The extraordinary, effervescent Clarice Bean is back with her trademark heart and humour in this beautifully illustrated story by former Children's Laureate Lauren Child, a delightful summer read for the whole family. 'Nothing ever happens except for sometimes. And only on rare-ish occasions, which is hardly ever. I mainly always find something to do even if there is nothing going on, which might be cutting up things and turning them into something else.' But one day in the holidays that began as a nothing day everything happened. Absolutely nearly everything. The unforgettable Clarice Bean finds herself escaping the danger of boredom when she meets an actual real-life DOG who will not scram! From one of the most distinctive comic voices of children's literature, with dancing text and elegant, light-hearted illustrations, some line art, much in colour. Ages 7-11 years, 176pp.

Contains all 13 books published in 1894. The Jungle Book has become Kipling's most famous work; it was followed by The Second Jungle Book in 1895. The two works contain short stories and poems about the animal world and include Mowgli's Brothers, Hunting-Song of the Seeonee Pack, Kaa's Hunting, Tiger! Tiger!, Mowgli's Song, Rikki-tikki-tavi, Toomai of the Elephants and Shiv and the Grasshopper among them. We recall fondly the unforgettable tale of Mowgli the man-cub abandoned in the Indian jungle and his animal friends and foes including Bagheera the black panther, Baloo the sleepy brown bear, and murderous tiger Shere Khan, which are some of the most famous and iconic in all of children's literature. Kipling was born in Bombay in 1865 and spent his first six years of life in India, hence the rich affinity with the country reflected in his words. 327pp.

One of the bestselling adventure series for young readers with a pleasing collection of goodies, baddies and incompetent adults, McCall Smith's writing style is as charming and educational as ever. Join Ben and Fee MacTavish and the rest of the crew on the School Ship Tobermory as they set off for the Caribbean to explore some of the finest waters in the world for sailing, snorkelling, kitesurfing and diving. All this is soon interrupted when Captain Macbeth comes into possession of a mysterious nautical chart. When the map is stolen and a new recruit jumps ship, the friends decide to investigate but danger lies all around as they follow their quarry to the sinister Shark Island. 250pp lovely pen and ink illustrations.

Ex-Beatle and songwriter Paul McCartney has teamed up with Eddie Dickens writer Philip Ardagh (author of over 60 books) and shows yet another talent. With clever wordplay and smartly drawn comic characters, we meet Wirral the Squirrel who is forced to leave his woodland home, destroyed by the expansion plans of the evil Gretsch. He vows to find the fabled land of Animalia, where all the animals are said to live in freedom and without fear. Aided and abetted by Froggo the hot-air-ballooning frog, Wilhamina the plucky red squirrel, and Ratsy the streetwise rodent, Wirral's personal quest turns into a full-blown plan to save enslaved animals everywhere. WE ALL STAND TOGETHER! With Ardagh's unmistakable fine illustrations in glorious colour on these 88 large glossy pages. Suit ages 5-8 years. 20 x 25cm.

This quirky activity book for young children is based on drawing round your hands, feet, fingers and toes. Every large page offers a basic sketch together with suggestions as to how the child can create a complete picture, using crayons or felt tip to colour round and add other details. Reindeer Rock has an animal head without antlers, and these can ingeniously be supplied by drawing round each hand. The Finger-Finned Handfish is created by drawing round fingers for fins and a hand at the back for a wavy tail, while an open-mouthed shark needs finger shapes to create the desired snaggle-toothed effect. Drawing round your feet will provide a pair of penguins with bodies, and also provide a silhouette for parrots. The picture entitled Saying Hello to Mummy is completed by a single hand waving at the end of a long arm. Another page shows a pair of emus scampering across the picture and your hand shape can place a body on a third. The pages are on a tear-off pad so that children ages 4-8 can easily display their work or make a gift to the grown-ups. 32 pull-out colourful pages, softback.

