hal, Fridays are blue, and tangy, like blue lemon sherbert. Olivia thinks he's crazy. Friday is just Friday, isn't it? Olivia is pretty sure that Hal's mysterious plan to get rid of his not-quite-stepfather, Alec, is even weirder. But things don't go quite as either Hal or Olivia expect. Maybe the real problem is even closer to home than anyone ever imagined . . .This gorgeously written voyage of self-discovery will entrance boys and girls aged 9+.

Jake likes thinking, talking, football and encyclopedias. And fish. But he's not so sure about everything else - especially girls, or little sisters, or stepdads. And most of all, he's not sure if he really likes himself.Then Jake meets a girl called Stella and old Mrs Kennedy next door, and he begins to find that he likes a lot more things than he thought. After all, as Mrs Kennedy says: Life isn't a bowl of cherries, but a bowl of cherries is still a bowl of cherries. But it takes a tragedy to force Jake to look at himself and see that, really, he isn't so bad after all.

Cindy, a with-it and cynical young teen, still traumatised by her mother's recent death, is appalled when her father falls in love with one of her teachers, a woman with two teenage daughters of her own. Surely he can't be serious? She cannot imagine a worse fate than having a teacher as her stepmother, and as for the two prissy girls - she is never going to call them sisters ... no way!But, if Cindy dislikes her prospective stepsisters, they think she is an absolute horror - spoiled, arrogant and atrociously rude to them and their mother when they visit her house. Whatever about their mother marrying again, they can't imagine being landed with Cindy as a sister ... no way!But the parents are going to marry, and the girls are going to be family, like it or not. So who gives in? Is there any room for compromise? Will the unlikely trio of stepsisters ever change their minds about each other?TWO GREAT BOOKS IN ONEIn a unique feature the girls' stories are told in two separate back-to-back books, one for Cindy and the other for Ashling and Alva. The reader can choose which story to begin with, getting a very different viewpoint on the girls depending on whose side of the story they read first.Cover of Ashling's diary:

Aspiring writer, Mags Clarke has just moved with her mother to a new area after the death of her father. One day she stumbles across a girl who appears to be floating above the trees while playing her violin in the woods. Mags, clever, funny and opinionated, usually has her feet firmly on the ground so she's not sure that she and this girl are going to get on, but an unlikely friendship develops.

Ricky has withdrawn from the world into his own inner space. Placed in a foster home which is full of sunshine and goodness, he is uncertain how to become part of family life. He often retreats to his favourite hideaway, a special chair in the attic, and adopts the pose of the Moon King. From this situation relationships slowly begin to grow ... but it is not a smooth path and at times Ricky just wants to leave it all behind.

It's 1916 but Amelia Pim's thoughts are on Frederick Goodbody and not on the war in Europe. Then Frederick enlists. The pacifist Quaker community is shocked but Amelia is secretly proud of her hero and goes to the quayside to wave him farewell. For her friend MaryAnn, there are problems too, with her brother's involvement in the Easter Rising. What will become of the two young men and what effect will it have on the lives of Amelia and MaryAnn?A story of conflict, hope and courage. Sequel to the No. 1 Bestseller AMELIA.

A touching new tale of hope and miracles from the award-winning Siobhan Parkinson.I love Miranda and so will you - Eoin Colfer, author of Artemis Fowl Miranda has a Big Imagination, and always wins Word of the Day at school. When her sister Gemma is taken into hospital, Miranda escapes into her own fantasy land, Magnanimous. With giraffe police, ham sandwich trees and a Crystal-Clear Glass Hospital for Getting-Better Children, Magnanimous grows and grows. As her sister gets worse, things Miranda writes seem to trigger small miracles she has been asking for: her gran stops smoking, horrible Darren Hoey is nice to her ... Can Miranda write a miracle for her sister?

Cindy, a with-it and cynical young teen, still traumatised by her mother's recent death, is appalled when her father falls in love with one of her teachers, a woman with two teenage daughters of her own. Surely he can't be serious? She cannot imagine a worse fate than having a teacher as her stepmother, and as for the two prissy girls - she is never going to call them sisters ... no way!But, if Cindy dislikes her prospective stepsisters, they think she is an absolute horror - spoiled, arrogant and atrociously rude to them and their mother when they visit her house. Whatever about their mother marrying again, they can't imagine being landed with Cindy as a sister ... no way!But the parents are going to marry, and the girls are going to be family, like it or not. So who gives in? Is there any room for compromise? Will the unlikely trio of stepsisters ever change their minds about each other?TWO GREAT BOOKS IN ONEIn a unique feature the girls' stories are told in two separate back-to-back books, one for Cindy and the other for Ashling and Alva. The reader can choose which story to begin with, getting a very different viewpoint on the girls depending on whose side of the story they read first.Cover of Ashling's diary:

A touching new tale of hope and miracles from the award-winning Siobhan Parkinson.I love Miranda and so will you - Eoin Colfer, author of Artemis Fowl Miranda has a Big Imagination, and always wins Word of the Day at school. When her sister Gemma is taken into hospital, Miranda escapes into her own fantasy land, Magnanimous. With giraffe police, ham sandwich trees and a Crystal-Clear Glass Hospital for Getting-Better Children, Magnanimous grows and grows. As her sister gets worse, things Miranda writes seem to trigger small miracles she has been asking for: her gran stops smoking, horrible Darren Hoey is nice to her ... Can Miranda write a miracle for her sister?

From Ireland's first laureate for children's literature comes a story of abuse and neglect told with sincerity, heart, and a healthy dose of humor. Jono has always been able to cope with his mother's drinking, but when she hits his little sister Julie, he decides it's time for them to run away. Told in Jono's funny, self-conscious voice, the layers of his past and the events of his escape are gradually revealed. Amusing and touching but never sentimental, Siobhan Parkinson is a well reviewed middle-grade author who now turns her considerable skill as a writer to a young adult audience.