Hello Everyone,

As you can see, I've added a lot of new content this week.
We now have many graded readers logged on the website for you to explore.

In particular, I'd like to introduce the Penguin Active Readers Series published by Pearson Longman.
All books in this series come with both the audio book and exercises on a CD-ROM.
I have uploaded the info for all of the books in the series on our blog.

Click here for a list of the readers.

Feel free to buy a few of them through the Amazon.co.jp online store.

Title: Crime Story Collection
Series: Penguin Active Reading Level 4 (PAR4)
Author: Paretsky, Sara & Others
Genre: CS
YL:
Headwords: 1700
Total Word Count: 17,833
Rating:




Summary: Murder of a stranger or a relative, in a quiet English town or a crowded American city. It happens everywhere for all kinds of reasons. Short stories by some of the finest modern crime writers.

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Title: Secret Codes
Series: Penguin Active Reading Level 4 (PAR4)
Author: Beatty, Ken
Genre: NF
YL:
Headwords: 1700
Total Word Count: 18,395
Rating:




Summary: For thousands of years people have used codes and ciphers to keep secrets from people who will do anything to learn them. How did secret messages cause a queen to lose her head? How have lost languages finally been understood? How did one little-known language help a country win a war? Read this book and find out.

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Title: Nicholas Nickleby
Series: Penguin Active Reading Level 4 (PAR4)
Author: Dickens, Charles
Genre: CL
YL:
Headwords: 1700
Total Word Count: 18,766
Rating:




Summary: Nicholas Nickleby is a kind man who works at a cruel school full of poor, hungry children. Can he ever find happiness in a world where stupid, greedy people have all the power and brave, honest people have nothing? Now a major film.

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Title: The Dream and Other Stories
Series: Penguin Active Reading Level 4 (PAR4)
Author: du Maurier, Daphne & Others
Genre: CS
YL:
Headwords: 1700
Total Word Count: 16,504
Rating:




Summary: Life on Mars, a strange dream, and attacks by murderous birds these are just some of the subjects of these enjoyable short stories. They will amuse and shock you.

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Title: The Street Lawyer
Series: Penguin Active Reading Level 4 (PAR4)
Author: Grisham, John
Genre: CS
YL:
Headwords: 1700
Total Word Count: 16,407
Rating:



Summary: Michael is a successful lawyer with Drake and Sweeney. Then a homeless man attacks him. As Michael tries to discover who the man was, he uncovers a dangerous secret about Drake and Sweeney.

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Title: Three Great Plays of Shakespeare
Series: Penguin Active Reading Level 4 (PAR4)
Author: Shakespeare, William
Genre: CL
YL:
Headwords: 1700
Total Word Count: 15,147
Rating:




Summary: Romeo and Juliet are in love, but their families are enemies. In desperation, they marry in secret but tragedy unfolds ... Macbeth is to be King of Scotland but at what cost? King Lear divides his kingdom between his daughters with unexpected consequences.

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Title: Charles Dickens
Series: Penguin Active Reading Level 3 (PAR3)
Author: Shipton, Paul
Genre: NF
YL:
Headwords: 1200
Total Word Count: 13,439
Rating:




Summary: Charles Dickens is one of Britain's greatest writers. His novels have been popular around the world for more than 150 years. Through his writing he fought for better conditions for children and the poor, but most of all he is remembered today for his wonderful stories and his unforgettable characters.

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Title: Mysteries of the Unexplained
Series: Penguin Active Reading Level 3 (PAR3)
Author: Burke, Kathy
Genre: NF
YL:
Headwords: 1200
Total Word Count: 7,441
Rating:



Summary: Read about the strangest things in the universe other worlds, strange objects and peculiar happenings. How much do you believe? Encounter the evidence and make up your own mind!

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Title: Stories of Courage
Series: Penguin Active Reading Level 3 (PAR3)
Author: Gray, Clare
Genre: NF
YL:
Headwords: 1200
Total Word Count: 9,451
Rating:




Summary: Eight inspiring true stories of people showing great courage in the face of incredible difficulties. Read about the real Erin Brockovich, an incredible escape from death in Africa, Cuba's bravest runner... and more! Sometimes true stories are more amazing than fiction!

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Title: The Pearl
Series: Penguin Active Reading Level 3 (PAR3)
Author: Steinbeck, John
Genre: CL
YL:
Headwords: 1200
Total Word Count: 13,824
Rating:



Summary: Kino finds a large pearl, which he thinks will save his family from poverty. But the pearl is what they think they want instead of what they need. The misfortune it brings changes the life of the family forever.

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Title: The Romans
Series: Penguin Active Reading Level 3 (PAR3)
Author: Maule, David
Genre: HI
YL:
Headwords: 1200
Total Word Count: 14,265
Rating:



Summary: Over hundreds of years, the Romans built an empire. As they occupied the countries around them, they took with them their skills as builders and their language, laws and lifestyle. They changed the western world. But who were the Romans? How did they live? How were they ruled? How did they build their empire and how did they lose it?

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Title: The Snow Goose and Other Stories
Series: Penguin Active Reading Level 3 (PAR3)
Author: Gallico, Paul
Genre: AD
YL:
Headwords: 1200
Total Word Count: 12,991
Rating:



Summary: Philip Rhayader is a painter. He lives alone in an old lighthouse. But his life changes when a young girl brings him an injured snow goose. The other stories are 'The Doll' and 'The Silver Swans'.

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Title: The Yearling
Series: Penguin Active Reading Level 3 (PAR3)
Author: Rawlings, Marjorie Kinnan
Genre: AD
YL:
Headwords: 1200
Total Word Count: 10,870
Rating:



Summary: Jody Baxter makes friends with a young orphaned deer called Flag. A powerful tale famous for its descriptions of the natural world.
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Title: Anne of Green Gables
Series: Penguin Active Reading Level 2 (PAR2)
Author: Montgomery, L M
Genre: CL
YL:
Headwords: 600
Total Word Count: 7,856
Rating:




Summary: The Cuthberts ask the orphanage for a boy to help at their farm, but a little girl steps off the train. Anne causes chaos at Green Gables, but her good nature wins everyone's heart.

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Title: Another World
Series: Penguin Active Reading Level 2 (PAR2)
Author: O'Reilly, Elaine
Genre: SF
YL:
Headwords: 600
Total Word Count: 5,054
Rating:


Summary: For BZXY741, a student, life in Eden City seems perfect. But one day he meets Eve, a girl who shows him that there is another world ... An intriguing science fiction story.

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Title: Kong: The 8th Wonder of the World
Series: Penguin Active Reading Level 2 (PAR2)
Author: Walsh, Fran & Boyens, Philippa & Jackson, Peter
Genre: AD
YL:
Headwords: 600
Total Word Count: 11,277
Rating:


Summary: Ann Darrow is an actor with no work and no money. Carl Denham wants to make a movie but not in the United States. A long, long way from New York there is an island. and on that island lives the giant King Kong. When Carl, Ann, and the other actors arrive, Kong gets very, very angry. Who will live and who will die?

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Title: Nelson Mandela
Series: Penguin Active Reading Level 2 (PAR2)
Author: Degnan-Veness, Coleen
Genre: BI
YL:
Headwords: 600
Total Word Count: 5,416
Rating:




Summary: Nelson Mandela's life is the story of a country boy and his fight for the black people of South Africa. The extraordinary story of a great man, a freedom fighter and one of the world's most important leaders.

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