The Garden Pond at Night
SESL© 120 Very Easy
5-7 years
CEFR A1
When little hedgehog Tuck sees the moon in the pond, he wants to save it—but something goes wrong.
The Festival of Ordinary Things
by Ellie Marsh
SESL© 506 Hard
12-15 years
CEFR B2
Bored fifteen-year-old Adam lives in sleepy Little Hadley, where nothing has happened all summer, until he pins up a strange poster for a Festival of Ordinary Things.
1/8Front cover
Want to know what happens next?
Create a free account to read the whole of The Festival of Ordinary Things and download it as a PDF to print at home.
Free to join. Read every picture book in the gallery, and print them as often as you like.
Already have an account?
Inside this book
The words of each page, to read along or read aloud.
Page 1
The church clock clanged twelve over the empty square, and the pigeon by the war memorial didn't even bother to look up. Nothing had happened in Little Hadley all summer. Adam, fifteen and bored stiff, pinned a poster to the noticeboard.
FESTIVAL OF ORDINARY THINGS, it said. SATURDAY. Prizes for the blandest cake, the most patient queue and the best poem about a lost sock.
He stepped back, rather pleased with himself.
Page 2
That evening the village hall smelt of floor polish and stewed tea. Lumi, who had run every village show for forty years, marched to the front with the poster in her hand. In front of everyone, she tore it neatly in half.
"Some of us bake properly," she said. "This is an insult."
Nobody laughed. By nine o'clock, the entry sheet on the trestle table was still completely blank.
The rest of the book is free to read with an account.
More picture books
See all picture books
Snowman for Dad
SESL© 170 Very Easy
5-7 years
CEFR A1
Femi is building a big snowman in the white garden for Dad, who is coming home tonight, but will the snowman last until then?
A Splash in My Bath
SESL© 114 Very Easy
5-7 years
CEFR A1
Bo runs to the bathroom, ready for a warm bath full of bubbles, but something is already sitting in the water. What can it be?
Tidy-Up Robot
SESL© 176 Very Easy
5-7 years
CEFR A1
Lark has a new robot called Moss, but when she asks him to tidy her room before Grandma arrives, he does something very strange.
A Rainbow in a Jar!
SESL© 305 Easy
7-9 years
CEFR A2
Tuli catches clouds in a silky net and keeps them in glass jars, even a tiny one with a rainbow inside. But Mum's garden badly needs rain, and Tuli's clouds are too small and white to help.
Come Back, Hat!
SESL© 318 Easy
7-9 years
CEFR A2
On a windy day, Tam chases his big yellow hat down the lane, but the wind keeps grabbing it away from him, so where will it land next?
Lila and the Cross Goose
SESL© 331 Easy
7-9 years
CEFR A2
A big cross goose hisses at anyone who tries to cross the little wooden bridge, and Lila wants the blackberries on the other side. Then she has a very silly, very clever idea.
Paws and Pyjamas
SESL© 335 Easy
7-9 years
CEFR A2
Eli wakes in the dog basket with a strange golden paw, then a boy in striped pyjamas grabs his school bag and runs off.
The Dragon in the Old Oak
SESL© 407 Medium
9-12 years
CEFR B1
Frightened Ada runs into the kitchen, shouting that a red dragon is roaring in the old oak, so Otto grabs a saucepan lid and creeps up the windy hill.
The Day Gravity Switched Off
SESL© 465 Medium
9-12 years
CEFR B1
At the school science fair, Uma switches on her shoebox machine, and soon her trainers leave the grass, the footballs rise, and the number 12 bus starts floating away.
The Great Nest Swap
SESL© 469 Medium
9-12 years
CEFR B1
Sana is too scared to climb the tall oak on the day of the Great Nest Swap, while her parents stand locked out of their own home.
The Seven O'Clock Mystery
SESL© 474 Medium
9-12 years
CEFR B1
Fen hides behind a piano in a dark village hall, torch in hand, to find out why the old clock's hands keep jumping back to seven before the concert.
Hello, Sigma-23!
SESL© 503 Hard
12-15 years
CEFR B2
Can Sylvia win back her new friend on Sigma-23 before the lander leaves at sunset, after a squealing translator scared it away?
Remi Paddles for the Lighthouse
SESL© 522 Hard
12-15 years
CEFR B2
Remi is halfway across his first solo kayak trip to Gran's lighthouse when a thick white mist rolls in and hides everything around him.
