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Catalogue

Readers

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Helbling Blue Series

A series of well-known classic stories by world- famous authors that have been chosen and adapted to appeal to teenage and young adult readers.

Careful selection of stories with suitable content and language level has allowed the flavour of the originals to remain.

Reflection Boxes throughout the stories draw links between the themes explored and the students’ own experience. 

View the Helbling Readers Catalogue

COLLECTION
The Kingdom of the Snow Leopard
by Elspeth Rawstron

The Kingdom of the Snow Leopard

by Elspeth Rawstron

This year Tom is really excited about Christmas. He is going to spend the holidays with his friend Mahir in the Kingdom of the Snow Leopard. He even has a special invitation from Mahir’s father, the King. But someone is following the boys on their journey and Tom is worried that he wants to hurt them. What happens when they get there?

Operation Osprey
by David A. Hill

Operation Osprey

by David A. Hill

Don and Mike are best friends. They live in the sleepy town of Saltley and they both love birdwatching. Their lives suddenly become exciting when Mike spots a pair of osprey at a nearby lake. The boys decide to protect the birds so that they can make a nest. But when Mr Roberts takes an interest in the birds the boys become suspicious.

Red Water
by Antoinette Moses

Red Water

by Antoinette Moses

When teen hackers Tricia and Daniel discover that a local company could be involved in a sinister plot to trade carbon, they suddenly find that their lives are in danger. How is Tricia’s father involved? Can Tricia protect her family and Daniel?

The Canterville Ghost
by Oscar Wilde

The Canterville Ghost

by Oscar Wilde

Adapted by David A. Hill

When an American family buy an old English mansion, they also inherit its terrible ghost. The ghost sets about frightening the new owners, but the Americans don’t frighten easily and the ghost gets more than he had bargained for.

Daisy Miller
by Henry James

Daisy Miller

by Henry James

Adapted by Janet Olearski

Recording in American English

When beautiful young American Daisy Miller travels to Europe with her wealthy but unaristocratic mother, her innocent and friendly manner makes her more enemies than friends.

The Garden Party
by Katherine Mansfield

The Garden Party

by Katherine Mansfield

Adapted by David A. Hill

In The Garden Party, Laura is excited about her mother’s annual garden party until she discovers that a man has died close to the family’s home. In Sixpence, Dicky, an active, exuberant boy, accidentally breaks a plate. What will his mother do? Will he be punished?

The Last of the Mohicans
by James Fenimore Cooper

The Last of the Mohicans

by James Fenimore Cooper

Adapted by Janet Olearski

In America, during the French and Indian wars, two young women, Cora and Alice, set off on  a dangerous journey to be reunited with their father Colonel Munro. They are aided by Hawkeye, a brave frontier scout, and Chingackgook and Uncas, his Mohican companions. On their way they must escape from the cruel Huron Magua and the French army. Will they get to Fort Edward and safety?

Tales of Mystery
by Edgar Allan Poe

Tales of Mystery

by Edgar Allan Poe

Adapted by Janet Olearski 

The Fall of the House of Usher describes the final days of a tormented and tragic family. In The Oval Portrait a brilliant but obsessed artist sacrifices love for art. In The Masque of the Red Death Prince Prospero tries to escape with his friends from a terrible disease that is killing everyone in their land.

Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde
by Robert Louis Stevenson

Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde

by Robert Louis Stevenson

Adapted by Les Kirkham e Sandra Oddy

When respectable Dr Jekyll starts associating with the mysterious Mr Hyde, his friends become increasingly worried. Who is Hyde and why do all the people he meets dislike him? Stevenson’s classic tale of the human capacity for evil is retold with all the tension and Gothic drama of the original story.

The Call of the Wild
by Jack London

The Call of the Wild

by Jack London

Adapted by David A. Hill

Buck leads a good life in California, but one day he is stolen and taken to the harsh and freezing Yukon to work as a sledge dog. Here Buck must learn to fight for his survival. Can he rise above his enemies and become the master of his world once again?

