Sister Love and Other Crime Stories - With Audio Level 1 Oxford Bookworms Library

Escott, John

A level 1 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. This version includes an audio book: listen to the story as you read. Written for Learners of English by John Escott. Some sisters are good friends, some are not. Sometimes there is more hate in a family than there is love. Karin is beautiful and has lots of men friends, but she can be very unkind to her sister Marcia. Perhaps when they were small, there was love between them, but that was a long time ago. They say that everybody has one crime in them. Perhaps they only take an umbrella that does not belong to them. Perhaps they steal from a shop, perhaps they get angry and hit someone, perhaps they kill . . .

The Fifteenth Character - With Audio Starter Level Oxford Bookworms Library

Border, Rosemary

A Starter level Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. This version includes an audio book: listen to the story as you read. Written for Learners of English by Rosemary Border. 'It's an interesting job,' says Sally about her work at Happy Hills. And today is a very exciting day because Zapp the famous singer is coming. Everybody is having a wonderful time. But suddenly something goes wrong - very wrong.

Sherlock Holmes and the Sport of Kings Level 1 Oxford Bookworms Library

Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan

A level 1 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. Retold for Learners of English by Jennifer Bassett Horseracing is the sport of kings, perhaps because racehorses are very expensive animals. But when they win, they can make a lot of money for the owners, for the trainers, and for the people who put bets on them. Silver Blaze is a young horse, but already the winner of many races. One night he disappears, and someone kills his trainer. The police want the killer, and the owner wants his horse, but they can't find them. So what do they do? They write to 221B Baker Street, of course - to ask for the help of the great detective, Sherlock Holmes.

The Unquiet Grave - Short Stories Level 4 Oxford Bookworms Library

M. R. James

A level 4 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. Retold for Learners of English by Peter Hawkins. If you find a locked room in a lonely inn, don't try to open it, even on a bright sunny day. If you find a strange whistle hidden among the stones of an old church, don't blow it. If a mysterious man gives you a piece of paper with strange writing on it, give it back to him at once. And if you call a dead man from his grave, don't expect to sleep peacefully ever again. Read these five ghost stories by daylight, and make sure your door is locked.

The Prisoner of Zenda - With Audio Level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library

Hope, Anthony

A level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. This version includes an audio book: listen to the story as you read. Retold for Learners of English by Diane Mowat. 'We must leave for Zenda at once, to find the King!' cried Sapt. 'If we're caught, we'll all be killed!' So Rudolf Rassendyll and Sapt gallop through the night to find the King of Ruritania. But the King is now a prisoner in the Castle of Zenda. Who will rescue him from his enemies, the dangerous Duke Michael and Rupert of Hentzau? And who will win the heart of the beautiful Princess Flavia?

The Mystery of Allegra Level 2 Oxford Bookworms Library

Foreman, Peter

A level 2 Oxford Bookworms Library graded readers. Written for Learners of English by Peter Foreman Allegra is an unusual name. It means 'happy' in Italian, but the little girl in this story is sometimes very sad. She is only five years old, but she tells Adrian, her new friend, that she is going to die soon. How does she know? And who is the other Allegra? The girl in a long white nightdress, who has golden hair and big blue eyes. The girl who comes only at night, and whose hands and face are cold, so cold . . .

Great Expectations Level 5 Oxford Bookworms Library

Dickens, Charles

A level 5 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. Retold for Learners of English by Clare West In a gloomy, neglected house Miss Havisham sits, as she has sat year after year, in a wedding dress and veil that were once white, and are now faded and yellow with age. Her face is like a death's head; her dark eyes burn with bitterness and hate. By her side sits a proud and beautiful girl, and in front of her, trembling with fear in his thick country boots, stands young Pip. Miss Havisham stares at Pip coldly, and murmurs to the girl at her side: 'Break his heart, Estella. Break his heart!'

Love or Money Level 1 Oxford Bookworms Library

Akinyemi, Rowena

A level 1 Oxford Bookworms Library graded readers. Written for Learners of English by Rowena Akinyemi It is Molly Clarkson's fiftieth birthday. She is having a party. She is rich, but she is having a small party - only four people. Four people, however, who all need the same thing: they need her money. She will not give them the money, so they are waiting for her to die. And there are other people who are also waiting for her to die. But one person can't wait. And so, on her fiftieth birthday, Molly Clarkson is going to die.

