Sam is an ordinary person who wears an ordinary suit and ordinary shoes. He works in an ordinary, neat office writing down figures all day and underlining them. But Sam's mother is definitely not an ordinary woman, Sam's mother is a pirate and she wants to sweep him away to sea.

This is a collection of three short zany stories - The Gargling Gorilla , The Runaway Reptiles and The Dog Magician - that all feature weird and wonderful animals and illustrations by Tony Ross.

A very funny and original book from one of the world's best writers. The idea of a wicked teacher is very appealing to children.

Follow the hilarious efforts of the townsfolk as they chase a baby far across the town in an effort to get him down from the bubble safe and sound.

When Dad loses his car keys, toddler Mary suspects that they have ended up down the back of the chair, so Dad begins to search. Will the odd assortment of objects he finds be enough to save the family from rack and ruin?

Norvin is a very good actor, but rather plain. In fact, he looks very like a shark, and more than anything, he loves to shoot through the water like a silver arrow. But his cunning plan to clear the water at Caramel Cove badly misfires.

Carnegie medal-winning supernatural romance from Margaret Mahy.

Brave Tim agrees to look after Rosa's pets. He isn't afraid of vultures or wolfhounds, or even giant rabbits. But he isn't so sure about the gorilla, gargling in the kitchen! A comic story with a familiar setting, from Margaret Mahy.

Include two tales: The Great Piratical Rumbustification introduces us to Alpha, Oliver, and Omega Terrapin, alone for an evening of devilish fun and none other than Orpheus Clinker, a reformed pirate cleverly transformed into a respectable babysitter. Or has he reformed?; and The Librarian and the Robbers is a tale of a band of wicked robbers.

Harry and Miranda can't wait to climb up to the top of the slide that looks just like a dragon's tongue, but their Dad isn't so sure. After all, a businessman wearing a white shirt, polished shoes and a hand-painted tie can't go sliding down a dragon's-tongue slide - or can he?

What would you do if you knew there was a lion in the meadow, but your mother wouldn't believe you and gave you a matchbox with a dragon to scare the away the lion... and in fact the dragon was there too?

At last! At last! I will have my revenge! Ditta wants to be a detective - and when her best friend Max tells her that his new bedroom is haunted she has her first mystery to solve. But as the spirit starts to communicate through Max's computer, Ditta discovers they could all be in terrible danger.

An exciting adventure from Margaret Mahy -- blended with her trademark surreal humour and writing that makes you want to read it.

A collection of five stories by Margaret Mahy.

In this illustrated story a family take their beautifully groomed giant poodle for a walk on the beach. Events take an unexpected twist when the family's baby falls in the water and Dashing Dog jumps in and rescues her! Now he looks an utter mess, but of course the family hails him as a hero.

Garland Maddigan, the daughter of the Fantasia's ringmaster, has been on many journeys before. But she soon realises that this one is going to be very different. For three mysterious children have joined the Fantasia - children with uncanny abilities and a secret past. Soon, she finds herself embroiled in a series of terrifying adventures.

A wonderful collection of read-aloud stories and poems for young children by one of the great names in children's books

A collection of bite-sized stories and poems perfect for young children. Whether shared or read alone, this collection makes for unforgettable, magical bedtimes.