Their faulty little prehistoric nerve systems could not stand up to the strong regular beat of the music; they whimpered and shivered and began to dissolve like butter melting on a griddle.

The Witch of Clatteringshaws

Joan Aiken

Alex was convinced that his time as a spy was all behind him now. He was wrong.

Nightshade

Anthony Horowitz

James Clifford – now Lord Clifford – had been a politician for more than forty years, but perhaps the most remarkable thing about him was that in all that time he had always been popular.

Nightshade

Anthony Horowitz

He was a man who loved his country, who worked hard, who wanted to make a difference.

Nightshade

Anthony Horowitz

After she had whispered and nodded for a few seconds, she suddenly turned around and, peering over her glasses at us, pointed to the empty chair at the back of the class.

The Boy at the Back of the Class

Onjali Q. Rauf

He had the strangest coloured eyes I’d ever seen – like a bright ocean but on a half-sunny day.

The Boy at the Back of the Class

Onjali Q. Rauf

The next day, and the next day, and the next day after that, I smiled at the new boy and gave him a friendly wink, just as often as I could.

The Boy at the Back of the Class

Onjali Q. Rauf

That night it was jam roly-poly and custard. Well, lumps of custard. ‘The roly-poly’s a bit flat,’ she noted, as she offered it up apologetically. ‘It’s meant to be a nice spiral of dough and jam. You know, rather than a splodge’.

The Boy Who Grew Dragons

Andy Shepherd and Sara Ogilvie

Things you found under rocks. Things you found at the bottom of ponds. Things you found lurking down the plughole. Jemina would scoop up anything nasty and deposit it in a jar.

Slime

David Walliams

I remember the bear who raised me. Nuzzling my face into her warm belly. Huge furry limbs shielding me from the biting now. I remember the deep rumbles of her snores through the silent winter, and clouds of steamy breath smelling of berries and pine nuts.

The Girl Who Speaks Bear

Sophie Anderson

I can only see a few spindly treetops from here, but they feel like thick ropes, tugging at my heart. I’m nearly at the top of the hill that rises from the village before I realise I’ve wandered away from the others.

The Girl Who Speaks Bear

Sophie Anderson

The forest has moods and at this moment it feels restless… I feel on edge, like the forest is trying to tell me something.

The Girl Who Speaks Bear

Sophie Anderson

The noise of the crows circling outside was constant… Sometimes, one would land on the sill. Pecking, watching, unblinking. The caws began to sound less friendly. Accusing, mocking. Marsh witch, the crows seem to croak, in the voices of the villagers.

A Pinch of Magic

Michelle Harrison

Soon the houses became fewer, and then the crossroads were in sight and there were no houses at all. Instead, some distance away across the marshes, rows of tiny prison-cell windows glowed yellow, like watchful eyes in the blackness. Rising even higher, another light flickered from a solitary tower that loomed over the rest of the building.

A Pinch of Magic

Michelle Harrison

The trouble was, she was starting to feel that liking physics so much made her unusual, which wasn’t a feeling she liked much.

The Train to Impossible Places

P.G. Bell

She swung her feet out of bed and into her slippers, then crept to the window, easing the curtain aside to peer out.

The Train to Impossible Places

P.G. Bell

As he continued to run through the controls, desperately searching for a solution, small beads of sweat began to form on his forehead and the muscles in his neck and shoulders became rigid and tight.

Raven’s Wharf

A.B. Martin

She remembered the first time she had held him, the wave of love she had felt then. The feeling she’d had that she would never let anything happen to him.

No Ballet Shoes in Syria

Catherine Bruton

Despite being jogged and jounced, jolted and jarred with every one of his captor’s steps, Bod managed to grasp the screw in his right hand.

The Graveyard Boy

Neil Gaiman

A fuse is laid leading to a firework. A scruffy and dirty girl, Lila, comes onstage. She carefully adds a tiny amount of delicate powder to the firework, thinks about it, adds a tiny but more. She thinks ‘why not’ and pours a load in. She steps back and lights the fuse.

The Firework Maker’s Daughter

Philip Pullman

Great things always happen when you do experiments but Dad said, “Dangerous chemicals are hard to get.” But when he was dropping us at the party, dad also said not to eat too many sweets and crisps and fizzy drinks at the party because, “Sweets and crisps and fizzy drinks are full of dangerous chemicals.”