The Patchwork Cat
SESL© 536 Hard
12-15 years
CEFR B2
When Josie's ginger cat, Quibble, goes missing, Gran's magic patchwork quilt vanishes too. Where could they both have gone?
A Tiny Voice in the Chalk Dust
SESL© 326 Easy
7-9 years
CEFR A2
When Mop the ghost gets stuck in a cobweb at Monster Academy, Pudding the monkey must find a way to help him down.
The Tower That Sang Silly Songs
SESL© 308 Easy
7-9 years
CEFR A2
In Robot City, the tall tower has a loose wire, and a little robot called Pip is lost. Pip has long, bendy legs. Mira has clever hands. Can they climb to the top and help Pip find his way home?
The Clock on the Cotton-Reel Tower
SESL© 326 Easy
7-9 years
CEFR A2
When the big clock stops, all the toys freeze still—but Cleo the rag doll and a tiny moth have an idea to fix it.
The Little Stone on the Fern Path
SESL© 302 Easy
7-9 years
CEFR A2
When a warm, glowing stone rolls to Olive's paws, she sets out to find where it belongs, but the stone circle holds no answers.
The Broken Bridge Above the Misty River
SESL© 334 Easy
7-9 years
CEFR A2
A baby monkey clings to a broken bridge over a misty river, but Noah's arms are too short to reach her. Can he find a way to save her?
The Humming Under the Moss
SESL© 481 Medium
9-12 years
CEFR B1
When Ada's mushroom lights fade one by one down the tunnel and a sad humming rises from the dark, she must find the lost Glow Seed before the whole city goes black.
The Blinking Light in the Kelp Halls
SESL© 415 Medium
9-12 years
CEFR B1
When Mango spots a tiny blinking light deep in a dark cave and hears a voice calling for help, he must find a way to reach whoever is trapped inside.
Ravi and the Little Clay Pot
SESL© 386 Medium
9-12 years
CEFR B1
Ravi races through a sandstorm with lamp-oil for the Watch Tower, but the sand grows thicker and darker, and he does not know how to get through.
The Whimper Under the Old Pine
SESL© 530 Hard
12-15 years
CEFR B2
When Dumpling hears a frightened whimper in the snow, she finds a wolf cub lost and alone, far from its pack.
The Kitten from the Evening Tram
SESL© 462 Medium
9-12 years
CEFR B1
When a wet kitten tumbles off a tram into Sprout's arms, he must follow its mysterious clues through the rainy town to find where it belongs.
The Egg That Hummed Blue
SESL© 571 Hard
12-15 years
CEFR B2
When a glowing egg rolls out of a smugglers' broken crate and a sea serpent rises from the dark water, Tomas must decide what to do with the mysterious treasure.
Midnight in the Sawdust Ring
SESL© 477 Medium
9-12 years
CEFR B1
When Lumi the trapeze girl loses her shadow at the Midnight Circus, she cannot fly, and the whole circus will fade away by morning.
Ten Minutes to the Skylark
SESL© 536 Hard
12-15 years
CEFR B2
Nell must reach the airship Skylark with a brass valve before it leaves the ground, but the gangway is rising and empty air lies between her and the deck.
The Sky-Calf in the Socks
SESL© 554 Hard
12-15 years
CEFR B2
When a fluffy sky-calf crashes into Arjun's washing line, wrapped in his socks, he must cross three swaying rope bridges to bring it home.
The Horn on the Ridge
SESL© 534 Hard
12-15 years
CEFR B2
When a distant hold's hearth-fire dies and its eggs will freeze, Mira flies through a deadly storm on her young dragon to save them—but the guards think she has come to fight.
Upside Down in the Garden Dome
SESL© 598 Hard
12-15 years
CEFR B2
When the sunlamp fails and Oolum's seedlings begin to freeze, Priya must cross a tunnel filled with floating water to reach the spare fuse.
The Lighthouse That Ticked
SESL© 624 Hard
12-15 years
CEFR B2
When the lighthouse beam goes dark, Ada climbs to find a mysterious ticking sound hidden in the silent lamp-room.
Make a story of your own
Every book here began as a story made in Story Maker. Pick a world, a hero and a quest, and read your own story in about a minute.
Make a story