32 pullout pages which introduces five essential expressions: happy, sad, angry, surprised and silly, each with a hole in the centre to put your face through, are guaranteed to be a hit with young children. The pictures are basic sketches which a child can make into a portrait by following a suggestion at the top of the page, providing the details of a scene that can be displayed on the wall or presented to adults. "Clowning Around" needs the young artist to "add really silly hair" and tell a joke. "To the Rescue" has the outline of a superhero swooping from the sky, and the child is prompted to create a story by inventing a superhero name, mimicking and drawing the character who is in danger, and creating a list of personal superpowers. The Hairy Hungry Caterpillar goes "munch munch" while the Puff Daddy Fish blows its cheeks out, with an opportunity for drawing marine companions and scary spikes. "Space Walk" needs a bit of imagination as to what outer space is like, while the suggested task is to "say hello in alien language". Baby to age 4. Colour, board book 32 pp.

The next generation of opera fans will love this attractive introduction to 15 of the world's greatest operas, from Mozart's Magic Flute to Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. The stories are told in detail, accompanied by lovely illustrations of the sort you used to find in children's fairy tale books. First up is Aida, Verdi's great opera set in ancient Egypt with rousing choruses and almost always presented with a spectacular set and costumes. Like many grand operas it ends with the heroic deaths of the main characters, but there is a lot of excitement en route. Amahl and the Night Visitors, by contrast, is a smaller scale retelling of the story of Christmas by Gian Carlo Menotti. Rossini's Barber of Seville is the prequel to Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, recounting Count Almaviva's romance with Rosina as he snatches her from the predatory attentions of Dr Bartolo with the help of his irrepressible manservant Figaro. La Boheme returns us to tragedy with the doomed love story of Rodolfo and Mimi, and includes several famous arias such as "Your tiny hand is frozen". Wagner is represented by his great life-affirming masterpiece The Mastersingers of Nuremberg, while Mozart's opera The Magic Flute takes us into the mystical realm of good and evil, though the Queen of the Night, famous for her stunning coloratura aria, turns out not to be so bad after all. The witch in Hansel and Gretel gets her comeuppance in Engelbert Humperdinck's jolly fairytale. Finally Gershwin's Porgy and Bess brought opera into new territory with the waterfront casinos of the southern states of America. Ages 7-12. 160pp, 27 x 24cm, softback, exquisite full-page colour paintings on many double spreads.

Ten cheeky, bouncy, noisy owls are playing in a tree. It's bedtime, but they're having far too much fun to go to sleep! Uh-oh. Will Mummy Owl ever convince all her little owlets to fly down to the nest? Learn to count from one to ten in this hilarious new counting book with gorgeous illustrations as well as fun peek-through pages and a useful counting guide. Tiny fingers will love popping them through the owl shapes and spotting the cats and berries and birds and bees and snails and spiders we meet along the branches of this sleepy time story book. 32 board pages, 18.7 x 28.7cm, ages 1-4 years.

Booklist said, 'Chainani takes 12 time-honoured tales and overhauls their traditional tellings, adding an astonishing amount of depth and beauty in the process. Lush, transporting, and occasionally eerie, easily conjuring fantastical worlds... An intriguing and inclusive update for modern audiences.' For all lovers of fairy tales who seek alternative endings we are taken through horrifying and humorous, sweet and scary and of course beastly and beautiful, sly and subversive dangerous tales - Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, Hansel and Gretel, Beauty and the Beast, Bluebeard, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Rumpelstiltskin, and Peter Pan. And the best part about this edition is the full page colour artworks and other beautiful decorations throughout the text by Julia Iredale. A lovely big substantial heavyweight hardback, 324pp.

An official Disney product, this colourful advent calendar contains a 13" high pop-up Christmas tree, and as you open each window beneath the princesses in a snowy scene find 25 tree ornaments. With illustrations by Giuseppe Di Maio from the films are Aurora, Belle, Tiana and more, this charming advent calendar will make the countdown to Christmas very special. The 25 keepsakes also include Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Snow White and can be used to decorate your pop-up tree. A book is tucked behind a door in the top lefthand corner exploring the lives of these beloved princesses and sharing some of their favourite holiday traditions. Pack measures just under 13" square, all in festive colour.