Act Normal and Don’t Tell Anyone About the Dinosaur in the Garden

Christian Darkin

My house has chicken legs. Two or three times a year, without warning, it stands up and walks away… It nestles in dark forbidden woods, rattles on windswept icy tundra, and hides in crumbling ruins at the far edge of cities. At this moment it’s perched on a rocky ledge high in some barren mountains.

The House with Chicken Legs

Sophie Anderson

Fortunately, Bradley’s aftershave, although utterly revolting, was harmless, and all they were left with was a fog of cloying perfume and slight headache.

Milton the Megastar

Emma Read

There was a smell in the air, pungent and rank, and to me quite unfamiliar.

The Butterfly Lion

Michael Morpurgo

I’ve heard them call Baba ugly, hideous, a witch, or a monster. I’ve heard them say she eats people. But they’ve never seen her like this. She’s beautiful, dancing among the dead, bringing comfort and joy. I love her wide, crooked-toothed smile, her big warty nose, and her thinning white hair that floats out from under her bowed, stumpy legs.

The House with Chicken Legs

Sophie Anderson

Stars twinkle above us, raining down tiny sparks of light. “Trost!” Baba shouts and she pulls the cork out of the bottle with her teeth. The sweet, spicy smell of the drink fills the air and the fire burns brighter.

The House with Chicken Legs

Sophie Anderson

The boy takes my hand in his. It’s warm and slightly damp with sweat. A smile bursts across my face and my cheeks ache with the force of it. I can’t remember the last time I spoke to a living person, let alone touched one.

The House with Chicken Legs

Sophie Anderson

Tom’s face felt so hot he was sure it was about to explode. The midday sun beat down mercilessly on his back, and the beads of sweat that had long since formed on his forehead began to itch and tickle.

The Secret Lake

Karen Inglis

he swivelled round to meet the piercing stare of the gardener, Charlie Green. ‘Now look ‘ere’, Tom Hawken, I’ve told you before, I’ve enough trouble chasing up these darn molehills without ‘aving you goin’ round diggin’ ‘em up.’

The Secret Lake

Karen Inglis

I woke in my narrow bed, sunrise just starting to brighten the mud walls of my room. The smell of burnt porridge hung on the air. Da must have been up for hours, as it took a long time for the fire to heat the heavy clay pot… My tummy rumbled as I stretched my arms.

The Girl of Ink and Stars

Kiran Millwood

‘Pine honey!’ I unscrewed the lid and the smell filled my nostrils, making my mouth water… The honey was so good I hardly noticed the porridge was burnt.

The Girl of Ink and Stars

Kiran Millwood

Dylan watched the icy flakes as they swirled past the car window. Caught by the wind, it was like the snow had transformed into huge beasts, their mouths opening wide in a silent howl.

Deadwood Hall

Linda Jones

I remembered that, that ache in my belly. How it came back two months later, when Ma died. Only then it was sharper, and there was no one carrying anyone out of that darkness. Three years on the same sweating sickness that took Gabo. Three years after that, the clay mine memory still made my throat feel tight.

The Girl on Ink and Stars

Kiran Millwood

Dylan’s eyes had bulged wide open in horror. Clinging to the outside of her window was a hideous snake-like creature, its huge purplish face squashed tightly against the glass. Jagged teeth bared, it was snapping and biting, trying to tear its way into the car.

Deadwood Hall

Linda Jones

All around them the fairground was doing a roaring trade. Stallholders were shouting, small children were squealing. Music was blasting out from every ride, the thumping bass vibrating through the air.

Kestrel Island

A.B. Martin

Sophie’s heart was in her mouth. Why would anyone take a chance on doing something so dangerous? He was such a long way up. One false move and he would plummet to his death.

Kestrel Island

A.B. Martin

It was a hot July afternoon and the park was scattered with people sunbathing and picnicking on the grass. Keeping a watchful eye out for Frisbees, footballs and the occasional marauding skateboarder, they sauntered around the park basking in the warm sunshine.

Kestrel Island

A.B. Martin

She’d been an avid reader as far back as she could remember, and she loved the sensation of opening a new book for the first time. It was the powdery quality of the pages. It suggested they were unsullied by the sweat of other people’s hands. They felt so deliciously crisp and neat.

Kestrel Island

A.B. Martin

Then he heard the noise, a rustling of leaves close by. A mild thrashing sound followed by a soft thumping, just beneath him down the slope. Archie readied himself to run when he heard a yelp.

Power and Fury: Eden Chronicles

James Erith

At the far end of the attic, Grandad pulled a sheet down from the wall to reveal a big metal doo