With help from his grandma, Josh finds a way to quieten his overactive ‘Brian’ in this gently humorous and empathetic tale about family and mental health by bestseller Helen Rutter.Josh has always called his brain Brian, and Brian can sometimes be his best friend, helping Josh with tests and giving him brilliant moneymaking ideas. But he can also be Josh’s worst enemy, keeping him awake at night worrying, and telling him that his family’s problems are all Josh’s fault.When the arguments at home get really bad, Josh is sent to live with his grandma, who lives in a weird shack in the middle of nowhere. At first Brian’s voice gets louder and louder, and Josh feels out of control. But as he helps his grandma in the garden, growing their own food, and with all the jobs that need to be done around the shack, Josh starts to realise that she understands him and Brian better than anyone.Particularly suitable for readers aged 9+ with a reading age of 8.

A boy discovers he has incredible talent for mind control - he'sa junior Derren Brown! - but will it solve all his problems or justget him into deep trouble?

Billy loves telling jokes . . . but there's one thing he feels is standing in his way of being a comic: his stutter.In The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh,debut author Helen Rutter shows how Billy finds his own triumph . . . with lots of laughs along the way.Billy Plimpton has a big dream: to become a famous comedian when he grows up. He already knows a lot of jokes, but thinks he has one big problem standing in his way: his stutter.At first, Billy thinks the best way to deal with this is to . . . never say a word. That way, the kids in his new school won't hear him stammer. But soon he finds out this is NOT the best way to deal with things. (For one thing, it's very hard to tell a joke without getting a word out.)As Billy makes his way toward the spotlight, a lot of funny things (and some less funny things) happen to him. In the end, the whole school will know --If you think you can hold Billy Plimpton back, be warned: The joke will soon be on you.