The Mysterious Death of Charles Bravo Level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library

Vicary, Tim

A level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. Written for Learners of English by Tim Vicary. Charles Bravo died from the poison antimony. He took three days to die, and the doctors could do nothing to help him. There were three people who had reasons for wanting Charles Bravo dead - Florence Bravo herself, Charles Bravo's new young wife; Dr James Gully, Florence's former lover; and Mrs Jane Cox, Florence's friend and companion. But the enquiry into the death in 1876 could not decide who the murderer was, and for more than 130 years people have wondered who did kill Charles Bravo . . .

Love among the Haystacks - With Audio Level 2 Oxford Bookworms Library

Lawrence, D. H.

A level 2 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. This version includes an audio book: listen to the story as you read. Retold for Learners of English by Jennifer Bassett. It is hay-making time on the Wookey farm. Two brothers are building the haystack, but thinking about other things - about young women, and love. There are angry words, and then a fight between the brothers. But the work goes on, visitors come and go, and the long hot summer day slowly turns to evening. Then the sun goes down, covering the world with a carpet of darkness. From the hedges around the hayfield comes the rich, sweet smell of wild flowers, and the hay will make a fine, soft bed . . .

Jane Eyre Level 6 Oxford Bookworms Library

Bronte, Charlotte

A level 6 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. Retold for Learners of English by Clare West. Jane Eyre is alone in the world. Disliked by her aunt's family, she is sent away to school. Here she learns that a young girl, with neither money nor family to support her, can expect little from the world. She survives, but she wants more from life than simply to survive: she wants respect, and love. When she goes to work for Mr Rochester, she hopes she has found both at once. But the sound of strange laughter, late at night, behind a locked door, warns her that her troubles are only beginning.

Vanity Fair Level 6 Oxford Bookworms Library

Thackeray, William

A level 6 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. Retold for Learners of English by Diane Mowat When Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley leave school, their feet are set on very different paths. Kind, foolish Amelia returns to her comfortable home and wealthy family, to await a suitable marriage, while Becky must look out for herself, earning her own living in a hard world. But Becky is neither kind nor foolish, and with her quick brain and keen eye for a chance, her fortunes soon rise, while Amelia's fall. Greed, ambition, loyalty, folly, wisdom . . . this famous novel gives us a witty and satirical picture of English society during the Napoleonic wars.

Through the Looking-Glass Level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library

Carroll, Lewis

A level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. Retold for Learners of English by Jennifer Bassett 'I wish I could get through into looking-glass house,' Alice said. 'Let's pretend that the glass has gone soft and . . . Why, I do believe it has! It's turning into a kind of cloud!' A moment later Alice is inside the looking-glass world. There she finds herself part of a great game of chess, travelling through forests and jumping across brooks. The chess pieces talk and argue with her, give orders and repeat poems . . . It is the strangest dream that anyone ever had . . .

David Copperfield Level 5 Oxford Bookworms Library

Dickens, Charles

A level 5 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. Retold for Learners of English by Clare West 'Please, Mr Murdstone! Don't beat me! I've tried to learn my lessons, really I have, sir!' sobs David. Although he is only eight years old, Mr Murdstone does beat him, and David is so frightened that he bites his cruel stepfather's hand. For that, he is kept locked in his room for five days and nights, and nobody is allowed to speak to him. As David grows up, he learns that life is full of trouble and misery and cruelty. But he also finds laughter and kindness, trust and friendship . . . and love.

Little Women Level 4 Oxford Bookworms Library

Alcott, Louisa May

A level 4 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. Retold for Learners of English by John Escott When Christmas comes for the four March girls, there is no money for expensive presents and they give away their Christmas breakfast to a poor family. But there are no happier girls in America than Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. They miss their father, of course, who is away at the Civil War, but they try hard to be good so that he will be proud of his 'little women' when he comes home. This heart-warming story of family life has been popular for more than a hundred years.

Leonardo da Vinci Level 2 Oxford Bookworms Library

Raynham, Alex

A level 2 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. Written for Learners of English by Alex Raynham. 'What does the world look like from the moon?' 'How do our bodies work?' 'Is it possible for people to fly?' 'Can I make a horse of bronze that is 8 metres tall?' 'How can we have cleaner cities?' All his life, Leonardo da Vinci asked questions. We know him as a great artist, but he was one of the great thinkers of all time, and even today, doctors and scientists are still learning from his ideas. Meet the man who made a robot lion, wrote backwards, and tried to win a war by moving a river . . .