Slap bang in the middle of the coldest Friday of the coldest week of the year, the central heating breaks down at Melton Mowbray Zoo. The system needs a new flange but flanges can't be obtained on Fridays in Melton Mowbray, so Mr Pickles the head keeper asks all the other keepers to take the animal they are in charge...

William is scared of the place under the stairs. He is absolutely sure there's a great big and probably hungry grizzly bear lurking there. He is utterly convinced that the bear will gobble him up if he doesn't feed it, so every day he carefully opens the door, throws in some food and slams it shut quickly - wham, bang,...

Kweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep! When the alarm squeal sounds it must be a job for Captain Peter Porker and the PIGS IN PLANES! There's an emergency somewhere in Animal Paradise and the hogs are flying high to Sheep Island. The Golden Fleece - worn by every sheep king or queen since time began - is in danger from some pesky ram raiders! So...

'Don't stray into the Quartermile Field. Any animal with sense avoids the spot,' warns Sammy's mother. But Sammy is curious - about the Field, and about his father, the fierce, wild father he's never met. Then one day Sammy discovers that his father has returned. And determined to track him down, Sammy sets off towards the strange, wild land of...

Alfie the deerhound is a large grey puppy. He loves his boy Charlie, and cheese and he's very good at digging holes. But poor Alfie has got lost and he's scared - of thunderstorms and being hungry and never seeing Charlie again . . . Meanwhile, Charlie doesn't know what to do - but one thing is for sure: he'll...

'T. rex! T. rex! Run!' The terrible Tyrannosaurus rex is scaring all the dinosaur families that live on the Great Plain. Nosy, the little pterodactyl, and his great friend Banty, the apatosaurus, agree that T. rex has got to be stopped. But how? Luckily Nosy has a plan ... ...

Ben spends the holidays with his nose in the sand and bottom in the air. It's not because he's shy - though some of his classmates do call him the Shrimp. It's because he's got a great idea for his wildlife project. A competition is on! The class projects are going to be judged by a famous TV wildlife presenter,...

Michael Morpurgo has created a sweeping and dramatic story in the time of Bonnie Prince Charlie. This spellbinding tale is complemented perfectly by Michael Foreman's illustrations. Robbie McLeod and a wolf cub, both orphaned, venture far from their birthplace, a land of rebellious fighters and vicious redcoats. There is little constancy in Robbie's adventurous life, save for the companionship of...

She drives cars. She's a PlayStation champ. She's got a black belt in karate . . . She's AGENT GM451 (or LARA to you – Licensed Assault and Rescue Animal). A gang of villainous head teachers are plotting to make their school the very best. They're creating a secret formula, and the final ingredient is the brain of a child....

Kweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep! When the alarm squeal sounds it must be a job for Captain Peter Porker and the PIGS IN PLANES! There's an emergency somewhere in Animal Paradise and the hogs are heading high in the sky to Chicken Island. An hen-ormous robbery has put the chickens in a spin - and the egg-nappers have vanished. WHO has stolen the prized...

Everyone loves the wickedly dry sense of humour of The Diary of a Killer Cat by Anne Fine. Okay, Okay. So hang me. I killed the bird. For pity's sake, I'm a cat. Poor Ellie is horrified when Tuffy drags a dead bird into the house. Then a mouse. But Tuffy can't understand what all the fuss is about. Who...

'Okay, okay. So stick my head in a holly bush.' Tuffy knows what he likes. And he doesn't like the 'art' that Ellie's mum brings home from her new classes. So what's a cat to do? A few scratches here just happen to shred a painting. A nudge there somehow slips a vase off a shelf. Dad hope a horribly...