Phillip Burrows

Some of the people who live in the flats are strange, Charlie thinks. He watches them carefully, and talks to the police about them. But the police are not interested in his stories. Then, one day, there is a robbery in the flats and the police cannot find the thieves. Can Charlie help now?

Ben, his sister Maxine, and their parents, are going skiing in Scotland. The sun is shining and the snow on the mountains is beautiful. It's going to be a wonderful holiday. But one day there's an avalanche, and Ben's father doesn't come back to the village. The police are looking for him under the snow - and so is Buster, Ben's dog. Hotshot puzzles are readers with a difference. Every two pages there is a puzzle to solve. The stories are carefully graded and are written for young teenagers.

Anna is on holiday in Egypt with her mother and Lucretia, her cat. One day they visit the Pyramids, and Lucretia becomes a star in a cat food advertisement. But cats are not usually very good actors, and Lucretia gets bored and disappears into a pyramid. Then Anna's adventure really starts.

"Starters" is an introductory level to the Oxford Bookworms Library, suitable for readers in their first or second years of learning English. The series offers original stories in a variety of formats: narrative, interactive and comic strip. They contain glossaries and exercises and are carefully graded in structure and vocabulary. Cassettes are available for some titles. Selected titles, including this one ("Escape") are in comic strip form and are particularly suitable for early reading or remedial classes.

The empty centre of Australia. The sun is hot and there are not many people. And when Bill meets a man, alone, standing on an empty road a long way from anywhere, he is surprised and worried. And Bill is right to be worried. Because there is something strange about the man he meets. Very strange . . .