Showing results by narrator "Elizabeth Brennan" in All Categories

After five exhilarating years in New York, Stevie has a successful career and glamorous social life. But what she most wants is a baby – an aspiration that feels impossible given that she is single, 38 and living in a tiny apartment in Manhattan, far away from most of her family in England. Determined to become a mother, Stevie returns to London and has a baby on her own. When she gives birth to Ash, she finds motherhood painfully at odds with her former life and her expectations. She begins to wonder if having a child was a mistake, and what she might be willing to do to escape.

The internet can be amazing – it helps you talk to friends and family that live far away, and you can also play games and learn all sorts of fun things. The internet can also be a bit like a puddle – there are some puddles that are fun to play in, but others are much too deep and aren’t safe. It is important to stay in the right part of the internet.

Friendship is a very special thing. It’s great to have a friend, and being a friend to someone else is a good feeling too. Sometimes getting along with your friends is easy, and other times it can be a little trickier, but there are lots of ways to keep your friendships balanced and fun for everyone.

Anger is a strong and powerful thing. It brings us lots of energy, and it can tell us when something is not right or when we have a problem. Anger is something that can protect and take care of us. Anger is a bit like armour.

Your mind is a bit like an amazing garden. A garden has lots of tracks and paths that lead in different directions. It has wide open spaces where we can create and play. A garden has places to grow things and do work. It has clever parts that help us to grow and learn.

Love is a special and growing thing. It's a little bit like a tree – a special magical tree – that you can climb up into, nest comfortably in its big branches and safely watch the world go by. Love can come in different shapes and sizes. Like a tree, love can grow and grow.

Twelve-year-old Rose can't remember anything before last week, when she woke up not knowing her own name, her own house or or even her own mother. The only thing Rose recognised was her puppy, North. But Mother patiently explained everything – well, not everything. Not the real-feeling dreams Rose has about a mysterious forest she half-recognises. Or why she is not allowed to stray beyond the garden, out into Luminelle, the vast city surrounding them. Mother is kind and helpful, but Rose can't shake the feeling that something's not right. Or maybe it's everything that's not right?

Number 3-1-5-5 is a good girl. She gets told that everyday when she is fed, moved to other rooms, given pills and examined. She doesn't remember much, but she can see every face she's come across as clearly as if they were in front of her. Her world is small, contained. But in a life where you know nothing but a sea of Janes and Johns, how will you know who is good and bad?

Megan kept drawing. The drawing seemed to have a mind of its own. She felt herself begin to panic. She wanted to stop. But her hand didn’t stop. Please, could she stop. Stop! Megan is obsessed with drawing fantastical creatures, and she shares her drawings with her best friend Li who writes stories to go with the pictures. They are kindred spirits with big creative dreams. One day everyone in town – except Megan and Li – is immobilised by a strange glow coming from their devices.