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Publisher: Penguin Random House Children's UK

Picturebook

Make up your very own fairy tale adventure where YOU CHOOSE what happens next! Which fairy tale hero would you like to be today? Where will you go on your fairy tale quest? And what fairy tale baddy would you least like to meet?

The possibilities are infinite in this captivating creative toolkit which will inspire children from three up to make their own stories again and again.

Chapter book

The 35th anniversary of The Hodgeheg – a timeless classic tale for young children from the master of animal stories, Dick King-Smith. Includes an author profile and interview, and fun facts.

Max is a hedgehog who lives with his family in a nice little home, but it’s on the wrong side of the road from the Park where there’s a beautiful lily pond and plenty of juicy slugs, worms and snails!
The busy road is dangerous but Max is determined to make his way across. If humans can do it, why can’t hedgehogs? His first attempt ends in a nasty bump on the head and, when Max tries to speak, he realises his words are all mixed up. He is no longer a hedgehog but a hodgeheg!

Still determined to fulfil his mission, Max discovers the best way to cross the road – with the help of the lollipop lady and some careful detective work . . .

Chapter book

Don’t move!’ said a voice, and the voice, like the eye, was enormous but somehow, hushed – and hoarse like a surge of wind through the grating on a stormy night in March. Arrietty froze. ‘So this is it,’ she thought, ‘the worst and most terrible thing of all: I have been “seen”!

The Borrowers live in the secret places of quiet old houses; behind the mantelpiece, inside the harpsichord, under the kitchen clock. They own nothing, borrow everything, and never forget their most important rule: you must never, ever be ‘seen’ by the human beans.

Arrietty is desperate to be an expert Borrower like her father, Pod. But it’s dangerous work, and girls are forbidden to venture Upstairs. Arrietty is thrilled to be given a chance to prove herself – but disaster strikes on her very first outing: she is seen by The Boy! But to everyone’s surprise, a wonderful, unlikely friendship is formed. But soon the Borrowers find themselves in terrible danger, and only The Boy can help.

Full of wonderfully inventive details and beautiful, gentle humour, The Borrowers is a timeless tale of bravery, friendship and borrowing . . .

Picturebook

The classic fairy tale – Little Red Riding Hood – from Ladybird!

A perfect introduction to the classic story Little Red Riding Hood. Find out why grandmother has such big teeth! Part of the Ladybird First Favourite Tales series – a perfect introduction to fairy tales for preschoolers – it contains amusing pictures and lots of funny rhythm and rhyme to delight young children. Ideal for reading aloud and sharing with 2-4 year olds.

Ladybird’s First Favourite Tales series is hugely popular and is a great introduction to the most important fairytales. 2011 brought a new look and great covers to the series, but the books are still just as fun to read as ever.

Picturebook

Once upon a time there was an enchanting fairytale about a prince who was looking for a real princess to be his bride. The only way to tell whether the many princesses who applied for the post were really royal, legend had it, was to see if they would be able to feel a tiny little pea through dozens of luxurious mattresses as they slept. Only the princess who emerged the next morning complaining of the extreme discomfort in which she had passed the night, could possibly be good enough to be the prince’s bride . . . All well and enchanting, but has anyone stopped to think about how all this might have felt for the pea in question? No. So here, for the first time, straight from the pea, is the truth about this much-loved, oft-repeated fairytale.

Picturebook

Each Peach Pear Plum is a timeless picture book classic from the bestselling illustrator/author team Janet and Allan Ahlberg, creators of Peepo!. Each beautifully illustrated page encourages young children to interact with the picture to find the next fairy tale and nursery rhyme character.

In this book
With your little eye,
Take a look,
And play ‘I spy’

Picturebook

Join Hairy Maclary and his friends on their first ever adventure in this golden 40th anniversary edition of the beloved rhyming classic!

“Out of the gate and off for walk,
Went Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy”

Hairy Maclary is off for a walk, and he’s joined by furry friends of all shapes and sizes, from Bottomley Potts (covered in spots) to Schnitzel von Krumm (with a very low tum).

But when they suddenly find themselves face-to-face with Scarface Claw – the toughest Tom in town – it’s time to run all the way back home!

Delighting generation after generation of childr

Picturebook

Skeleton Crew is one of the titles in Allan Ahlberg’s iconic children’s picture book series about skeletons, Funnybones. Despite being set in a dark dark house, this brightly coloured book is perfect for early readers!

“Zzz!” The three skeletons enjoy a holiday on-board their little boat. But one night – “Yo-ho-ho” – the pirates come and put them out to sea on a tiny raft, launching them on an oceanful of new adventures.

Picturebook

Shiver me timbers!’ Pirate Jed is not happy . . . Imagine a pirate who feels seasick all the time. That’s Pirate Jed! Fed up with bobbing around on the rollicking, rolling sea, he decides to pack up his pirate paraphernalia and heads off in search of a home on land. His adventures take him on a journey where he meets a whole cast of animal characters, desperate for his help, and they all join in his search for a new home. Finally they meet Farmer Ted who is fed up with life on dry land – so he and Jed decide to swap! So, with a cheeriyo-ho-ho, Pirate Jed and his new friends have a perfect new home! A gentle adventure about friendship, fun and finding your place.

Non-fiction

Do you ever wonder where the stuff around you all came from? No, not from the shops. I mean, who had the amazing idea of making video games or the annoying idea of building a school?

In the latest laugh-out-loud book from the record-breaking and extremely handsome Adam Kay and Henry Paker, you’ll learn about everything ever invented, from the daft to the disgusting to the downright dangerous.

You’ll discover all about:

– The queen who pooed on the first ever toilet
– How velcro was invented by a dog
– Why the Ancient Greeks wiped their bums on dinner plates

As well as 48,762,851,208 other facts. (Approximately.)

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