Junior Cert Text

From the author of Island of the Great Yellow Ox comes a classic Irish childrens book.

Good-natured and garrulous, Svejk becomes the Austro-Hungarian armys most loyal Czech soldier when he is called up on the outbreak of the First World War - although his bumbling attempts to get to the front serve only to prevent him from reaching it.

Mum said war was a punishment from God for peoples sins, so hed better watch out. She didnt tell him what to watch out for, though. When the Second World War breaks out, young Willie Beech is evacuated to the countryside. A sad, deprived child, he slowly begins to flourish under the care of kind old Tom Oakley.

The four children, Ivan, Sophie, Tanya and Nicholas, cant believe it. Their parents are planning to put their grandmother into a Home. Shes a bit of a dotty old lady - sometimes demanding, often annoying - but as much a part of their lives as their shambly house or the whirring of the washing machine. So they decide to take action.

The classic bestseller behind this years biggest movie, this definitive paperback edition features nine illustrations and two maps drawn by J.R.R. Tolkien, and a preface by Christopher Tolkien.

A leak is traced to a small sub-section of SIS, sparking off the inevitable security checks, tensions and suspicions. The sort of atmosphere, perhaps, where mistakes could be made? For Maurice Castle, it is the end of the line anyway, and time for him to retire to live peacefully with his African wife, Sarah.

Luath, the young Labrador; Tao, the Siamese cat; and Bodger, the bull terrier, are three friends who walked and ran, fought and struggled, through hundreds of miles of wilderness, and escaped death at every step.