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Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Picturebook

A laugh-out-loud pirate adventure from the stellar picture-book partnership of Julia Donaldson and David Roberts.

The Troll longs for a juicy goat to eat – but he’s stuck with boring old fish for supper. Bother! Meanwhile, Hank Chief and his pirate crew love fish, but without a decent recipe their slimy, soggy dinner is even worse. If only they could find their buried treasure and pay for a ship’s cook . . . but it seems they’ve sailed to the wrong island. Again.

Watch the fun unfold as two very different worlds collide in The Troll, a gloriously comic story from Julia Donaldson and David Roberts, the creators of the highly acclaimed Tyrannosaurus Drip.

Chapter book

An Alien Stole My Planet is a laugh-out-loud, wacky adventure through space by Pooja Puri, brilliantly illustrated by Allen Fatimaharan. It is the third book in the A Dinosaur Ate My Sister series.

Before you start reading, there are a few things you should know:

1. I, Esha Verma, am a genius inventor extraordinaire.
2. I like lists.
3. I did not mean to open up an inter-galactic portal. Some things just can’t be helped.

Esha Verma, her snotty apprentice Broccoli and his secretly cunning pet tortoise are on their third adventure – this time it’s an inter-galactic mission through outer-space to stop an alien from stealing their planet!

When Esha invents the Inviz-Whiz, a device designed to make the user invisible, she does not expect it to open a portal to outer space – and things go from bad to worse when Esha, Broccoli, Archibald and Broccoli’s annoying cousin Bean are immediately abducted by Goospa, an alien with an evil plan!

With the help of a surly alien called Nix, Esha and the gang must race across the galaxy, navigate a Lava Marsh, fight vicious Ice Bats – and stop Bean getting into too much trouble! – to stop Goospa’s plan before it’s too late!

Picturebook

A laugh-out-loud Christmas cracker of a story, There Was a Young Reindeer who Swallowed a Present from Kaye Baillie and award-winning illustrator Diane Ewen is the perfect festive gift!

Everyone’s heard about the old lady who swallowed a fly, but now it’s time to meet a little reindeer who, on the most important night of the year (Christmas Eve!), swallows a present. And he doesn’t stop there! Soon he’s gobbled down an elf, a bauble, a tree . . . what will he swallow next?

A funny, cumulative rhyming story children will love, packed with elves, stockings, a very full sleigh full of gifts and, of course, Santa Claus! And one very hungry little reindeer — keep an eye on the presents under your tree!

Picturebook

An amazing true animal story about a brave little penguin.

Hoppy the emperor penguin loves swimming in the sea with his friends. But one day Hoppy swims too far, and loses his way . . . ending up on a strange beach, all alone and far from home.

How will poor Hoppy get back to his family?

Inspired by the incredible true story of a lost little penguin, and the vets who saved his life, The Penguin Who Lost His Way is perfect for young animal lovers. From John Hay, and bestselling illustrator Garry Parsons.

Includes a non-fiction spread with information about the real animal and the events behind the story.

Picturebook

A Lollies Book Award-winning funny story, all about wee, packed full of animal facts! The follow-up to the hilarious Poo! Is That You?

Lenny the lemur is on holiday in Alaska. He’s skipping across the snow, when he slips in a puddle. It’s wet, yellow and smelly… WEE! But whose wee could it be?

Lenny is on a quest to find out… Along the way, he meets various animals and learns all about their weeing habits! But the real question is: will he find that pesky puddle-piddler?

Learn about caribou, turtles, wolves and more in the piddle-tastic Wee? It Wasn’t Me! written by Clare Helen Welsh and illustrated by Nicola O’Byrne. Cleverly interweaving facts throughout, it also contains an information page at the back of the book, with a photo of each animal.

PicturebookPoetry

A brand-new Winnie-the-Pooh adventure in rhyme, Winnie-the-Pooh at the Palace features some of the best-loved characters from the Hundred Acre Wood.

On a day out to Buckingham Palace, Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends play in the snowy gardens, have a thrilling ride on a sledge, and Pooh gets stuck in a snow drift! Then, a surprising discovery leads to an invitation to have tea with the King!

