Father Christmas’s special thick red coat was now a peculiar pink colour, and only half its original size. It was much too cold for him to be out on his sleigh on Christmas Eve without his thick coat, but children everywhere were waiting excitedly for him to deliver their Christmas presents…

A Christmas Coat-Astrophe

It would soon be Christmas, so Mother Christmas was busy getting ready for that most wonderful time of year.

“I must make sure Father Christmas’s special red coat is spotlessly clean,” she murmured to herself.  So she quickly put it into the washing machine.  Then off she went to put up even more Christmas decorations.

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Digger is in the doghouse. He has eaten the sausages, chewed dad’s slippers and tiddled on the kitchen floor. Digger decides that being a dog isn’t much fun anymore – but what should he be instead?

A Dog Called Cat

Digger the dog sat in the garden. His ears drooped, his tail drooped, even his whiskers drooped.

“Outside!” Mum had shouted. “You are a very naughty dog!”

Digger hadn’t meant to eat the sausages that had been left out for tea. He hadn’t meant to chew Dad’s favourite slippers. And he really hadn’t meant to tiddle on Mum’s clean kitchen floor.

“I don’t want to be a dog anymore,” he said. He padded off, thinking about what he could be instead.

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Matilda needs a drop of Rainbow Magic to fix her broomstick but where can she find a rainbow? Perhaps a spell will help…

A Drop of Rainbow Magic

‘Well?’ said Matilda the witch.  ‘Can you fix it?’

The mechanic shook his head.  ‘It needs a drop of rainbow magic and I’m clean out of it.’

‘But I must get my broomstick working,’ wailed Matilda.  ‘I can’t fly anywhere without it and I have to go to my spelling class tonight.  The Head Witch will give me a terrible row if I don’t turn up.’

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Since the cats moved out, the mice down in the palace cellar lived ‘a life of Riley’ – which is more than can be said for lazy King Casper and kind Queen Veronica!  Astonishingly, it took Ricardo and his ‘special pizzas’ to change the situation.

A Life of Riley

King Casper and Queen Veronica lived in a grand palace at the top of a very steep hill.

Lazy King Casper was so bad tempered, that all the palace staff had left years ago.  Even the palace cats had moved out, so the mice down in the cellar lived a ‘life of Riley’!

Poor Queen Veronica had to clean all the one-hundred-and-one rooms, including the very large State Rooms, Banqueting Hall and Ballroom.  By evening, she was tired out!

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Susie loves her cat, Rusty.  Sadly, cats aren’t allowed in the flat they are moving to. If Rusty goes to live miles away with Auntie Laura, Susie will hardly ever see her. One day, on her way to school, Susie reads a notice on a tree-trunk, but how can this help her?

A New Home and a New Friend

Susie could hear her mummy and daddy talking about the new flat.

“Susie will love having a bigger bedroom,” Daddy said.

“She’ll be nearer her school, too,” Mummy said.

All Susie could think about, was the fact that they couldn’t take Rusty, her cat, with them.

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Trevor and his friends return to the farm determined to catch the egg thief who is stealing from Mr. Digger.
Some boys hide around the farm watching the various visitors whilst others search for clues.
They soon decide on their suspect, but how do they catch him in the act?

A Thief is Caught

The six boys all huddled together in the barn and listened out for adults. Joshua Drey, who was on lookout, ran over to join them.

“It’s all clear. Jack’s just driven into the wheat field. He’ll be at least an hour before he returns.”

“Right role call!” said Trevor importantly, as the whole meeting and plan was his idea “There’s me, Trevor Sharp representing the hedgehogs, Billy Digger for the badgers, Batty Hill moles, Freddy Rivet frogs, Tommy Twitcher field mice, and Joshua and Joe Drey squirrels.

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Mr Mortimer, the piano-tuner, soon realised that all was not as it should be in Mrs Topsy-Turvy’s cottage.  He wondered if he would ever finish tuning her piano, especially when all the notes began to fall off from the rather unusual piano keyboard!

A Topsy-Turvy Tale

As soon as Mr Mortimer, the piano tuner, stepped into the music room at Mrs Topy-Turvy’s Cottage to tune her piano, he immediately had a strange feeling that all was not as it should be!

Not only were all the pictures hanging upside-down on the walls, but the mirrors had been put up back to front so nobody could see themselves. Ornaments had been placed upside-down on the shelves, too.

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The sequel to Heart of oak. Acorn again sails the seven seas on the good ship The Royal Oak.  This time a deadly foe lurks in the bowels of the ship.  Its sinister presence makes even hardened mariners cringe.  Join Acorn in his quest for revenge.

