Ace

Flightless, helpless and often, frankly, more than a little silly, chickens are no match for the cunning, merciless foxes stalking their coop. Or are they? Thanks to a careless farmer and generations of determined foxes, the chickens on Foxearth Farm have evolved into quick-witted, long-legged, high flying fox dodgers. Then, just a week after a vicious fox ambush in the water trough, three sisters are hatched. And Ransome, Sims and Jefferies are no ordinary chicks: they grow up determined to fight back.

Follow the Swallow. When Apollo the swallow flies to Africa, Chack the blackbird wants to send him a message. But Africa is far away. Can a jumpy dolphin, a grumpy camel, a greedy crocodile or a playful monkey help to deliver the message? The Wrong Kind of Bark. Finlay's a real dreamer, and he's always getting things wrong. So when he brings his puppy into class, it looks as if Finlay's heading for big trouble!

When Ned helps his grandmother clear out her attic, he finds a very unusual Victorian doll – she speaks! Ned and Lady Daisy soon become fast friends, even though he's teased at school for owning a doll. Ned learns to stand up to his father and the school bully in order to protect Lady Daisy. But then the doll is stolen – will Ned ever find her again?

Harry Holdsworth had never heard of his Great-Uncle George until he inherited the old man’s most cherished possession: an African Grey parrot named Madison. Harry’s first reaction was one of dismay. Who wants a big pet bird – one that could live for another 40 years? But when Mad introduces himself in perfect American, Harry discovers he has found a friend – and more.

His mother was amazed when she saw the size of her newborn infant and realised that feeding him was going to cause problems. She turned to a box of patent Porker Pills, used for fattening pigs. But the bigger Magnus grew, the more problems he caused.

Dorothea considers it a disgrace that one of her children has the white saddle-shaped patch on his bottom, and not on his back. Life doesn't look too promising for 'Saddlebottom', until he runs away from home and meets a very unusual cat. With the aid of a ginger tom named Bendigo, he proves his mother wrong.

Sir Tumbleweed is an unlikely knight – afraid of horses, jousting and dragons. But with help from Arthur the Lion and Spearhead the Unicorn, he floors Sir Basil the Beastly in a jousting match. Will the champion jouster of all England find an obliging damsel in distress?

When Farmer Buzzard's collie, Kay, has four puppies, he doesn't know what to do. Three are fine puppies, which he can sell, but the fourth is the ugliest puppy ever. No one wants to buy him and, as he grows, it becomes clear he'll never make a sheepdog – and he certainly isn't house-trained! Farmer Buzzard is too kind-hearted to get rid of Smasher, and eventually, when a burglar calls, the big dog has a chance to prove his worth.

The date is AD 1650. Dodos are leading idyllic lives on an island in the Indian Ocean, but soon there will be no dodos anywhere at all on earth. Beatrice and Bertie are happily planning their wedding bliss and thinking of all the dodolings they will produce, unaware of the dangers lurking offshore in the anchored ship. The sea monkeys and rats within are dangerous, mean and hungry, and the unsuspecting dodos are in trouble!

Lubber the dog and Squintum the cat join forces with a racing pigeon and a pretty young Irish setter to search for Lubber's home. All he can remember is that he lives in a cottage below a hillside on which is carved a white horse.

Frank is a funny chick. Unlike all his brothers and sisters, he wants to dabble about in the lovely duck pond, splashing himself with water. Most of all, he wants to learn to swim. Can Jemima, the farmer’s daughter, find a way to help Frank? All he thinks about are webbed feet, waterproof feathers, and the cool water of the pond. So when Frank takes a dip and nearly drowns, his mood turns foul. Luckily, he gets a little human help - in the form of a man-made wet suit and a pair of flippers - and soon he’s the speediest bird in the water.

Henrietta Hickthrift decides to run away from home - the Old People's Home. Packing just one small suitcase, she sets off on the train to the seaside. But Henry doesn't have much money. In fact by the end of her first day she has exactly one penny. That is when she meets the Goods - Angela, Barney, Eleanor, Rosie, and Rowley - who decide to adopt this unusual stray. But will their parents let them keep her?

Harmony Parker thought animals much nicer than people, and saw everyone she knew as some non-human species. Her father, for example, was most definitely a bald-headed Sea Lion, her mother a tubby, fussy Pouter Pigeon, and her tiresome older sister a Siamese cat. But Harmony's parents would not allow her to have real pets of any kind – not even a harmless gerbil. Then Uncle Ginger arrived from India and gave Harmony a very special present ...

Abigail would love to have a pet parrot, but they're too expensive. So she decides to teach one of her father's chickens to talk instead. To the amazement of Abigail's family, she succeeds. Soon, they have to stop Polly being quite so chatty.

Hold on to your broom for magical mayhem! Lovable but disaster-prone Mildred Hubble is a trainee at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches, but she's making an awful mess of it. She keeps getting her spells wrong and crashing her broomstick. Yet she manages to get by until she turns Ethel, the teacher's pet, into her deadly enemy and chaos ensues....