Forde, Patricia – The Bell Bookshop https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk Henley-on-Thames Sat, 30 May 2026 14:32:06 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cropped-Bell-Background-Blue-32x32.png Forde, Patricia – The Bell Bookshop https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk 32 32 Letters to a Giant https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/letters-to-a-giant/ Thu, 04 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/?post_type=product&p=56126 **'HUGELY hilarious' – Paddy Donnelly**
**A laugh-out loud book about a very unlikely friendship, by the Irish Children's Laureate**

Sophie can’t wait for her birthday party. But when one of her invitations is accidentally picked up by a GIANT, she finds herself in a bit of a pickle. What if he turns up and eats all the guests?

But Harry the Hairy Giant is determined to come to her party, no matter how many letters Sophie writes to dissuade him. After all, he’s had a glorious purple suit made specially, and he’s been practising his dancing!

As the letters fly back and forth, Sophie begins to wonder if Harry isn’t as bad as she thought. What if he’s the perfect party guest after all?

]]> The Island of the Bees https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/the-island-of-the-bees/ Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/?post_type=product&p=55737 An epic tale of volcanoes, dragons and wild storms, with themes drawn from Irish legend. Written by the current Irish Children's Laureate, this is a celebration of the magic of bees and the power we can all draw from the natural world.

Nestled on a peaceful island, Orla and her grandmother live tending their beloved bees. But bubbling below is a monster waiting to surface – a dormant volcano – and when it wakes Orla and the rest of the island must flee in search of safety. Orla adventures across the wild sea, guided by her buzzing friends, to find a new home. But what will they find over the horizon?

]]> The Wordsmith https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/the-wordsmith/ Tue, 01 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/?post_type=product&p=49586 The 10th Anniversary edition of a middle grade dystopian classic from Laureate na nÓg (Ireland's Children's Literature Laureate), Patricia Forde

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Letta loves her job as the Wordsmith’s apprentice, giving out words to people that need them. It doesn’t strike her as odd that the people of Ark are only allowed to use a few hundred words, and words like “love”, “hope” and “freedom” are banned.

When her master disappears, Letta begins to understand that all is not well, and that the leaders of Ark want to destroy language forever. It is up to her to stop them silencing what is left of the human race. But she is only a young girl, and they are the leaders of the known world?

Bestselling and multi-award winning,  The Wordsmith  imagines a future eerily similar to aspects of our present reality.

With a freshly imagined cover and a new exclusive intro from the Laureate herself, this is a classic for all the generations yet to come.

 

]]> Letters to a monster https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/letters-to-a-monster/ Thu, 13 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/?post_type=product&p=46736 It’s a dark and stormy night, and Sophie knows that there is a MONSTER hiding under her bed. So, like any sensible child, she decides to send him a letter.

Dear Monster,
I know you are hiding under my bed. I hear you breathing. This is your last warning. Leave now or I will call THE MONSTER POLICE. I have their number.
Yours truly,
Sophie

As the letters fly back and forth, Sophie begins to wonder if Monster isn’t as scary as she thought. What if he’s the friend she’s been looking for all along?

]]> The lost dogs https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/the-lost-dogs/ Thu, 03 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/?post_type=product&p=43489 ?Meet THE LOST DOGS:? Luna the labrador. She’s a worrier. She can’t imagine how her family will survive without her to look after them. Bella the cocker spaniel. She’s lost most of her memories but can still remember a home where she was loved. Eddie the terrier. An optimist who sees the funny side in everything. But since his owner died, it looks as if the dog pound might be his fate. Thrown together when their worlds fall apart, these three dogs will share the biggest adventure of their lives. They’ll break out of prison, go on the run, be shipwrecked and homeless; they will dodge the cruel dog warden and risk their lives to save other dogs from a criminal gang. However much they have lost, they will discover a new kind of family in each other. But will they find their way home? Cover and interior illustrations by James Brown.

]]> To the Island https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/to-the-island/ Thu, 02 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/to-the-island/ Fia longs to visit the mysterious island. One night a moonbeam reaches across the bay and leads her there.

]]> Fia looks out her window and across the bay. She longs to see the mysterious island, which appears and disappears in the water.

One night a moonbeam reaches across the bay and leads her to the island. She walks with magical creatures, dances with a host of girls and boys, and visits the bottom of the sea and the stars in space.

Lyrical text with gorgeous colour illustrations, from a multi-award-winning Irish author. Based on the mythical Irish island of Hy Brasil, which lies off the west coast of Galway.

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