Books by Matt Beighton
All of the Monstacademy books are available in both standard and dyslexia adapted format. The funny mysteries are very popular with children aged 6-10, and they have been used in classrooms both in the UK and abroad. They're great for fans of Scooby Doo and The Worst Witch. The Magic Knight is a great introduction to "choose your own path" gamebooks and sits perfectly alongside the other narrative titles in this series. My sessions based around this book are very engaging and lead to a discussion about how a story can change based on the decisions an author makes throughout the writing process.
The Spyglass and the Cherry Tree starts the Shadowland Chronicles and is an epic fantasy series aimed at fans of the Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit and other classic fantasy.
Tig, You're It! is a hilarious book of poems that will resonate with both teachers and children alike.
978-1-9997244-2-9
The Halloween Parade
Joining a new school is hard enough, it’s even harder when your new school is full of monsters. Literally!
On her first day at Monstacademy, Trixie Grimble soon realises that she’s going to have to adjust to her new classmates quickly. It doesn’t help that she’s been given an incredibly important job for the upcoming Halloween Parade and that her only friends are a cursed werewolf and a vegetarian vampire.
When one of the boys in her class cooks up a fiendish plan that puts everything at risk, Trixie and her friends find themselves in a race against time to finish their work and save the day. If only they could get anybody to believe them!
Fans of Jill Murphy’s The Worst Witch and Hotel Transylvania will adore the silly humour and loveable characters in this delightful modern classic chapter book series.
9781999724474
The Egyptian Treasure
Summer’s over for Trixie Grimble and her friends and that can only mean one thing.
Mayhem!
When the Ankhstone is stolen, everyone is a suspect and it’s up to Trixie, Gloria and Colin to find out who the true culprit is before the terrible mind-control powers of the ancient curse are unleashed on Monstacademy.
Can Gloria overcome her crush in time to help Trixie and Colin wrap up the case?
978-1916136021
The Grand High Monster
The third and most mysterious Monstacademy Mystery yet!
There’s a traitor at Monstacademy!
When Trixie returns after being suspended, her best friend Gloria doesn’t seem herself. To make matters worse, the vampire is suddenly best friends with an exciting new monster. Is the new girl all that she seems, or are the Mean Ghouls up to no good?
When the most important monster in the country pays Monstacademy a visit, the threat of their school closing hangs over Trixie and her friends like a black cloud. To make matters even worse, there’s a traitor in the ranks. Who is making things go wrong at just the right time? It's a mystery that Trixie and Colin will have to solve on their own, unless they can convince Gloria to help them save the day once again.
Will a surprise visit from the Grand High Monster spell the end for Monstacademy?
978-1916136069
The Machu Picchu Mystery
The fourth and most spooky Monstacademy mystery.
The mountains are full of secrets...
Trixie, Gloria and Colin are off on a trip to Peru to study ancient monsters. When they arrive and find that the children of the local school for monsters are disappearing, it becomes a race against time. Has a dark secret that's been trapped in the mountains come back to haunt them all? Has an ancient Inca curse been released? Or is it somebody much closer to home?
The Machu Picchu Mystery is perhaps the spookiest Monstacademy mystery yet. With Trixie and her friends on the case, whatever evil is at large has a fight on its hands!
Can they find the missing monsters and solve the Machu Picchu Mystery? There's only one way to find out...
9781999724450
The Magic Knight
A magical suit of armour has gone missing in suspicious circumstances and there’s only one person who can help to solve the mystery. You!
With nearly 20 different endings, exploding fart potions, freezing spells and plenty of other silly twists and turns, The Magic Knight is a fantastic adventure that puts you in control of the action. You choose the story by making decisions and following your instincts. But be warned, not all endings are happy!
By controlling the decisions your character makes, only you can solve the mystery of the Magic Knight!
Roll the dice and control the action as you become the hero of your very own Monstacademy adventure!
9781999724405
The Spyglass and the Cherry Tree
There’s only one way to return home: Kill the Queen
Skye Thistle doesn’t believe in goblins.
The problem is, they believe in her...
And she'd better start believing soon; a dark shadow is rising in the south and it’s not long before she’s thrust into the middle of a war and an ancient prophecy.
The choice is simple: kill the queen and go home...or give in to the darkness.
