No wait, No fuss – July’s collection

Amelia Fang is the biggest hearted vampiress you’ll ever meet. In this adventure, she and her friends Florence the yeti (DON’T CALL HER BEAST), Grimaldi the Death and Prince Tangine (reformed spoiled sprout), along with her pet pumpkin Squashy, must brave the journey to the terrifying Kingdom of the Light to try to find Tangine’s missing mother, Queen Fairyweather.

But with unicorns, fairies and angel-kittens lurking around every corner, who can they trust? And will they finally uncover the real villain keeping the kingdoms of Light and Dark as mortal enemies?

Join Amelia on her latest adventure. She won’t bite!

Available as an eAudiobook
Narrated by Zoe Thorne
Suitable for ages 7+

Mira CAN’T WAIT to start Unicorn School. (Her big sister goes and won’t stop going on about it.). But when Mira arrives on her first day all the unicorns are gone … except Dave!

Dave isn’t quite the sparkly unicorn Mira was expecting to find at the end of the rainbow – he’s more grumpy than glittery, more interested in lunch than magical Quests and he always runs off when Mira tries to ride him – but Mira’s not going to let that get her down. Along with her new friends and their (much more glittery) unicorns, she is determined to be the best at Quests and protect the special unicorn world!

Available as an eAudiobook
Narrated by Carlyss Peer
Suitable for ages 6+

Brer Rabbit will never learn! He loves to play jokes, tricks and set traps for his friends – but once in a while, they beat him at his own game!

Enid Blyton is arguably the most famous children’s author of all-time, thanks to series such as the Wishing-Chair, the Faraway Tree, the Mysteries, the Famous Five and the Secret Seven.

In these two Brer Rabbit stories, listeners can enjoy all the magic, fun and adventure one can be guaranteed of when they open a Blyton classic.

Until a certain young chick catches his eye, that is …

Available as an eAudiobook
Narrated by Alan Davies
Suitable for ages 3+

‘Once upon a time, a mysterious time that exists through a window in your mind, a time that seemed, to those present, exactly like now does to us, except their teeth weren’t so clean and more things were wooden, there was a town called Hamelin . . .’

In the first in his series of Trickster Tales, Russell Brand retells the classic children’s story The Pied Piper of Hamelin. You’ll be enchanted and revolted in equal measure by the host of characters you meet along the way: the anarchic rats, the arrogant townspeople, sharp-eyed Sam and of course the Pied Piper himself, all brought to life in Brand’s inimitable style.

Available as an eBook and an eAudiobook
Narrated by Russell Brand
Suitable for ages 8+

The first in a fast-paced, funny series featuring The Stig: Top Gear’s legendary racing driver

Sam Wheeler may be the new boy in Bunsfold, but he’s got a feeling that all is not well either in the town or at Bunsfold High – and he’s not just talking about the maths teacher with the unfortunate flatulence. A local boy, Buster Mustang, has recently gone missing, and no one seems to care – they’re all too busy playing the highly addictive video game Xenon or getting the town ready for its very first TT race. Both are the brainchild of mysterious local billionaire PT Cruiser. Besides global domination, PT Cruiser wants nothing more than to destroy his nemesis The Stig once and for all – and his TT race is just what he needs to tempt him on to the big stage again …

Sam sets out with his new friends Minnie Cooper and Ford Harrison to uncover the truth behind all the strange goings-on in Bunsfold – but danger has a habit of showing up wherever they do, and soon all that stands between our heroes and disaster is … a taciturn man in a white suit.

Available as an eBook and an eAudiobook
Narrated by Cel Spellman
Suitable for ages 8+

The doctor says Ed needs ‘correction shoes’. Disaster! Everybody will laugh at him. Ed uses every trick he can think of not to wear the shoes. He even tries DIY foot-straighteners! But it’s no use. The shoes arrive. Ed opens the box, and the shoes are not as bad as he’d thought. They’re worse!

