A Little Look at Bottoms

Designer Tom Karen gives us a delightful series of drawings to amuse and inspire young readers. Children love to laugh at bottoms, and with this little book they will go back to their favourites again and again – from giraffes to jellyfish and bumblebees to bears.

Andrew and the Midnight Ape

Most children in the world like to play and have fun. Many children have pets that they like to play with, usually a dog, a cat, a hamster, or a guinea pig.

Some lucky children even have a horse or a pony to play with.

But what if you were a nine-year-old boy or an eight-year-old girl, and you had a big, male silverback gorilla to play with? What would you do? Where would you go?

Well, this dream becomes a reality for Andrew Tyler and his sister Gemma.

Their adventure of a lifetime began when they went to stay with their grandparents, as they often did. You see, Andrew’s grandad has a menagerie in his back garden, a large and exotic menagerie.

However, there was a secret enclosure in the garden, which contained a big, hairy surprise for Andrew and Gemma…

…A large male gorilla named Fudge.

So now, at the stroke at midnight, the children secretly go outside and have the times of their lives with their new friend Fudge…

Angels and Demons – The Scroll of Seven Seals

The cousins – Ella, Emma, Olly, Catherine and Tom are excited to be together again for Christmas. Soon after arriving at the old farmhouse in North Cornwall they discover the truth: they are from a family of Angels! Now, they must begin a journey to a faraway island to learn more about their past and discover their future.

Admitted to the School of Enlightenment for Young Angels, the cousins make new friends, learn to fly and explore the secrets of their school. However, their fun is disturbed by Ella’s dreams about an ancient scroll which has the power to destroy the human world. Can the cousins discover the truth about the scroll in time to save humanity?

So begins a story of incredible bravery and amazing adventure.

Araminta Malarkey: Lion Tamer Extraordinaire

This is a girl who wears pink silk pyjamas and drinks from a bone china cup. She has every single designer to boot and a butler to wake her up. Do not be mistaken, dear reader, that this is a tale of a well-behaved girl, who keeps every toe in line. In fact, quite the opposite you will find, during the tale I had in mind. You see when we encounter a spirit of fire, especially in this day and age, we must all be willing to put judgement aside and prepare to be amazed.

Araminta Malarkey should have been happy with her life, a beautiful house, beautiful things, and adoring parents. Alas, she wants more, to be exact she wishes above all else to become a lion. This story follows Araminta as she behaves very badly, runs away from home, and joins the circus in a bid to become what she has always dreamt of.

Captain Courageous

Meet the best friend every kid needs – Captain Courageous. She’s the superhero with a difference. With her elastic arms, X-ray vision eyes and trusty sidekick, Bob the Cat, she will help you find the courage inside yourself to face any challenge and save the day.

Darling Untold

Lovely Jan,

With her radio, knee-high socks, and curls.

In some ways she was different to other lovely girls.

She had two wonky eyes that made things hard to see.

If you held up two fingers, Jan most likely saw three!

But Jan didn’t mind,

Not one little bit,

It made her ears better at listening to trumpets...

Do you remember the elephant?

From ants to elephants, life has a place. Every plant, raindrop, animal, insect or bird plays its part in making our world the beautiful life-sustaining rock we call home. Understanding how important these things are to our survival has never been more important. ‘Do you remember the elephants?’ is not a question anyone should ever ask. Together we can change how we think, how we behave and how we respond to keep our home working as it should – in harmony with all living things.

Our children are growing up in an increasingly digital world and disconnecting from nature. We need to give them back an appreciation for the world outside the screen. As individuals, this can improve mental health. Collectively, this can save our planet. Help our children to make better choices.

Dragons Out!

Learn about software testing in a fun way, by reading stories about dragons and knights. The book is a great read for children on their own, with their parents, or as an additional reading in schools. It is also for anyone who wants to know what software testing is, they will enjoy this book tremendously.

The book talks about adventures of two children, Laura and Tom, who tumble into dragons annoying villages and castles. They learn about different dragons and how to defeat them with the help of knights. The children grow into exceptional dragon experts.

Stories are explained in information technology and software testing terms and concepts, e.g. a dragon represents a software defect, and knights represent testers and developers. Reading parallels is an easy-to-understand way of learning.

In this book, Kari Kakkonen combines his passion into fantasy and software testing in a new and fascinating way, creating an enjoyable experience for the readers.

The book is suitable for ages of 9-99, although it is written for children.

“I love the idea of bringing testing and dragons together. Explaining testing ideas in this way is great for new testers to give them a broad idea of the depth of testing. The stories can sit on their own for children as well, and may encourage them to think about how they could test some of the apps they use.”

Janet Gregory, DragonFire Inc, co-author of three books on agile testing.

Faerie Tale

When the forest fairies notice the changes in the forest, the Oracle declares that they must recover the four fairy treasures from the elemental fairies;

“The darkness that has grown for many years,
the terror that every fairy fears.
But with the fairies’ growing plight,
hope is returned by a single light.
One chance we have to correct this wrong,
this hope will need to grow strong.
Because if the four races cannot unite,
the one will fail in the final fight.
You will need the earth’s wisdom to have its say,
You will fail without a flame to guide your way,
You need the air’s knowledge that is kept
You will fail without the water’s emotional depth.
These four elements are needed for all fairies’ creation,
to twist them is the darkness’s motivation.
To stop it collect the Tuatha De Danann’s four treasures,
even though the darkness will try to stop these measures.”

The Oracle sees that Elizabeth is the only fairy with a chance. The Dark Fairy tries to thwart their friendship and collection of the treasures, even invading their dreams with pixie magic.

Meeting friends along the journey and gaining wisdom from the elemental races, Elizabeth learns the true meaning of being a fairy. Can Elizabeth and her friends collect the treasures, unite the races and defeat the dark fairy to save the forest?

Floxy the Mermaid

This is the tale of a kind little mermaid called Floxy who is very upset that her fourth birthday party has been cancelled because of the ‘coral virus’.

One day, to cheer herself up, she swims out to the rusty old anchor and discovers a poor turtle trapped underneath a rock.

The story unfolds, and just like a birthday present, it is all wrapped up, this time in a soft seaweed blanket of kindness, selflessness and love.

I Am Different, I Am Me

I am unique – I am one of a kind!

Children growing up today are about to learn that being ‘one of a kind’ is what makes life so special and our world a better place. Celebrating all that you are and embracing everything that makes you unique will help children to love themselves for who they are and encourage them to explore all the wonderful adventures life has to offer with confidence.

A book of understanding, appreciation and most importantly celebration.

Jake the Crocodile

In today's society it is easy for adults and children alike to get swept up in social media expectations around what somebody should look like. It is also incredibly easy to jump to conclusions and make judgements about others.

Jake the Crocodile is about taking a step back to not only look at the outside of a person (or crocodile!) but what is on the inside.

It is more important than ever to teach our children to be empathic and Jake will form a special place in your child's heart so they stop and think about their judgements of other people and take the opportunity to see past external appearances to open a whole new world of opportunity for friendship.

Imagine a world where we didn't judge and people were valued for their individual characteristics. Jake will help your child see that there is beauty in everyone, if you just take the time to look.