Dive headfirst into the Shadowland Chronicles in an exciting tale that merges magic, adventure and a search for strength and acceptance.
Can a human be the saviour in a goblin war?
9781916136007
The Shadowed Eye
The war isn't over.
Do not make the same mistakes I did...
Those were the words her mother had left when Skye Thistle returned home to Earth from her adventures on the distant world of Ithilmir. If only it were that simple.
Betrayal, rebellion and war have once again gripped Ithilmir and the source of dark magic has been found. In desperation, the armies of the world are grappling for power - light or dark.
In Skye Thistle’s absence, an army of the dead has risen and a golden empire from across the sea is growing in power.
Once again, she is called upon to fight. This time, she’s not alone.
When the life of her best friend is weighed against that of the world, will Skye choose new friends or old?
978-1529781533
Write It Level It Teach It
Stop spending hours searching for, adapting and improving model texts for use in your classroom teaching. There is a way to save time and get properly levelled and relevant texts for your teaching – write your own.
In Write It. Level It. Teach It., Matt Beighton shows you how and why writing your own model texts for teaching is so much better. Based on his experiences as a classroom teacher and having written nearly 1,000 comprehension texts for the Literacy Shed, Matt demonstrates how to do this quickly and effectively.
* Includes writing templates for busy teachers.
* Explores why correctly levelled texts matter.
* Boosts learning and engagement.
* Saves time and effort through collecting and re-using texts.
978-1-9161360-4-5
Escape From Sherwood
Set amidst the tangled roots and twisted trees of Sherwood Forest, an epic adventure awaits you in Escape From Sherwood. Only you control your fate as you step into the shoes of the hero and roll the dice of destiny…
When you joined Robin Hood’s band of vagrants, you promised to be loyal until the end. Now, you have the chance to prove that as you step into the forest on a bitterly cold winter’s night. Your mission is simple: find and ambush the Sheriff of Nottingham. But, unfortunately, the forest is home to a host of strange and magical things, many of which mean you harm.
Escape From Sherwood is the first in the Pick Your Path Adventures series where you, the reader, take control of the story. You decide which paths to take, when to fight and when to flee. Take notes of everything you see, but always remember to choose carefully…
978-1-9161360-9-0
The Desolate Tomb
The hot desert sand seems far away as you step into the gloomy darkness beneath an Ancient Egyptian tomb. Ahead of you lie tunnels and traps that haven’t been seen by living eyes for thousands of years. Your fate is in your hands as you, the reader, take on the role of a tomb raider and step beyond the realm of the mortals.
Your promise to Kat Hazel was simple enough back in the rainy streets of London; you would head to Egypt and return with the Golden Heart of Ra. Perhaps the most coveted of all Egyptian antiquities, your fellow tomb raiders have been searching for it for decades, desperate for the praise of Queen Victoria or their own private sponsor. However, now that you stand at the opening to the tomb, listening to the unearthly howls of whatever still roams in the tunnels ahead, your quest seems foolhardy at best.
Whether you return with the Golden Heart or die a miserable death alone in the darkness is down to you, the reader, as you take control of the action in the second Pick Your Path adventure. Roll the dice of destiny and hope that your chosen path is littered with nothing more than the bones of previous adventurers. Whatever you do, choose carefully…
978-1-9161360-8-3
The Beast Of London
Penny dreadfuls are all the rage, but the monsters aren’t just on the page. They are alive and wandering the streets, and Victorian London is at risk. Zombies, werewolves and many more are threatening to rip apart society, but there’s one beast in particular that has caught your attention.
You are one of the most respected monster hunters in England, so it was only natural that the old man would call on you when he heard the rumours. The frantic whispers had reached your ears as well, but you’d dismissed them as nothing more than fanciful imagination. Your path is clear; learn all you can about the legendary Beast of London and destroy it.
Your journey through Victorian London will be fraught with the foulest monsters imaginable. You, the reader, must take control of the story in the third Pick Your Path adventure and earn the reputation as the greatest monster hunter of all time.
The choices are yours, but choose carefully…
9781916136014
Tig You're It: And Other Poems From The Playground
Who are the lost souls in the playground? What should you do if you need to trump in class? Whatever happened to Sally Saloo?
Find the answers to all of these and more in this hilarious collection of poems from the playground, suitable for children of all ages.
Photos and videos