Danger in the Sun
by Antoinette Moses

Danger in the Sun

by Antoinette Moses

Jake hasn’t seen his archaeologist father for five years, but now he is going to spend his summer holiday with him in Greece. Jake arrives in Athens airport, but his father is nowhere to be seen. When the local police show little interest in the case Jake decides to investigate his father’s disappearance himself

The Boy Who Could Fly
by David A. Hill

The Boy Who Could Fly

by David A. Hill

No one knows where Michael comes from or who his parents are. One day he starts to grow wings and his life changes forever. Michael moves from hospitals to research clinics to life in isolation on a remote island. Will he ever manage to have a normal life?

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
by Washington Irving

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

by Washington Irving

Adapted by Janet Olearski

This is the story of Ichabod Crane, a superstitious schoolmaster who arrives in Sleepy Hollow. Ichabod falls in love with Katrina van Tassel, a wealthy farmer’s daughter, but he must compete with the strong, handsome Brom Bones for her hand. When Ichabod is invited to a party at Katrina’s house, will he convince  the young girl to marry him? And how does the terrifying ‘Headless Horseman’ change his life forever?

The Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Adapted by David A. Hill

Jay Gatsby is the man who has everything: money, influential friends and fabulous parties. Day and night his Long Island mansion is full of beautiful people laughing and dancing and talking about their mysterious host. But the rich and handsome Gatsby always seems to be alone in the crowd and there always seems to be something missing from his life. What is the secret from Gatsby’s past? And what does he silently hope will fill his life?

Dracula
by Bram Stoker

Dracula

by Bram Stoker

Adapted by David A. Hill

Jonathan Harker travels to Transylvania to see a local nobleman, Count Dracula.Jonathan realises that things are not what they seem at Castle Dracula and, before he knows it, his nightmare begins. Soon Jonathan and his friends and family are battling for their lives against the terrible Count in a race of good against evil that will bring them from Transylvania to London and across Europe once more to the Black Sea. Can Jonathan and his friends destroy Dracula?

The Coconut Seller
by Jack Scholes

The Coconut Seller

by Jack Scholes

Bruno, a poor coconut seller from the favela, meets Clara, a beautiful rich girl from Rio de Janeiro’s wealthy Ipanema area, and they fall in love. But Clara’s father doesn’t approve and stops the relationship. Then Zeca, a criminal from Bruno’s past, tries to blackmail Bruno into helping him  make some easy money. Can Bruno stop Zeca, save Clara and convince Clara’s father that he is right for his daughter?

To the Lighthouse
by Virginia Woolf

To the Lighthouse

by Virginia Woolf

Adapted by Elspeth Rawstron

Mrs Ramsey has gathered her friends and family around her in the family’s summer house on the Isle of Skye. As the children play and the adults paint, talk and think, the relationships between them develop and change. Can true happiness ever be achieved or is it destined to exist only as a poignant memory?

The Green Room
by Robert Campbell

The Green Room

by Robert Campbell

Laura’s dream is to become a famous actress. When she auditions for The Green Room summer school she meets Nathan, who shares her dream. But Laura and Nathan both have secret. That summer at The Green Room Laura and Nathan grow up and learn that that it is better to tell the truth and keep their acting for the stage.

Mystery at the Mill
by Elspeth Rawstron

Mystery at the Mill

by Elspeth Rawstron

When Caterina finds her great-great grandmother’s diary in the attic, she reads about her difficult life as a child worker in the local mill. Caterina starts thinking and soon she starts a campaign against a local boutique that sells cheap fashionable clothes. However the shop belongs to Jake’s Uncle Sanjit. Can Caterina convince Sanjit to sell ethically made clothes? And are Sanjit’s suppliers what they seem?

Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë

Wuthering Heights

by Emily Brontë

Adapted by Jennifer Gascoigne

Recording in British English

Heathcliff, an orphan, is raised by Mr Earnshaw with his own children, Hindley and Catherine. Hindley hates Heathcliff, but his passionate sister Catherine becomes his close friend, and they fall deeply in love. When Catherine decides to marry Edgar Linton instead of Heathcliff, Heathcliff’s terrible revenge destroys everyone’s lives. Will Heathcliff and Catherine ever find peace?

Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë

Jane Eyre

by Charlotte Brontë

Adapted by Frances Mariani

Poor orphan Jane Eyre lives an unhappy childhood. Hated by her guardian aunt and cousins, she is sent to the strict and loveless Lowood School. But life at school improves, though Jane still longs for friendship and love. Jane becomes governess at Thornfield Hall, where she meets the charismatic Mr Rochester. Has she found the love she has been waiting for?