Available as an eAudiobook
Narrated by Morgan C. Jones
Suitable for ages 6+

Two refugee brothers from Mongolia are determined to fit in with their Liverpool schoolmates, but bring so much of Mongolia to Bootle that their new friend and guide, Julie, is hard-pressed to know truth from fantasy as she recollects a wonderful friendship that was abruptly ended when Chingis and his family were forced to return to Mongolia. Told with the humour, warmth and brilliance of detail which characterises Frank Cottrell Boyce’s writing, The Unforgotten Coat is a magical and compelling story.

Available as an eAudiobook
Narrated by Katy Sobey
Suitable for ages 10+

Witches are creating havoc in the Wildwoods and danger lurks behind every tree trunk. Wish is in possession of a powerful, Magic Spelling Book. Xar has a dangerous Witchstain on his hand.

Wish and Xar are separated by the highest wall imaginable. But time is running out …

It was unlikely that these heroes should meet in the first place. Is it possible they are destined to meet TWICE?

Available as an eAudiobook
Narrated by David Tennant
Suitable for ages 8+

Eva is the girl with everything. Her parents throw her lavish parties in their luxury home, and her friends admire her designer clothes and manicured nails. But Eva’s world is turned upside down when her father loses his job.

Rich, spoilt, high-maintenance Eva Gordon likes fancy, sophisticated things, so when her parents sell their holiday home and their expensive car, Eva can’t understand why.

But when Eva’s dad loses his job and she has to move house and change schools, she realises life has changed for good. She’s determined to hate her new life, until a chance visit to a fortune teller gives her the idea that doing good may help her to get her old life back. Eva (with the help of her friend Victoria) starts to help all around her, whether they want it or not!

The story of Eva’s Journey from spoilt princess to pretty cool girl!

Available as an eBook and an eAudiobook
Narrated by Caroline Lennon
Suitable for ages 10+

Marge is back and exploring the neighbourhood with the kids! With some help from Jemima and Jake, can she stay in charge and keep ‘pirate’ baby Zara under control? And can the children make sure Marge behaves at Uncle Desmond and Annie’s wedding?

Available as an eBook and an eAudiobook
Narrated by Isla Fisher
Suitable for ages 5+

Twelve-year-old orphan Max Einstein (like Albert Einstein himself) is not your typical genius. Max hacks the computer system at NYU in order to attend college courses (even though she hates tests), builds homemade inventions to help the homeless, and plays speed chess in the park. Her not-so-normal life is crazy but predictable until …

Max is recruited by a mysterious organisation! Their mission: solve some of the world’s toughest problems using science. She’s helped by a diverse group of young geniuses from around the globe as they invent new ways to power the farthest reaches of the planet. But that’s only if the sinister outfit known only as The Corporation doesn’t get to her first …

Available as an eAudiobook
Narrated by Andrea Emmes
Suitable for ages 8+

Do you believe in magic?

Carter doesn’t. He knows magic tricks are just that – tricks. And as a street magician he’s also pretty good at them. But then Carter runs away from his conman uncle and he finds himself alone and in danger from dastardly carnival ringleader, B.B. Bosso. He could really use some magic now …

A chance encounter with the mysterious Mr Dante Vernon leads Carter to a magic shop, where he teams up with five other like-minded kids and the MAGIC MISFITS are born! Can the gang use their magical talents to save the day and stop B.B. stealing a priceless diamond?

Available as an eAudiobook
Narrated by Neil Patrick Harris
Suitable for ages 6+

He’s the first teacher to cook us breakfast.
Is his spark-maker beetle really that dangerous?
I heard he drank yak’s milk in Mongolia.
He’s the only person who isn’t afraid of Canteen Carol.
My mum says he used to be in the circus.

The class in room 12B has a new teacher, and nothing is ever going to be the same …

Available as an eAudiobook
Narrated by Kris Dyer
Suitable for ages 6+

Meet Barry, the fish with fingers, No-Bot, the robot with no bottom, and many more weird and wonderful characters in The Sue Hendra Collection! You will get lost in the colour and crazy worlds that the bestselling picture book author has created.

