Friendship

The Perfect Present

Henry has the Perfect Pet– a duck called Spot– who thinks he’s found the Perfect Present for Henry’s birthday. But when the big day comes, Henry’s grandparents arrive with a Perfect Present of their own– a large, wobbling box with something inside that could change Henry and Spot’s friendship forever.

First introduced in Wanted: The Perfect Pet, Fiona Robertson’s irresistable dup returns in this touching friendship tale about never letting good friends go.

Florentine And Pig

After a week of rain, Florentine and Pig are ready to do something outdoors and decide to have a picnic, but getting the apples needed for Pig’s favorite treat proves to be a challenge. Includes directions for making “Pig’s Pretty Picnic Bunting” and recipes for “Apple and carrot muffins with squidgy lemon icing” and “Florentine’s home-made pink lemonade with fresh berry ice cubes “.

Caddy’s World

People vanish for days, come to live in your bedroom, hide under tables for hours and hours, count pennies in jam jars until they have enough to buy bread, and then the next day gild halos for the school play with real gold leaf.  Caddy’s home is a turmoil of piled possessions, lost belongings, and unexpected adventures. Her one constant is her three best friends, a charmed circle that she never wants to leave. But the summer that Caddy is twelve, everything turns upside down. Her mother spends most of her time in the hospital with the fragile new baby. Her father comes home from London to “organize” his family, causing plenty of chaotic confusion. Her boyfriend, not content with dating three girls, is looking to conquer a fourth. But worst of all for Caddy, her best friends are growing up and growing apart. Luckily, Caddy is the bravest of the brave and luckily for Caddy, endings are not always the end, and a world that is entirely unpredictaale is also a world full of surprises.

I Don’t Believe It, Archie!

Odd things happen to Archie every day.  Some very odd things…

On Monday, when Archie is on his way to mail a letter, a piano rolls down the hill and traps his new friend, Cyd, in her mum’s car.  And then a truck tips a load of gravel on top of it.  Cyd finds it exciting.  Though she doesn’t believe that this sort of thing happens to Archie every day.  Until Tuesday, when Archie finds a small dog in his pocket–a dig that doesn’t seem to be very alive.  It certainly isn’t Archie’s fault, but will anyone else believe him?

Join Archie and Cyd for a while week’s worth of utterly surprising and outragously funny escapades!

Liberator

Col Porpentine has come a long way from begin the pampered future leader of Worldshaker.  Just a few short months ago he helped Riff free the Filthies from generations of servitude, and created a new balance on the massive juggernaut, newly christened Liberator.  Now the Filthies command Liberator, and many Swanks, former members of the upper class, have remained to teach them how to operate the juggernaut , and to build a new society together.  But all is not peaceful on Liberator.  A rising anti-Swank sentiment among the more fanatical Filthy factions grows increasingly violent and dangerous.  And an anti-Filthy saboteur is loose aboard the ship.  Even the one thing Col thought he could always depend upon–his friendship with Riff– is beginning to crumble.  As tensions run high and the coal supply runs low, Liberator is on the verge of a crisis.  Col and Riff are faced with their most challenging task yet: unifying a divided people…before it’s too late.

Richard Harland returns to the world of Worldshaker withe a heart-stopping sequel that will take readers on a ride to places they’ve never imagined.

A Troublesome Boy

Teddy can’t believe how fast his life has changed in just two years. When he was twelve, his father took off, and then his mother married Henry, a man Teddy despises. But Teddy has no control over his life, and adults make all the decisions, especially in 1959. Henry decides that Teddy should be sent to St. Ignatius Academy for Boys, an isolated boarding school run by the Catholic church.

St. Iggy’s, Teddy learns, is a cold, unforgiving place — something between a juvenile detention center and reform school. The other boys are mostly a cast of misfits and eccentrics, but Teddy quickly becomes best friends with Cooper, a wise-cracking, Wordsworth-loving kid with a history of neglect. Despite the priests’ ruthless efforts to crack down on the slightest hint of defiance or attitude, the boys get by for a while on their wits, humor and dreams of escape. But the beatings, humiliation and hours spent in the school’s infamous “time-out” rooms, and the institutionalized system of power and abuse that protects the priests’ authority, eventually take their toll, especially on the increasingly fragile Cooper.

Then one of the new priests, Father Prince, starts to summon Cooper to his room at night, and Teddy watches helplessly as his friend withdraws into his own private nightmare, even as Prince targets Teddy himself as his next victim.

My Friend Mei Jing

Ever since Mei Jing came to Monifa’s school they’ve been best friends. They’re both artistic and like to create wild designs together. They love to play at each other’s houses; at Monifa’s they make a tent out of her mother’s African blanket, and at Mei Jing’s they play with her new puppy and dream of having a veterinary clinic when they grow up. On one visit to Mei Jing’s, Monifa notices that Mei Jing’s grandma spends a lot of time there. She speaks Chinese and calls her granddaughter Mui Mui. Mei Jing’s father shows Monifa how to use chopsticks, and Monifa tries food she’s never eaten before.  At Chinese New Year the girls learn the Dragon Dance, and when Mei Jing’s parents give Monifa a red envelope, she’s surprised to discover it has real money in it! Like My Friend Jamal, My Friend Mei Jing is a story that demonstrates how friendship is the strongest bond among kids living in a diverse community.

Chicken, Pig, Cow Horse Around

chickenChicken to the rescue!Chicken, Pig and Cow are very happy together in their barn, so not everyone is pleased when Horse arrives. Horse is clever and strong, but, as Chicken points out, he also takes up a lot of space.When Chicken suggests they play a game of hide-and-seek, Horse merrily trots off. But when he disappears, a frantic search ensues. Horse is nowhere to be found — until Chicken finally spots him inside the fishbowl. Feeling guilty, Chicken jumps in to save him, only to realize that Horse is actually outside the bowl. So who will save Chicken? All ends well when Pig, Cow and Horse — with the help of Dog — team up to rescue their friend.The adorable toy characters Chicken, Pig and Cow (and real-life Dog) continue to delight young children with their charming adventures and subtle messages about friendship, acceptance and working together.