Acorn and the Creeper

The sun stood high in the sky, the Royal Oak, a Man ’o’ War of his Majesty’s Royal Navy fairly flew through white-capped waves.  White spume flew over the prow, sails billowed aloft like white balloons, fit to burst.  The crew worked like a well-oiled machine, hauling on ropes, trimming sails a myriad of tasks to keep a ship of the line in trim and up to speed.  We were on our way to Tahiti to re-provision and take on fresh water. We all looked forward to fresh food, especially me, Acorn I’m called, sea-cat 1st class.

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Annie was thrilled with her new angel, but the little doll wasn’t happy at all.

Annie’s Angel

Annie’s tummy bubbled and fizzed with Christmas fever as she stood behind the thick living room curtains, watching her father struggle through the snow with an enormous tree under one arm and a long red box under the other.

‘Oooh, I can’t wait,’ she whispered, and her breath made little patches of mist on the glass as she hopped from one foot to the other. Each day was more thrilling than the last as Christmas approached. There were cakes to ice, puddings to stir and presents to wrap, and Annie had a special job that nobody else could do.

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Mrs Uncertain could never make up her mind about anything. But her friend, Mrs Certain, knew exactly what she would be doing each day of the week. See what happens when they change roles…

As Different as Chalk from Cheese

Although Mrs Certain and Mrs Uncertain were the best of friends, in some ways they were as different as chalk from cheese.

You see, Mrs Uncertain could never make her mind up about anything. She couldn’t even decide what to eat for her breakfast each morning.

“Shall I have toast, or cornflakes?” she would ask herself.

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Two lucky butterflies learn a lesson and count their lucky stars, as they remember Black Bear Mountain.

Black Bear Mountain

Her name was Gentle Rain; this was because her wings were silver and blue. They had little circles that looked like raindrops; this was quite rare for a butterfly’s wings. Her favorite trees to fly near to were the tall green pines that grew at the top of Black Bear Mountain. She was warned many times though, of the winds and storms that would come there.

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All the animals that lived in the wood, were getting tired of hearing Bonnie the rabbit constantly laughing. Every time she saw one of them she would laugh, and  laugh and laugh.

Not one of the animals could get to the bottom of it. Even Bonnie’s rabbit family could not understand why she was constantly laughting. So all the animals decided to gather round for a meeting. Perhaps one of them might come up with a reason for Bonnie’s behaviour.

Bonnie the Laughing Rabbit

Bonnie the rabbit had lots of brothers and sisters, as well as all the other animals in the wood, who were her friends.

She was a very happy rabbit, and would laugh all the time even if there wasn’t anything particular to laugh at. Although all the other rabbits and animals in the wood were happy, they found Bonnie’s laughing rather a nuisance at times.

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Katie has moved house, but doesn’t like her new home. She thinks monsters live in the cellar and is upset that the garden does not have a swing. But with the help of a silver watering can, Katie discovers wonders in the untidy garden that may just change her mind!

But I Don’t Want to Live Here

Katie did not like her new house. The floors creaked, the stairs were too steep and it had a dark cellar that looked the perfect place for monsters to live. She stood in the kitchen with a big frown on her face as she watched her mum unpack a box of plates and cups.

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Having an unusual gran means life is seldom dull but what happened on a trip to the seaside was unbelievable even for her!

But Not My Gran

Most grans walk to visit you, or come by bus or car, but not my gran oh no!

She zoomed up on her silver scooter.

She had come to take me to the beach for a picnic.

I put on my helmet and off we went.

It was great whizzing along behind Gran.  We drove out of town, through the lumpy bumpy countryside and on to the splishy splashy sea.

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One day Betsey found that her pet chicken, Carla, had lost all her feather. Carla was shivering from the cold. Betsey didn’t know what to do.

Carla the Little Red Hen

Betsey lived on a farm. She didn’t have a pet of her own but she wanted one.

One day Betsey asked her dad, “May I have a farm animal for my very own?”

“Well,” said her dad. “Do you think that you’ll be able to take care of it by yourself?”

“Yes, I think I can,” said Betsey. “I want to keep a baby chick for my pet.”

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Owen was David’s best friend. Owen was David’s invisible friend. Every night, David would pray, “Dear God, please make Owen real.” He folded his hands tight and closed his eyes even tighter so God would know he meant it. David waited and waited. Would God answer David’s prayer?

Dear God, Please Make Owen Real

“Dear God,” David whispered, “please make Owen real.” He folded his hands tight and closed his eyes even tighter so God would know he meant it.

Every night, David prayed for Owen before he drifted off to sleep. Owen was David’s best friend. Owen was David’s invisible friend.

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Dotty the donkey spent all the summer giving rides to the children on the beach. He didn’t mind as he loved his job, and the children. This was to be his last day before he went to his stable for the winter. The last day on the beach turned out to be the most fun he had had all summer.