Available as an eAudiobook
Narrated by Sue Hendra
Suitable for ages 3+

Fergus is a boy with a big imagination and a very special bike. He is also the first member of the Hercules Hopefuls cycling team, set up by Grandpa Herc to fight off their arch rivals, Wallace’s Wheels. Fergus’s friend Daisy would love to join the team too, but she doesn’t have a bike – her mum thinks everything fun is dangerous. Maybe Grandpa Herc and Fergus can do up a bike from scratch for Daisy, with parts from Grandpa’s junk shop? Now it is just Daisy’s mum they need to persuade… Meanwhile Fergus takes a magical trip to Nevermore, where he and Princess Lily discover a magical compass bell once owned by Fergus’s dad. Can the bell provide a clue to the whereabouts of Fergus’s long-lost Dad?

Available as an eBook and an eAudiobook
Narrated by Sir Chris Hoy
Suitable for ages 5+

Cookie’s life is basically over.

Her best friend in the whole world is moving to Solihull because one of her dads has a new job there. Solihull?! Where even is that?! Cookie begs her parents for a pet to fill the void but they have given her an absolute NO. It would be way too expensive and way way too messy.

But Cookie has never been a fan of the word ‘no’ so she visits the pet shop anyway and sets her heart on the sweetest cutest kitteniest kitten ever: Bluey. But then . . . DISASTER! The most ANNOYING boy she’s ever met in her entire nine years goes into the pet shop, buys Bluey and renames her Nigel! And then he joins her year at school! And if that wasn’t bad enough, he moves in next door to her. AAAAGGGGHHHHH!

But it’s not all bad . . . Cookie gets the chance to go on her favourite TV show, Brainbusters. It’s only a chance though – she’ll have to win the school science competition first. It shouldn’t be too hard . . . all she has to do is keep her head down, and not get too over-excited. Unfortunately that’s not Cookie’s strong point…

Available as an eBook and an eAudiobook
Narrated by Konnie Huq
Suitable for ages 7+

Hanging from trees by her knees, doing handstands … for Beatrice Zinker, upside down works every time. She was definitely upside down when she and her best friend, Lenny, agreed to wear matching ninja suits on the first day of third grade. But when Beatrice shows up at school dressed in black, Lenny arrives with a cool new outfit and a cool new friend. Even worse, she seems to have forgotten all about the top-secret operation they planned!

Can Beatrice use her topsy-turvy way of thinking to save the mission, mend their friendship and flip things sunny-side up?

Available as an eAudiobook
Narrated by Roslyn Oades
Suitable for ages 7+

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. And while Frank knows he’s ruffled a few feathers, he doesn’t care – there’s just too much for him to crow about.

Until a certain young chick catches his eye, that is …

Available as an eAudiobook
Narrated by Andrew Sachs
Suitable for ages 6+

Incredibly, unbelievably, Roman’s cousin is marrying the cousin of Rosie Taylor (AKA The Worst Person Who Ever Lived). Roman can’t believe this (as Rosie says: ‘How can we be in the same family, we’re barely in the same species’).

Rosie’s parents decide they should go along together and ‘make a weekend of it’. Roman’s plus one is his best friend Gamble (probably the naughtiest kid in Europe) – and it’s the beginning of another big, messy, catastrophic and uproarious adventure for Roman – with Winnebagos, illegal thrash metal festivals and campsite beauty contests all thrown into the mix …

Available as an eBook and an eAudiobook
Narrated by Rupert Degas
Suitable for ages 8+

When her baby brother is kidnapped by crows, Prue McKeel begins an adventure that will take her and her friend Curtis way beyond her hometown and deep into the Impassable Wilderness. There they uncover a secret world in the midst of violent upheaval, a world full of warring creatures, peace-loving mystics and powerful figures with the darkest intentions. What begins as a rescue mission becomes something much bigger as the two friends find themselves entwined in a struggle for the very freedom of this wilderness. A wilderness the locals call Wildwood.

