Cambridge Experience Readers

Twins, Andy and Mary, are in California on holiday with their parents. Mary takes some photos with her new camera and the twins soon discover that someone does not want to be photographed. Why?

It’s Tom’s birthday. But his parents and sister haven’t got time to go out with him. Then he finds a bag and inside, there is a camera. Tom starts taking pictures but when he deletes them, something very strange happens.

It’s Helen’s twelfth birthday and her parents have something important to tell her. Her mum promises that the news won’t change anything. But she’s wrong. It changes everything. Nothing will ever be the same again, not for Helen, not for anyone.

Kieran loves insects, and in particular spiders. When he’s studying spiders, Kieran feels happy and confident. The rest of his life is more difficult. His father is obsessed with teaching a reluctant Kieran to climb. And then there’s Connor O’Brien – a boy in Kieran’s class whose only pleasure seems to come from making fun of Kieran’s interest.

Twins, Andy and Mary, are in Dublin on a school trip. When Mary discovers that she has been given a forged €20 note, she thinks she knows the identity of the forger. The twins start to investigate, but it soon becomes clear that the forgers know who Andy and Mary are too.

Katy is reluctantly at a children’s camp for the summer. She thinks she’s too old to be with a hundred strangers. And she believes this even more when she meets Riley, another camper. But soon Katy and Riley realise that something strange is happening to the other children at the camp. What is it? And why isn’t it happening to Katy and Riley too?

The Olympics, the Paralympics and the more contemporary extreme action sports, X Games, are the greatest celebrations of international sporting achievement in the world. Each event is carefully described and is followed by the exciting and varied profiles of two young people, both past and present, who have made incredible contributions to the games.

Harry doesn’t live a typical teenage life. His dad works away from home and his mother needs a lot of help. Harry can’t see his friends... Then Harry sees a competition – a chance for his family to take a break. But the competition changes Harry’s life more than he could ever expect.

London is a special city with a fascinating past and an exciting present. Read about Shakespeare and shopping, the River Thames and red buses, the Great Fire of 1666 and the Olympics of 2012, haunted Tube stations and bloody murders. Meet Londoners past and present and find out how London started and what drives this amazing city today.

Soon after Gemma gets a new phone, strange things start happening. Despite not studying, she's suddenly getting top marks in every subject. Her tennis skills improve dramatically, attracting the attention of the best-looking boy in the school. And everyone wants to be her friend. But how has this happened? And is this new Gemma, the real Gemma?

Andy and Mary are twins. During the school holidays, they accompany their mother on a business trip to Amsterdam. Andy and Mary witness what they believe to be two criminals hiding a painting from an art robbery. But they can’t prove anything and nobody will believe them.

Marvin lives with his parents and a grandfather who is always inventing new gadgets to help his family. But his grandfather’s inventions often end up making Marvin’s life harder. Then one particular invention proves a success but it also attracts unwanted attention from a school bully.

A decision to borrow her mum’s car with a friend leaves Jo worrying about the consequences. When she eventually returns home, she finds no one there. A new breed of dangerous bees has escaped from a research centre and everyone has fled their homes in search of safety. Jo must rejoin her missing family.

Alice is an Agony Aunt on her school website. Students write to her with their problems and she answers them. But Alice has got several problems of her own. And suddenly she’s the person who needs advice.

Three vibrant stories by the famous New Zealand author Katherine Mansfield, selected and retold by Margaret Johnson. In one story, Laura and her family are preparing for a party when she makes a shocking discovery. In another, the magic and excitement of Leila’s first dance is challenged by the words of an old man. And finally, Isabel, Kezia and Lottie receive an amazing present but there is trouble when they choose who to show it to.

From Maori traditions, such as the world-famous Haka dance, to its stunning geography, the ‘Land of the Long White Cloud’ is a country rich in tradition and sporting adventure. Explore this spectacularly beautiful country through the myths and legends that are part of its culture.

Further adventures for twins Andy and Mary. This time Andy and Mary are away with their father in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales in the UK. After discovering a locked door in a supposedly abandoned mine, Mary’s curiosity is aroused. What is someone hiding in the mine? And who is the man watching them through the binoculars?

Luke and Alex are neighbours and, on Luke’s part, reluctant friends. They spend their free time on a large heath, looking for anything to keep themselves amused. Meanwhile an illegally-kept panther escapes its owner and takes refuge on the same heath. The paths of the boys and the cat are destined to meet.

Lucho and Eva are paired together for a History project. The first stage is to draw a ‘Mind Map’ of all their ideas. But Lucho’s mind map has a mind of its own and starts to grow. The map leads Lucho and Eva on an adventure involving the ancient theft of gold in a lost city in the Colombian jungle.

Southampton, England, 1912. Hannah Frost’s father is in America and her mother and brother are leaving Southampton to join him. However, Hannah is recovering from a serious illness and must rest. She expects to travel with the housekeeper, Marnie, in a few weeks’ time, on a new ship called the Titanic. Then, on the day of her trip, Hannah wakes up alone...

A truly terrifying collection of classic stories for horror fans: the heart of a dead man won’t stop beating; a girl’s strange new employer holds a dark secret; a tree hides something terrible; body-snatchers encounter a surprise; a woman is obsessed by a man that only she can see; a rich man shows his poor cousin his dangerous Brazilian cat; a father and son rescue a strangely familiar girl; and the victim of a murder goes to court.

From the Highlands to its islands, from terrifying tales of history to its modern cities such as Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland has a fascinating story to tell. Explore the country through its fantastic festivals, innovative inventions, and much more.

Despite their very different backgrounds, two fifteen-year-olds are drawn together and discover that they share much more than they had ever imagined. This is a rollercoaster of an adventure that takes us from Sark, a remote British island, to the busy modern city of Birmingham in England.

Through different voices, this book explores the ‘Two Worlds’ of immigrants to Britain: the home they left and the home they are now in. The characters outline their reasons for leaving their home country and their impressions of the United Kingdom.

A collection of short stories themed around food and drink: a bed-and-breakfast owner is determined that one of her guests should try her famous ‘Full English Breakfast’; a scientist invents an additive that increases peoples’ attraction to certain food; a young boy learns to cook with the help of a great uncle and a magic ingredient; and a Japanese master chef must prepare his own last meal.

An adaptation of the classic story about a young man who is shipwrecked on an island near South America. Crusoe eventually meets another person on the island and their friendship leads to his escape and return to the country he left as a young man, almost thirty years before.

Three cases from the files of the world's most famous detective: in ‘The Bruce Partington Plans’ some highly confidential government plans go missing and Holmes knows the solution to the theft is not simple; in ‘The Devil's Foot’ Holmes' holiday is interrupted by an event which seems more supernatural than criminal; and in ‘The Copper Beeches’, Holmes receives a visit from a woman who's been offered a well-paid job with some very strange conditions...

An adaptation of the classic story of Michael Henchard who rises above his poor and humble beginnings to become a successful businessman. But then, an awful secret from his past catches up with him and Henchard must pay the price.

It is 1936 and Europe is on the road to war. Freddie is a working-class English boy who is desperate for more excitement in his life. When he reads about foreign volunteers heading to the war in Spain, he knows what he must do.