Oscar and his sister, Arabella, are starting their first year at the Mammoth Academy. Oscar isn’t fond of schoolwork, but he loves learning outdoor sports and becoming best friends with Fox. Things are going wonderfully, until the cook’s oranges are stolen and Oscar spots some MYSTERIOUS TRACKS. Whatever made the MYSTERIOUS TRACKS has only two feet. Could it be those wild and dangerous animals called humans?
Fantasy
Fantasy genre
Nikolai, The Only Bear
There are one hundred orphans at the Russian orphanage, but Nikolai is the only bear. He growls when he speaks and claws the air when he plays. “Play nice, Nikolai,” the keepers say. No one wants to take Nikolai home. Until one day, when a fur-faced man and a smooth-faced woman come to visit from America. They growl with him and play with him, and sing songs that make him feel soft-bearish. And when it’s time for them to go home, Nikolai knows that he has found the right family at last.
Anansi’s Party Time
Anansi is throwing a party. He invites Turtle, but plays so many tricks on him that Turtle can’t have any fun. So turtle decides to get even and throws a part of his own.
Urso Brunov and the White Emperor
IUrso Brunov, the Little Father of All Bears, who stands no bigger than your thumb and always keeps his promises, saves two lost polar bears with the help of some of his friends.
Ranger’s Apprentice: The Sorcerer of the North
Will, now a full-fledged Ranger responsible for a sleepy fief, finds a new adventure as he seeks the traitors who poisoned the king, investigating rumors of sorcery, and trying to rescue his friend Alyss, who is taken hostage.
Lifeblood
A series of unexplained murders on the Darkside of London has Jonathan tangled up in another dangerous mystery. With the help of his ally, private detective (and werewolf) Elias Carnegie, the pair discover that Jonathan’s mother was investigating similar murders before she vanished. Jonathan becomes obsessed with solving the crimes and finding his mother. Meanwhile, the Ripper family is involved in a deadly scandal that goes right to the heart of Darkside society and they’re watching Jonathan. In his desperation, can Jonathan solve the murders and find his mother before the Rippers find him? Since Tom Becker learned to hold a pen, he wanted to become a writer. In fact, when he was five years old, he wrote in a notebook that it was his dream to be an author. Tom studied history at Oxford University and was inspired by the otherworldly atmosphere of this academic institution. He used to spend long days studying and reading in the University library, but now he spends long days writing. This is his second book in the Darkside series. His first book in the series, DARKSIDE, was awarded the 2007 Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize, which celebrates new talent. He lives in the UK.
The Deep Freeze of Bartholomew Tullock
In a land of never-ending snow, Rufus Breeze and his mother must protect the family home from being seized by tyrant Bartholomew Tullock. His sister Madeline and her father, an inventor of fans that are now useless, join forces with a ne’er-do-well adventurer and his blue-haired terrier, hoping to make some money.
Golden & Grey: A Good Day For Haunting (Golden And Grey)
After his triumph over a ghost collector and a doctor who does no good, Tom Golden thinks life is finally…well, golden. Grey Arthur and his ghostly crew have happily settled into their roles as Invisible Friends while Tom has made a new human friend with Pick-Nose Pete.But when one friendly ghost is overly enthusiastic about his duties, the TV show Exceedingly Haunted Homes of England is called in to investigate. A hysterical fear of ghosts takes over the school, and the Invisible Friends are glad that they witness the chaos unheard and unseen. Too bad that the same cannot be said for the ghosts in the world beyond.The disappearance of the Crown Jewels in a rather Poltergeist-like manner is trouble enough, but a frightening specter caught on film and a knight seen charging through streets and pedestrians spell trouble. Restoration of the peace between the ghostly and human realms may be too much for one boy to handle, but Tom hopes that the help of Grey Arthur and the Invisible Friends may be just what he needs to track down the cause of this supernatural chaos.In this third installment to the Golden & Grey series, Louise Arnold takes the reader on an exciting adventure full of Laundry Runs, ancient castles, and the ever dark and dangerous woods.
The Ghost’s Child
This fable of a young woman and a wild boy is a haunting meditation on the nature of love and loss. Maddy, an old lady now, arrives home one day to find a peculiar boy waiting for her. Over tea, she tells him the story of her life long ago, when she wished for her days to be as romantic and mysterious as a fairy tale. It was then that she fell painfully in love with a free spirit named Feather, who put aside his wild ways to live with her in a little cottage, conceived with her a child never to be born, and disappeared–leaving an inconsolable Maddy to follow after him on a fantastical journey across the sea. In a tale shortlisted for a 2008 Commonwealth Writers Prize, Sonya Hartnett explores the mysteries of the heart, the sustaining power of memory and the ultimate consolation that comes to souls who live fully and fearlessly.
Gingerbread Friends
That popular little character is back looking for friends, in an adventure he’ll never forget. Confident and cocky, the Gingerbread Baby happens upon a bakery, where he dances and prances in front of a sugar cookie girl, trying to make friends. But she just stares and doesn’t say a word, like all the other sweet treats he tries to meet. Discouraged, the Gingerbread Baby runs home, chased by a long line of hungry creatures, where Mattie has a fantastic surprise for him—gingerbread friends that fill a giant fold-out page.