The Picture of Dorian Gray
by Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray

by Oscar Wilde

Adapted by Elspeth Rawstron

Artist Basil Hallward sees Dorian Gray at a party and suddenly feels that something bad is going to happen. But then the young and handsome Dorian becomes his friend and Basil paints the most wonderful picture of him. What does Dorian wish for when he sees his picture? And why does Dorian then hide his picture for no-one to see?

Heart of Darkness
by Joseph Conrad

Heart of Darkness

by Joseph Conrad

Adapted by David A. Hill

When Marlow, an experienced sailor, goes to Africa as the captain of a steamboat on the Congo River, the journey has a profound effect on him. As Marlow sails further down the river and into the heart of the African continent to bring back ivory and a brilliant but mysterious agent called Mr Kurtz, he feels he is travelling further and further into the heart of darkness. What is this darkness? What powers of darkness take Mr Kurtz?

The Albatross
by Scott Lauder & Walter MacGregor

The Albatross

by Scott Lauder & Walter MacGregor

Levy, an old Greek sailor, takes on his last job and discovers that the cargo on board is not what he expected. Molly, an American teenager, finds a body on the beach when she’s walking her dog. What happens when Levy tells the captain? Why does the body disappear? And how are Levy and Molly connected?

Emma
by Jane Austen

Emma

by Jane Austen

Adapted by Elspeth Rawstron

Emma is beautiful, clever, rich, happy and never wants to get married. She enjoys match-making her friends in the village of Highbury, but slowly seems to lose her touch as complications begin with Frank, Harriet, Jane and Mr Knightley. No one seems to love the person Emma thinks they should. Will Emma continue her game of match-making? And will she herself ever fall in love?

Twelve Years a Slave
by Solomon Northup

Twelve Years a Slave

by Solomon Northup

Adapted by David A. Hill

Solomon Northup was kidnapped as a free man and sold into slavery. This is his story of his twelve years as a slave. Solomon paints a clear picture of the life of a slave, the endless work and the cruel treatment, where people are treated without any humanity. Find out how Solomon was kidnapped, about his terrible journey South and his three very different masters.How did Solomon survive? And how did Solomon become a free man once more?

Jam
by Frank Brennan

Jam

by Frank Brennan

Anne Banks struggles to make ends meet. There is never quite enough money to buy everything she needs for her two teenage children. Gus keeps growing and wants a football kit and Ellie keeps changing the colour of her hair and wants to buy more make-up. One day their luck changes when Rose Stanway, their neighbour, offers to teach Gus how to make her extra special jam. How can it make a difference to the Banks’ lives and maybe solve their problems?

The Right Thing
by Scott Lauder & Walter McGregor 

The Right Thing

by Scott Lauder & Walter McGregor 

When Josh meets Trish and Suzi at their first day of college in London, little do they know that they will soon be swept up into a mystery involving the British and Yolandan governments. Luckily for them, Morrow, a British Security Service agent, takes them under his wing. But by doing so he has to decide what is the right thing to do. What will Morrow’s decision mean for him? Only Control can decide.

Great Expectations
by Charles Dickens

Great Expectations

by Charles Dickens

Adapted by Jennifer Gascoigne

When poor orphan Pip falls in love with the rich and beautiful Estella, he never imagines that he, too, one day will have money. After Mr Jaggers tells Pip he has great expectations and a secret rich benefactor, Pip moves to London and starts a new life as a gentleman. He hopes to win Estella’s heart, but soon learns that money is not the only answer. Why does Estella always make Pip suffer? Who is Pip’s secret benefactor?

Frankenstein
by Mary Shelley

Frankenstein

by Mary Shelley

Adapted by David A. Hill

A young scientist, Victor Frankenstein, becomes obsessed with creating life. He works feverishly in isolation for months until the fatal evening arrives and he finally meets his own creation. Victor, however, is disgusted by the monster he has created and rejects it immediately. The monster, rejected by his own creator and then all of humankind, goes from sadness to anger and then wants revenge.

