Malorie Blackman

Syan Blake

Paul Chequer

noughts--crosses

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Although Betsey may be small, she’s not going to let that hold her back. She’s determined to make the most of everything life throws at her, even if it doesn’t always quite go to plan. These collections of short stories follow Betsey as she navigates her way through some of the typical challenges that face a little girl; losing her teddy bear, dealing with annoying siblings, putting on a disappointing magic show and preparing for a hurricane….and those are just for starters!

Betsey Biggalow the Detective

Betsey Biggalow is Here!

Abridged Edition

Quick Reads Penguin Readers: Boys Don’t Cry

My Life In Words

Just Sayin'

Penguin Readers Level 5: Boys Don't Cry (ELT Graded Reader)

Chasing the Stars

Hacker

Pig-Heart Boy

Penguin Readers Level 4: Pig-Heart Boy (ELT Graded Reader)

The final book in the groundbreaking series, Noughts & Crosses

Endgame

We're Going to Find the Monster

Boys Don't Cry

A BBC Radio full-cast dramatisation

Noughts & Crosses

Puffin Poetry

Cloud Busting

A Fairy Tale Revolution

Blueblood

Crossfire

Knife Edge

Checkmate

Double Cross

Malorie Blackman's ground-breaking, award winning series charts the lives and loves of generations as it takes on race and equality with breathtaking drama and heart wrenching sadness. Set in an alternate reality, where the inferior Noughts live as second class citizens in a world run by Crosses, the four books explore the violent politics of a unstable world, and the ordinary lives caught up in in its terror. Beginning with Noughts and Crosses - and the romance of Seph and Callum - and ending with Double Cross, it is a gripping sequence, and an important, relevant story for our time.

Noughts & Crosses Graphic Novel

Callum: A Noughts and Crosses Short Story

It's here! Browse the 2024 Penguin Christmas gift guide

Blackman's absorbing but alarming novel deals with themes of racism and prejudice . . . Unforgettable

A gritty read for older children . . . At times this is a beautiful love story; at other times it is a harrowing and moral tale...

Packs some powerful political punches...But Blackman never compromises the story, which is dramatic, moving and brave

Inter-racial teenage love has never been more painful

'A crisp, well-constructed read... constantly instructive. It would make a wonderful television series.&nbsp; Let's hope somebody has the courage to make it'

'This incredibly powerful story snaps hold of the reader's mind and doesn't let go. Magnificent.' 
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'Startling and provocative - guaranteed to help young readers see events in a different way from the cultural and historical norm with which they have grown up...&nbsp;&nbsp; Blackman is known for her tightly plotted, fast moving fiction...&nbsp; with its powerful theme of racial injustice, Noughts &amp; Crosses engages the reader at a greater depth and in a more demanding way than any of Blackman's previous work. I read it in one sitting, reluctant to put it down, and so, I'm sure, will many young readers'

'A book which will linger in the mind long after it has been read and which will challenge children to think again and again about the cliches and stereotypes with which they are presented.... a novel that will challenge and engage people from l3 up'

"A stimulating and provocative plot line that often leaves the reader chilled to the bone... Noughts and Crosses is written with the passion of an author who has a personal, chilling vision of the past, present and future.&nbsp; Blackman cuts to the bone, turning the preconceived ideas of racial prejudice upside down, ensuring tht her point is well and truly made in a deeply disturbing and totally absorbing novel with a shocking climax that packs an unforgettable punch."

'A gritty read for older children...&nbsp; A times this is a beautiful love story; at other times it is a harrowing and moral tale.&nbsp; Narrating believably through the voices of two teenagers, Malorie Blackman has written an incredible novel that is as heart-rending as it is provocative.&nbsp; I had to read it all in one sitting, and I challenge any reader not to do the same'

'Juggles a flawlessly paced thriller involving terrorist kidnapping and the Romeo and Juliet romance between a politician's daughter (a 'Cross') and a poor white boy (a 'Nought')'

'...a bruising tome and her most ambitious novel to date.&nbsp; An author who has worked hard not to be identified too closely with any particular genre, she has built a complex and challenging novel around an alternative version of apartheid.'&nbsp; 
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'A sad, bleak, brutal novel that promotes empathy and understanding of the history of civil rights as it inverts truths about racial injustice. It shows the destructive and dehumanising effect of constant denigration and abuse, and the desperation it gives rise to.&nbsp; It demonstrates, too, that in a divided society, both sides are guilty of perpetuating hatred and hurting each other. But this is also a novel about love, and inspires the reader to wish for a world that is not divided by colour or class'

These books grip you from start to finish, so much so that I completed the first title in one sitting... The way theviewpoints are juggled between the main characters development, and helps build suspense. A rollercoaster ride of emotions, this is a thrilling read- five stars!

Sephy is a Cross - a member of the dark-skinned ruling class. Callum is a Nought - a 'colourless' member of the underclass who were once slaves to the Crosses.  The two have been friends since early childhood. But that's as far as it can go. Until the first steps are taken towards more social equality and a limited number of Noughts are allowed into Crosses schools...   Against a background of prejudice and distrust,  intensely highlighted by violent terrorist activity by  Noughts unable to accept the injustices any longer, a romance builds between Sephy and Callum - a romance that is to lead both of them into terrible danger...

Award-winning author  Malorie Blackman tackles the issues of racism and   prejudice in a world set in an alternate historical reality

Malorie Blackman (Author) Malorie Blackman has written over seventy books for children and young adults, including the Noughts &amp; Crosses series, Thief and a science-fiction thriller, Chasing the Stars. Many of her books have also been adapted for stage and television, including a BAFTA-award-winning BBC production of Pig-Heart Boy and a Pilot Theatre stage adaptation by Sabrina Mahfouz of Noughts &amp; Crosses. There is also a major BBC production of Noughts &amp; Crosses, with Roc Nation (Jay-Z’s entertainment company) curating the soundtrack as executive music producer. In 2005 Malorie was honoured with the Eleanor Farjeon Award in recognition of her distinguished contribution to the world of children’s books. In 2008 she received an OBE for her services to children’s literature, and between 2013 and 2015 she was the Children’s Laureate. Most recently Malorie wrote for the Doctor Who series on BBC One, and the fifth novel in her Noughts &amp; Crosses series, Crossfire, was published by Penguin Random House Children’s in summer 2019.

Noughts & Crosses

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