Dotty the Donkey’s Flowery Hat

Dotty the Donkey was always a little sad when the end of the summer came, and she no longer spent her day walking up and down the sand at the seaside.

Her job was to give the little boys and girls a ride on her back.

She loved to hear the children squeal with delight, as they bumped up and down on her saddle, although her master always made sure that she trotted slowly.

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School has stopped being fun for Esmerelda, but then to her amazement a Fairy Godmother visits her school offering a Scholarship to a Fairy Godmother Boarding School…read on

Esmerelda

Esmerelda walked slowly to school, dragging her school bag.  It seemed like just another school day and recently Esmerelda did not like school.  At first, painting and drawing and stories had been great, but now that maths occupied two hours of every day Esmerelda no longer liked school. Maybe today will be better, she said, trying to hurry a little.

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Esmerelda’s grandmother thinks Esmerelda should go to an ordinary school and be around to help her in the bad weather, but can Esmerelda help her even though she is at Fairy Godmother Boarding School?

Esmerelda Meets Master Jack Frost

Esmerelda was preparing to start Boarding School.  This wasn’t just any Boarding School – this Boarding School would prepare her to be a Fairy Godmother.

“It’s a great job, being a Fairy Godmother, precious, don’t listen to Granny,” her father reassured her, because Granny didn’t want Esmerelda to be a Fairy Godmother.

“A ridiculous job,” she said. “What’s wrong with being a nurse or a teacher – couldn’t you have a job like that when you grow older…like I was?” Granny had said when she heard the news.

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Felicity, the falling star, meets a lovely little cloud, and together they visit his friends. Later, Felicity finds a way to stop some naughty, noisy clouds arguing, but she had no idea that this would start a new craze!

Felicity’s Adventure

Felicity, the falling star, had an extra big twinkle in her eye that day.  So when all the other stars were hidden behind the clouds, she climbed to the top of the nearest cloud and slid all the way down the other side! Then she fell gently through the air like a coloured snow-flake, until she landed upon a soft cushion-like cloud.

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Geraldo can’t resist any food, even if it doesn’t belong to him. But one day, guess what happens!

Geraldo The Cat Who Loved Food

Geraldo was a large, salt and pepper coloured cat.

Parts of his fur were whitish and other parts were brownish and blackish and there was a lot of him. In fact, an awful lot of him. He was, in other words, huge. He was huge because he loved food. Not only his food but any other food he could get his paws on.

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A bedtime tale about a sad boy giraffe who gets teased by his silly-billy giraffe friends, then lives happily ever after with two girl children and their nice Daddy!

Geronimo the Long Neck Giraffe

Long ago in a far off land there lived a little boy giraffe called Geronimo who had a long neck.

Now, all giraffes have a long neck, as you know. But Geronimo’s neck was a VERY long neck. Even when he was sitting down, Geronimo’s head, which was at the top of his neck, was high in the clouds.

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Billy could hardly wait for Gran to take him to see his very first pantomime. But Gran’s new little red car had other ideas. It wanted to go to the zoo, instead!

Gran’s Strange Little Red Car

Billy had been feeling excited all day.  This was because his Gran had promised to take him to see, ‘Puss-in-Boots’ as a Christmas treat.  Billy had never seen a pantomime before, and this would be his first visit to a theatre too.  Not only that, but they would be going in Gran’s new little red car.  He was really looking forward to that.

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It’s harvest time at the local farm and all the animals pitch in together to help bring in the wheat. Trevor and several of his friends help out in the orchard. They think they have got the easy job but are surprised at just how hard they have to work!

Harvest Time at Digger Farm

“I think that’s all,” said Mrs. Sharp, as she wiped her hands down her flowered apron and looked at her afternoon’s work.

The wooden table in the centre of the large airy kitchen was laden with food. Cherry cakes, coconut slabs, large sticky flapjacks, crisp sausage rolls and egg custard tarts all sat side by side, while golden crusted pies jostled with a huge cream trifle for pride of place.

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Acorn the prodigal ”sea cat” abandoned and lost as a kitten, befriended by lame john, a sailor of the king.  Now Acorn’s adventures start, cared for by greasy Westcott, mentored by Horatio the crusty 1st “sea cat” aboard the good ship Royal Oak.

Heart of Oak

I could feel the cold rain on my fur, feel the icy wind against my face and feel the hunger in my belly.  It was dark and I felt so lost and alone. Where my mum, brothers and sisters were I do not know, in fact I never found out.

“What’s this then”, a voiced boomed, it was loud, though not nasty, but I was frightened.  “Shiver me timbers, why it’s a little kitten”, the human said.  “Soaking wet and freezing, shivering all over.  Why, it can only be just weaned, no sign of the mother, must be abandoned.

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