Available as an eBook and an eAudiobook
Narrated by Amanda Plummer
Suitable for ages 8+

When young Anna inherits a dilapidated once-grand hotel from her Great Aunt Mathilde, she’s determined to restore it to its former glory. But this is no ordinary hotel – all of her staff and guests are animals! Anna soon rises to the challenge. Whether it’s a flamingo, a penguin or a hippo knocking at the door, Anna is ready to welcome them all – with the help of her trusty sidekicks T Bear the doorman, Squeak the friendly elevator mouse, and Lemmy the lemur receptionist … As she soon finds out, though, running an animal hotel is no easy task. Can Anna make Hotel Flamingo a success once more?

Available as an eBook and an eAudiobook
Narrated by Sarah Ovens
Suitable for ages 5+

Nilly is new to the neighbourhood, but is quick to make friends: Doctor Proctor, an eccentric professor; and Lisa, who is teased by the twin terrors Truls and Trym. Nilly and Lisa help Doctor Proctor develop his latest invention, a powder that makes you fart. The powder makes Nilly and Lisa very popular at school when they sell it for fifty cents a bag. And they get revenge on Truls and Trym by giving them an extra-strength dose of fart powder that shoots them up into a tree!

It’s all good farty fun. That is, until someone steals the industrial-strength fart powder. Now Doctor Proctor’s ticket to fame is in the hands of an enemy with evil intentions…

Available as an eAudiobook
Narrated by Miriam Margolyes
Suitable for ages 6+

It’s Martha’s birthday and the village has planned a surprise party for her – but grumpy witch Griselda Gritch ruins the surprise!

Not to worry – Martha’s biggest birthday wish comes true when her mum and dad return from their tropical trip especially for her party. Everyone is delighted (apart from grumpy Griselda) and excited to have fun with Martha’s present: the Mysterious Mask of Truth, brought back from her parents’ far-flung travels. Fun, that is, until the truth starts causing everyone quite a lot of embarrassment …

Available as an eBook and an eAudiobook
Narrated by Amy Enticknap
Suitable for ages 5+

It’s 2099. Lyla lives in a world of robocats, flying sweets and instant snow, but some things never change. Little brothers are still annoying, school teachers make you cringe, and, when your best friend deserts you for the new girl, it still HURTS. Especially when that new girl is from the Moon. But Lyla’s problems lead her into unexpected adventures …

Available as an eAudiobook
Narrated by Eloise Mignon
Suitable for ages 7+

Meet Billie B Brown! Do you know what the B stands for? It’s for Brave, Brilliant and Bold!

The Billie B misadventures have quickly become favourites for girls all over the world. This audio collection brings together five favourite Billie B Brown books in one volume.

Available as an eAudiobook
Narrated by Eloise Mignon
Suitable for ages 5+

A hilarious and irresistible collection of stories from two of the best-known figures in the children’s book world, Michael Rosen and Tony Ross.

Burping Bertha: On an ordinary morning, in an ordinary flat, an up-till-now perfectly ordinary Bertha does an extraordinary burp. A burp so humongously big that very soon it’s causing havoc in the school canteen, the playground, not to mention her grandad’s apple trees …

Bob the Bursting Bear: Leaving Toy School for his new home, Bob the Bear thinks he knows all there is to being loved and cuddled. But in the end it is a surprising and unusual talent that helps him most of all …

Fluff the Farting Fish: Elvie is desperate for a puppy that she can train up to do amazing tricks. But it’s not a puppy Mum returns from the pet shop with, it’s a fish …

Bilal’s Brilliant Bee: Bilal is terrible at tests, but luckily he has a new friend: a talking bumble bee who can help him answer all the questions. Even ones on a popular TV quiz show …

Available as an eAudiobook
Narrated by Michael Rosen
Suitable for ages 5+

After crashing hundreds of miles from civilisation in the Amazon rainforest, Fred, Con, Lila and Max are utterly alone and in grave danger. They have no food, no water and no chance of being rescued. But they are alive, and they have hope.

