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Welcome to The Thinking Train, a unique brand-new series of picture books which focus on the development of children’s thinking skills through the use of stories.
When children are involved in thinking and also in talking about their thinking with others, they reach higher levels of achievement in the future as well as developing superior thinking skills.
The Thinking Train stories will encourage a love of reading and promote thoughtful interaction with books while developing children’s thinking skills. The activities, in carefully graded English, will automatically develop and practise their language skills, too.
The Thinking Train series is written by world-renowned author team Herbert Puchta and Günter Gerngross, with activities devised by Marion Williams.
When Mark, Tikto and Dani get a surprise message from their friend Amy to join her at Unreal School, they immediately go there. However, things at the school are not what they seem and the friends are in danger. Can they tell the difference between reality and virtual reality? And will they be able to find and save Amy before it is too late?
The only thing to do on the ice planet of Triton is to ice-race. Azkoth, Tox and Parnak are the winners of every ice-race. And Vinnie fixes their ice-jets after every race. She loves fixing things, but she hates Triton. She dreams of her father, and of leaving forever. Then, one day, a mysterious white ice-racer arrives. Who is he? And can he save Vinnie?
Ellie and her parents go on holiday to the jungle. Everything is different in the jungle, Ellie thinks it is a magical place. But it can also be dangerous. When Ellie’s parents and their guide fall out of the raft and into the river, Ellie is lef t on her own. Can Ellie remember the rules of the jungle? And how do a parrot and a fox show her the road to survival?
Cosmo is only sixteen but he is already one of the best scout ship pilots in the galaxy. But looking for asteroids day after day is boring, and Cosmo dreams of doing something more interesting. When a strange man sells Cosmo a glowing orb, his life changes. Will the orb help him find the fifth moon?
Charlie isn’t very nice to the other children. They’re scared of him. Then it’s his birthday. Charlie invites all the children to his party. But no one comes. Charlie is sad, and is sorry. He begins to be nice to the other children. And they start to like him.
James has got lots of toys and games. His dad buys him lots of presents and he plays lots of games with him, too. But James is always bored. Then one day Dad gives James’ toys and games to the children next door. They are very happy – and they invite James to play with them.
It’s night time. Josh and Julia are ready for bed. They say goodnight to the moon and the stars. Then Julia closes the curtains and Josh turns on the lamp. Josh is very sleepy, but his little sister can’t sleep. How can Josh help Julia to fall asleep? Find out in this special bedtime story.
It’s the first day of school. All the students are ready. But where is the teacher? When Mr Evans arrives, he can’t remember the students’ names. How can the children help him? Find out in this fun story about the first day in a new class.
Jess and Ben are best friends. They are in the same class at school, too. Ben loves school, but Jess doesn’t like school at all. One day there is a surprise test in science and Jess doesn’t know any answers. Can Ben help her? What is the biggest test for Jess?
Tim is going on holiday with his family but he isn’t happy. He wants to stay at home and play with his friends. The airport is busy, the plane is noisy, even the children at the hotel aren’t nice: Tim hates everything! But then he goes to see the monkeys. What happens when Tim meets the big monkey family?
Jin is tall and clumsy and sometimes he gets very angry. He doesn’t have any friends. Then one day a new football coach comes to school and everything changes. Jin is good at football and soon he is on the school team. But what happens when Jin gets angry during a match? How can his team win without him?
Goldy and Silvy are robots. On their birthday they get a very special present. They can invent their own pet robots! The children are very happy and they promise to look after their pets very carefully. But what happens when they get home and where are all Silvy’s favourite toys?
Prince Percy is handsome and clever and kind, but he is also poor. One day he finds out about a very special contest. The winner can marry beautiful Princess Isabel. When Prince Percy wins, the king isn’t very happy. What happens when the king sets Prince Percy another problem?
When Oliver’s mum goes away for a year, he is sad. He starts making things for his mum, so she can be with him in a new way. When Mum comes back home, Oliver has got a wonderful surprise for her.
When Lizzie and her mum go to the zoo, they see lots of different animals. Lizzie loves looking at the animals as they show her what they can do. That night when Lizzie goes to bed, she thinks about her day. And she realises she can do lots of special things, too!
Deborah spends a lot of time alone in her castle. Or in her hot-air balloon. Or in her pirate ship. Because Deborah loves reading and dreaming about the adventures in her books. Her parents and teachers tell her to stop dreaming. Then one day a new boy arrives at school. Can Deborah’s dreams help him to fit in?
Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away, four brave girls take part in a dangerous race across the desert to the Oasis of Hope. Who will win? Irdina and her black horse, Alya and her beautiful hippogriff, Nour and her strong dire wolf or Mayar and her old camel?
Paul needs to study for his tests in school, but he also needs to finish his online space game before the aliens take over. Paul finds tests very difficult: the more he tries to remember, the more he seems to forget! It’s terrible! How can Paul’s parents and friends help him to find time to study and time to relax?
When Roberto is ten years old he begins to help his dad. After school he goes to the field and takes Dad’s goats home. Roberto likes his new job, but he likes doing other things, too. Soon Roberto’s dad is unhappy with him. Then his sister Andrea has an idea.
Ruby hates PE. Her teacher always tells her to run faster and try harder. But Ruby can’t. The other girls are not happy when Ruby is in their team. They want to win, and winning is impossible with Ruby in the team. Then, one day there is a cross-country race, and Ruby shows that she is a winner, too.
A jaguar kills a cow in a village near a reserve in Brazil. The family who own the cow think that men from other villages are setting traps for deer. Is this why the jaguar is looking for food in the village? Paulo and Catrina, together with their two friends, decide to do something about the problem.
Little Red is a dragon. She lives with her family, deep inside the forest. Then people arrive and start cutting down trees and the forest gets smaller and smaller. Soon the sky is full of smoke and the rivers are full of rubbish. One day Little Red’s sister goes missing. Can Little Red find her and how can she save the rivers and forest?
Lara, Colin and Dylan live with their parents on a farm in Ireland. One day the children ask for a pony. Their dad gives them three seeds and asks them to grow a flower. The child with the most beautiful flower gets the pony. What happens when Lara’s seed doesn’t grow?
Mum, Dad and Rosie want Daniel to help, but he’s always busy. He’s busy playing games on his computer. One evening Rosie has an idea. Now when Daniel wants some help, they say that they are all busy. What happens? And can Daniel change and become more helpful?
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