With gentle rhyming verse by bestselling author Jeanne Willis, inspired by A. A. Milne’s classic poem ‘Buckingham Palace’, and charming illustrations by Mark Burgess, in the style of E. H. Shepard, this authorised sequel is the perfect gift for anyone who loves the enchanting world of Winnie-the-Pooh and his best friends, Christopher Robin and Piglet.

Discover more rhyming adventures in Winnie-the-Pooh and Me.

Chapter book

Sputnik’s Guide to Life on Earth by Frank Cottrell-Boyce is an adventure about the Blythes: a big, warm, rambunctious family who live on a small farm and sometimes foster children. Now Prez has come to live with them. But, though he seems cheerful and helpful, he never says a word.

Then one day Prez answers the door to someone claiming to be his relative. This small, loud stranger carries a backpack, walks with a swagger and goes by the name of Sputnik. The family all think Sputnik is a dog and chaos is unleashed as suddenly household items come to life – like a TV remote that fast-forwards people and a toy lightsaber that entertains guests at a children’s party, until one of them is nearly decapitated by it – and Prez is going to have to use his voice to explain himself.

As Sputnik takes Prez on a journey to finish writing his guidebook to Earth called Ten Things Worth Doing on Earth, each adventure seems to take Prez nearer to the heart of the family he is being fostered by, but they also take him closer to the day that he is due to leave them forever . . .

Chapter book

Ride into danger with Hal and Uncle Nat on the fifth breathtaking Adventures on Trains Mystery, Sabotage on the Solar Express, from bestselling award-winners M. G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman. Perfect for readers of 8 to 12 and brilliantly illustrated in black and white throughout by Elisa Paganelli.

Billionaire train enthusiast August Reza has invited Harrison Beck and Uncle Nat on the maiden voyage of the Solar Express – the winning design of his Reza’s Rocket competition. But during the journey, they discover the train has been sabotaged, hurtling passengers into a heart-stopping, action-packed, thrill ride across the Australian Outback. Can Hal find the saboteur and stop the runaway train before disaster strikes?

Sabotage on the Solar Express can be read as a stand-alone novel, or enjoyed as part of the Adventures on Trains series. Join Hal and Uncle Nat on more stops in this thrilling series with: The Highland Falcon Thief, Kidnap on the California Comet, and Murder on the Safari Star.

Chapter book

The perfect gift for any child this Christmas. From Alex T. Smith, bestselling author of festive favourites How Winston Delivered Christmas, How Winston Came Home for Christmas and The Grumpus, comes a gorgeous retelling of children’s Christmas classic The Nutcracker – a Christmas Story in twenty-four-and-a-half chapters.

The Mouse King is up to some very sneaky shenanigans.

The night before Christmas, he steals the key to the Kingdom of Sweets and sets out to cause as much festive mayhem as he can!

Clara and Fritz Strudel, and their new friend the Nutcracker, are the only ones who can stop him. But when a magical curse is put on Fritz, it’s a race against time to make it to the Kingdom of Sweets and find the Sugar Plum Fairy – the only one who can break the spell!

Can the adventurers stop the Mouse King’s naughty plan and save Fritz, before it’s too late?

With irresistible colour illustrations, a festively foiled cover and a chapter to enjoy each day in December, this gorgeous hardback is the perfect gift for any child at Christmas.

Picturebook

Spaghetti Hunters is a brilliantly funny and wonderfully silly picture book, featuring a duck, a tiny horse and quest for spaghetti, from the award-winning Morag Hood – creator of The Steves, I Am Bat.

Duck has lost his spaghetti, and Tiny Horse has a plan to save the day. But what exactly do you bring to a Spaghetti Hunt? A spade, a fishing rod, a jar of peanut butter, cutlery and some binoculars, obviously.

Searching far and wide, Tiny Horse catches worms, a ball of string, even a snake – but no spaghetti. Disaster! Until Duck consults a recipe book and armed with flour, eggs and a pasta maker, sets about making his own spaghetti.

This infectiously comic story encourages reading and home-cooking, teaching children about where food really comes from.

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