The Disappearance Boy Catherine Fisher

The Disappearance Boy Catherine FisherChildhood polio has left Reggie Rainbow with a limp, but his strong arms and nimble fingers are perfect behind the scenes of down at heel variety theatreswhere he helps illusionist Mr Brookes disappear his glamorous assistants. When Mr Brookes accepts a booking at the Brighton Grand, Reggie finds himself in a strange new town. The seaside air works its own magic and the disappearance boy begins to wonder how much longer he can go on keeping secrets

Back in once-familiar surroundings

There is renewed interest in Phyllis Shand Allfrey

Though by no means a reactionary tract for the time

0-946407-49-5 64 pp £4

This is poetry at its very best

Banipal completes its 20th year of publishing with a major feature on the influential Egyptian author Alaa al-Deeb

memory and real life reverberate against each other and sing to each other new songs – by authors from Palestine

emergent readers and all children who like a great story

a poet with writer's block

thoroughly researched

Leslie Thompson’s life was not without its tragedies

Translated by Sarah Moses and Carolina Orloff