As they negotiate the wild jungle, they begin to find signs that something – someone – has been there before them. Could there possibly be a way out after all?

Available as an eAudiobook
Narrated by Peter Noble
Suitable for ages 8+

When Stella is dumped at summer camp while her mum goes off on a posh honeymoon, things start badly. In the first few minutes she’s mistaken for a boy and put in a room with snobby Louise and nasty Karen. Then she finds out she’ll have to take dreaded swimming lessons, the one thing mum promised she wouldn’t have to do. Can things get any worse?

Available as an eAudiobook
Narrated by Kelly Hunter
Suitable for ages 8+

A collection of gorgeous stories from Quentin Blake and John Yeoman.

Including:
The Bear’s Winter House
Beatrice and Vanessa
The Heron and the Crane
Mouse Trouble
Mr Nodd’s Ark
Rumbelow’s Dance
Sixes and Sevens
Up With Birds
The Wild
Washerwomen
The Young
Performing Horse

Available as an eAudiobook
Narrated by Stephen Thorne
Suitable for ages 4+

Today, the options and freedoms on offer to LGBTQ+ people living in the West are greater than ever before. But is same-sex marriage, improved media visibility and corporate endorsement all it’s cracked up to be? At what cost does this acceptance come? And who is getting left behind, particularly in parts of the world where LGBTQ+ rights aren’t so advanced?

Combining intrepid journalism with her own personal experience, Amelia Abraham searches for the answers to these urgent challenges, as well as the broader question of what it means to be queer in 2019. With curiosity, good humour and disarming openness, Amelia takes the reader on a thought-provoking and entertaining journey. Join her as she cries at the first same-sex marriage in Britain, loses herself in the world’s biggest drag convention in L.A., marches at Pride parades across Europe, visits both a transgender model agency and the Anti-Violence Project in New York to understand the extremes of trans life today, parties in the clubs of Turkey’s underground LGBTQ+ scene, and meets a genderless family in progressive Stockholm.

Available as an eBook and an eAudiobook
Narrated by Amelia Abraham
Non-Fiction

Our relentless drive to create makes us unique among living creatures. What is special about the human brain that enables us to innovate? Why don’t cows choreograph dances? Why don’t squirrels build elevators to their treetops? Why don’t alligators invent speedboats?

Weaving together the arts and sciences, neuroscientist David Eagleman and composer Anthony Brandt explore the need for novelty, the simulation of possible futures, and the social components that drive the inventiveness of our species. Taking us on a tour of human creativity from Picasso to concept cars to umbrellas to lunar travel, Brandt and Eagleman explore the cognitive software that generates new ideas, and illuminate the key facets of a creative mentality. Through understanding our ability to innovate – our most profound, mysterious, and deeply human capacity – we can meet the challenge of remaking our constantly shifting world.

Available as an eBook and an eAudiobook
Narrated by Mauro Hantman
Non-Fiction

April 1941, Romsey, England. 

Josephine ‘Josy’ Fox hasn’t set foot in Romsey in over 20 years. As an illegitimate child, her family – headed by her controlling grandfather – found her an embarrassment. Now, she wants to return to what was once her home and uncover the secret of her parentage. Who was her father, and why would her mother never talk about him? 

Josy arrives the day after the Luftwaffe have bombed the town. The local pub, The Cricketers’ Arms, has been completely destroyed, and rescue teams are searching for the remains of the seven people known to be in the pub at the time the bomb hit. They are shocked, however, to uncover eight bodies, not seven. The unidentified eighth body is that of a teenage girl, whom no one in the town claims to know. Who is she, how did she get there, but most importantly – who killed her? 

Teaming up with local coroner and old friend Bram Nash, Josy sets out to establish the identity of the girl and solve the riddle of her death. In doing so, she also uncovers her own personal mystery.

Be careful what you wish for….

Available as an eBook and an eAudiobook
Narrated by Lucy Price-Lewis
Fiction

Nuri is a beekeeper; his wife, Afra, an artist. They live a simple life, rich in family and friends, in the beautiful Syrian city of Aleppo – until the unthinkable happens. When all they care for is destroyed by war, they are forced to escape.