The Mystery Of The Three Domes
by Elspeth Rawstron

The Mystery Of The Three Domes

by Elspeth Rawstron

Architecture student Sibel Karaman receives a letter from Great-Uncle Ismail on the day of his death. He leaves her a mystery to solve which takes her and Aunt Sofia on a wonderful adventure to three beautiful cities: London, Venice and Istanbul. Can Sibel solve the mystery of the three domes and find the very special place that Uncle Ismail had in mind for her? Join her, Aunt Sibel and her four friends Holly, Anna, Hermione and Jake on their journey.

Father and Son
by Frank Brennan

Father and Son

by Frank Brennan

Have you ever wondered what a rock star’s life can be like? When Nic Wild from the Wild Kats asks his son Andy to perform with him at a concert in Paris, little does he know that terrible things are about to happen to him. Where is Alan Carver, Nic’s manager, when he needs  him most? How does Andy save the day with his accountancy skills?

The Turn of the Screw
by Henry James

The Turn of the Screw

by Henry James

Adapted by Jennifer Gascoigne

Recording in British English

When Miss Jessel accepts a position as governess to look after Flora and Miles, little does she  now that her job will be so difficult. Both children seem perfect and charming, but after a few weeks at the grand house of Bly two strange figures appear. Are these figures real people or ghosts? And what influence do they have on the children? Can Miss Jessel protect Flora and Miles?

Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice

by Jane Austen

Adapted by Elspeth Rawstron

Mrs Bennet’s main purpose is to see her five daughters married. She is very happy when a handsome rich gentleman, Mr Bingley, arrives in the neighbourhood, and falls in love with Jane. When her sister, the clever and witty Elizabeth, meets his handsome friend, Mr Darcy, she hates him. Little do Elizabeth and Mr Darcy  know that this is the beginning of a wonderful love story. Will they be able to overcome his pride and her prejudice?

A Single Shot
by Scott Lauder & Walter McGregor

A Single Shot

by Scott Lauder & Walter McGregor

When Lewis Morrow escapes from his captors and a sure death he makes a new life for himself as a taxi driver in Paris. He thinks he has left everything behind until one day he sees three young people he once helped in London. When Josh, Trish and Suzi get into trouble, Morrow needs to decide if he will help them or let the past stay in the past. Find out what he decides in this exciting sequel to The Right Thing.

The Secret Agent
by Joseph Conrad

The Secret Agent

by Joseph Conrad

Adapted by Donatella Velluti

Recording in British English


Mr Verloc appears to be a simple shopkeeper in London who lives with his wife’s family at the back of his shop. But in reality he also works as a spy for a foreign government and has links with a group of anarchists who meet regularly at his shop. When a bomb goes off in Greenwich Park, everyone presumes it was meant to blow up the Royal Observatory nearby, as an act of terrorism. Can the police discover who was responsible for the explosion and why it didn’t reach its target?

Sense and Sensibility
by Jane Austen

Sense and Sensibility

by Jane Austen

Adapted by Elspeth Rawstron

Two very different sisters meet and fall in love with two very different men. Elinor is the elder sister and she represents sense. Marianne is the younger sister and she represents sensibility. Elinor falls in love with Edward, a kind and sensible young man. Marianne falls in love with Willoughby who is handsome and romantic and everything she ever hoped a man to be. Will everything be simple in love so that Elinor and Marianne can marry the men of their dreams?

The Invisible Man
by H. G. Wells

The Invisible Man

by H. G. Wells

Adapted by Donatella Velluti

One night, during a snow storm, a mysterious stranger staggers through the doors of a pub in a small English village, wrapped up from head to foot. The people in the village have a lot of questions. Who is the stranger? What is in his suitcase? Why has he come to the village? And why won’t he let anyone see his face?

The Age of Innocence
by Edith Wharton

The Age of Innocence

by Edith Wharton

Adapted by Nora Nagy

Newland Archer does everything that is expected of him in the New York high society of the 1870s. He is a respected lawyer, he socialises with all of the most elegant families and he is engaged to May Welland: a beautiful, innocent and wealthy young woman. It is a perfect match. But then Newland meets May’s cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska, who has arrived in New York with a bad reputation. Soon the couple fall in love. But what about May? And more importantly: how can they avoid a scandal?

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