Showing results by narrator "Sophie Thompson" in All Categories

Left penniless by the death of his father, nineteen-year-old Nicholas Nickleby seeks help, along with his mother and sister, from Uncle Ralph Nickleby. The hard-hearted money lender takes an instant dislike to his nephew and gets rid of the boy by securing him a teaching position at Dotheboys Hall, where the evil Wackford Squeers presides. Horrified by the barbarity he sees there, Nicholas defies Squeers and is forced to flee.

Ellen gets a big shock when her double appears out of the bathroom mirror. But Mirror-Belle is a double with a difference! She is a princess, and a very mischievous one at that. Join magically mischievous Mirror-Belle as she comes popping out of Ellen's mirror to sweep her into a variety of hilarious escapades - from exploring a hospital after Ellen falls off her bike to chasing after Mirror-Belle's Magic Ball. You can always guarantee that wherever Mirror-Belle goes, trouble will follow.

Imogen, the daughter of King Cymbeline, is persecuted by her wicked stepmother, the Queen, and by Cloten, the Queen's doltish son. Disguised as a boy, she sets out to find her husband, the banished Posthumus. On her journey, she unwittingly meets her two brothers, stolen from the court as infants. Posthumus, meanwhile, has been convinced by the villainous Iachimo that Imogen is unchaste and agrees to a test of her faithfulness.

Jeremiah Bourne is a boy with a remarkable gift. He can travel in time. Not by using a time machine, or stepping through a dimensional portal. It just happens to him, as though by accident. One minute he’s in the present day, the next, he’s 100 years in the past, standing in the London of 1910. Jeremiah has two questions: how did he get there - and how can he get back? On his quest for the answers, he enlists the help of Phyllis Stokes of The Society for Theosophical Research and her equally eccentric brother, Roger Allcot Standish, magistrate, spiritualist and dedicated nudist.

From the best-selling author of The Gruffalo, Julia Donaldson, comes Princess Mirror-Belle, the exciting adventures of a princess with a difference. Princess Mirror-Belle is perfect for fans of this best-selling team who are beginning to listen on their own. Ellen gets a big shock when her double appears out of the bathroom mirror.

From the best-selling author of The Gruffalo, Julia Donaldson, comes Princess Mirror-Belle, the exciting adventures of a princess with a difference. Ellen gets a big shock when her double appears out of the bathroom mirror. But Mirror-Belle is a double with a difference! She is a princess and a very mischievous one at that. Join magically mischievous Mirror-Belle as she comes popping out of Ellen's mirror to sweep her into a variety of hilarious escapades.

This fantastic magical adventure is perfect for listening to at home, in the car, at bedtime - or any time at all! Imagine Ellen's surprise when Princess Mirror-Belle climbs out of the bathroom mirror! She comes from a world where bubble fish swim in the bath, elves sleep in slippers and brave knights fight fire-breathing dragons. And while Ellen has chicken pox, Mirror-Belle has dragon pox - but she knows just the cure.

Digby the Diggedy Dog goes out into the garden to play. He digs a big, big hole. Dig, dig, diggedy, dig. And plays tag with two little frogs. Written by a speech and language therapist, each story in the Early Soundplay series is packed with multiple repetitions of selected sounds and rhymes. The stories are expertly crafted to support children's developing speech sound awareness and vocabulary knowledge. These are key foundation skills for success with phonics, early reading, and spelling.

Chatty Bat loves to chitter chatter chat with everyone. It's very noisy with constant chatter until it's time to sleep - then no more chatter, not a peep! The Early Soundplay series is stories that are fun to share, with lots of rhythm, rhyme, and repetition. Helping develop children's speech sound awareness, an important building block for success in early spelling.

It's cold on the cliffs. Clarabelle the calf has lost her scarf. She shivers and sniffs, then giggles and laughs when she sees who's taken her scarf! Written by a speech and language therapist, each story in the award-winning Early Soundplay series helps parents and practitioners develop children's spoken and written language.

Erica has three chicks: messy Mick, naughty Nick, and another little rascal, Rick. While Erica snoozes in the sun, the chicks are having lots of fun! Written by a speech and language therapist, each story in the Early Soundplay series is packed with multiple repetitions of selected sounds and rhymes. The stories are expertly crafted to support children's developing speech, sound awareness, and vocabulary knowledge.

A BBC comedy drama set in the world of a 'pile 'em high university'. Karen Poynter is the new head of the Geography Department - renamed Geographical Tourism - at Hayborough University, which is definitely not part of the elite Russell Group of top universities. Ranked 132nd in the UK academic league table; if you have a pulse, you can have a degree. This is the high-energy farce of the breeze block and grotty cafeteria, with all the endless meetings, the backstabbings and the sheer panic of a university setting. In an era of increasing fees and cutbacks, this satire has become all the more acute.

Zoo Boy and his host of talking animal friends are back! And this time, they're solving crime.... Another hilarious and delightful story by actress Sophie Thompson. Eight year old Vince (otherwise known somewhat affectionately as Zoo Boy) can talk to animals. Which is handy, as his dad works at the zoo! The only problem is, the animals are rather demanding.... But for once the animals are going to have to put their selfish ways aside, as there's a jewel thief on the loose.

There are nearly as many stories about Fluke and the Bannajee as there are stars in the sky. These are just the first four. No one knows where the Bannajee comes from or why he lives with Fluke. Toddy does!

Hello, dear listener. Are you sitting, lying down, standing on your head, eating a jam sandwich comfortably? Then I'll begin.... I want to introduce you to a boy called Vince, whose birthday it is today.... Vince is a normal boy with an unusual dislike for animals. Well, you'd feel the same if your father was always working at a zoo and your mother had run off with a lion tamer. Then, on his ninth birthday, Vince discovers he has 'the gift'. He can talk to animals!

Look up into the starry sky on the night of the full moon and you'll see...a bird? A plane? No...a little boy! Eight-year-old Mary Bird has discovered a secret: Her four-year-old brother Billy can fly! Floating around his room is bad enough, but when he takes off out an open window, Mary's sure disaster isn't far behind. She may be right!

Jane Austen's enduring tale of romantic entanglement, read by Sophie Thompson. Emma is considered by many to be Jane Austen's finest work. Its heroine is fascinating, selfish, and manipulative, running riot with other people's emotions and relationships. The author employs her greatest skills to bring about Emma's consequent crisis, her awakening, and a happy resolution.

Mabel, Verity's beloved cat, once belonged to Verity's mum - not that she actually ever knew her mum because she died. She really doesn't mind too much about not having a mum, apart from when she goes to visit her grave, which makes her think about being in the ground with a head full of worms. So, when Mabel dies, Verity goes to extraordinary lengths to preserve her in the style of the ancient Egyptians.

Mary's little brother, Billy, seems perfectly normal, until one moonlit evening Mary finds him floating above his bed. From then on, whenever the full moon rises, Billy the Bird flies up, up and away and home again! In the second story, Jackson is a rabbit with a dream. He spends his days watching the tall sailing ships coming and longs to go to sea, too. So one day Jackson stows away on the Atalanta.

Trixy, Tammy, and Trig are three little girl pirates who live aboard The Lucky Lobster with their pets Mullet the dog, Kipper the cat, and a seagull called Gulliver. Their friends include some boy pirates and a friendly sea monster, and whenever they need to buy teabags or telescopes, all they need to do is to go to kind old Mr Spoons at Harbour Stores. When they hear about a nasty pirate who has been catching all the mermaids in the sea, they set sail to rescue the last mermaid left, tiny Miney-Mo.