Afra has lost her sight, and so they embark on a periluosjourney towards an uncertain future in Britain. As they travel, Nuri is sustained by the knowledge that waiting for them is his beekeeper cousin Mustafa, who is teaching fellow refugees in Yorkshire to keep bees.

Nuri and Afra set off through a broken world, on a dangerous journey in which they will confront the pain of their unfathomable loss, and in doing so find a way back to each other again.

Available as an eBook and an eAudiobook
Narrated by Art Malik
Fiction

When retired actor Buffy decides to up sticks from London and move to rural Wales, he has no idea what he is letting himself in for.

In possession of a run-down B&B that leans more towards the shabby than the chic and is miles from nowhere, he realises he needs to fill the beds – and fast.

Enter a motley collection of guests: Harold, whose wife has run off with a younger woman; Amy, who’s been unexpectedly dumped by her (not-so) weedy boyfriend and Andy, the hypochondriac postman whose girlfriend is much too much for him to handle.

But under Buffy’s watchful eye, this disparate group of strangers find they have more in common than perhaps they first thought.

Available as an eAudiobook
Narrated by Nicky Henson
Fiction

The next hand he deals you … may be your last.

A serial killer is loose on the streets of Manhattan. His victims appear to be total strangers. The only clue that links the crimes is the playing card left behind at each scene that hints at the next target.

The killer, known in the tabloids as The Dealer, is baiting the police into a deadly guessing game that has the city increasingly on edge. Following her instincts, the tenacious cop in charge of the case turns to an unlikely ally – Dylan Reinhart, a brilliant professor with a keen insight into the criminal mind whose book turned up in connection with the murders.

As the tabloid frenzy over The Dealer reaches fever pitch, Dylan and Elizabeth must connect the clues to discover what the victims have in common before The Dealer runs through his entire deck.

Available as an eAudiobook
Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini
Fiction

So says Miss Jean Brodie, a teacher unlike any other. She is proud and cultured. A romantic, with progressive, sometimes shocking ideas and aspirations for the girls in her charge. When she decides to transform a select group of pupils into the ‘crème de la crème’ at the Marcia Blaine School they become the Brodie set. In exchange for their undivided loyalty, the girls earn a special place of honour and privilege within the school. Yet they are also introduced to a startling new world of adult games and intrigues, and as boundaries are crossed so the difficulties start to unfold.

Available as an eBook and an eAudiobook
Narrated by Miriam Margolyes
Fiction

Rose Woodrowe has just got engaged to Tyler Masson – a wonderful, sensitive man who is head-over-heels in love with her. The only problem? This isn’t the first time for either of them, and their five grown-up children have strong opinions on the matter . . .
Like Rose’s daughter, Laura, who remembers her parents’ painful divorce and doesn’t want to see her mother hurt again. Or the twins, Emmy and Nat, who simply don’t trust the man their mother has fallen for. Then there’s Tyler’s children: Seth, too busy with his San Francisco sourdough bakery to get to know his father’s new partner; and Mallory, the aspiring actress, who is still wrestling with the issues of her own childhood.
Who to listen to? Who to please? Rose and Tyler are determined to get it right this time, but in trying to make everyone happy, can they ever be happy themselves?

Available as an eBook and an eAudiobook
Narrated by Samantha Bond
Fiction

When Joe Lynch stumbles across his wife driving into a hotel car park while she’s supposed to be at work, he’s intrigued enough to follow her in.

And when he witnesses her in an angry altercation with family friend Ben, he knows he ought to intervene.

But just as the confrontation between the two men turns violent, and Ben is knocked unconscious, Joe’s young son has an asthma attack – and Joe must flee in order to help him.

When he returns, desperate to make sure Ben is OK, Joe is horrified to find that Ben has disappeared.

And that’s when Joe receives the first message …

Available as an eAudiobook
Narrated by Leighton Pugh
Fiction