Merry ​Meerkat Madness

Eoin Colfer - Benny ​and Omar
Two ​cultures meet in this hilarious book about a young sports fanatic named Benny who is forced to leave his home in Ireland and move with his family to Tunisia. He wonders how he will survive in such an unfamiliar place. Then he teams up with wild and resourceful Omar, and a madcap friendship between the two boys leads to trouble, escapades, a unique way of communicating, and ultimately a heartbreaking challenge.

Nicholas Oldland - Big ​Bear Hug
A ​huge bear is wandering through the forest - but wait a minute! Who's that he's hugging? A beaver? And a moose? And a bird? And a tree? Welcome to the world of Big Bear Hug, a contemporary fable about a bear who has an appetite for hugging everything in sight - even creatures that bears have been known to eat. One day, the benevolent bear meets up with a human. This human proceeds to do something the bear cannot understand: he raises his axe and begins to cut down a tree. Suddenly the bear doesn't feel like hugging anymore and must make a difficult decision on how to stop this destruction in his forest. The environmental message of Big Bear Hug is both funny and powerful, while simple enough to engage very young children and show them the awesome power of a hug.

Jean Webster - Daddy-Long-Legs
A ​trustee of the John Grier orphanage has offered to send Judy Abbott to college. The only requirements are that she must write to him every month, and that she can never know who he is. Judy's life at college is a whirlwind of friends, classes, parties, and a growing friendship with the handsome Jervis Pendleton. With so much happening in her life, Judy can scarcely stop writing to the mysterious "Daddy-Long-Legs"!

Kenneth Grahame - The ​Wind in the Willows
This ​is the much-loved classic tales of Ratty, Mole, Badger and Toad. When Mole goes boating with Ratty instead of doing his spring-cleaning, he discovers a whole new world. As well as adventures on the river and in the Wild Wood, there are high jinks on the open road with that reckless ruffian, Mr Toad of Toad Hall. Ratty, Mole, Badger and Toad become the firmest of friends, but after Toad's latest escapade, can they join together and beat the wretched weasels once and for all?

Dr. Seuss - Thidwick ​the Big-Hearted Moose
Thidwick ​the big-hearted moose is happy his antlers "can be of some use" to a menagerie of animals who move in and make themselves at home. "A host has to put up with all kinds of pests. For a host, above all, must be kind to his guests." With his unique combination of hilarious stories, zany pictures and riotous rhymes, Dr. Suess has been delighting young children and helping them learn to read for over fifty years. Creator of the wonderfully anarchic Cat in the Hat, and ranked among the UK's top ten favourite children's authors, Dr. Seuss is a global best-seller, with nearly half a billion books sold worldwide. As part of a major rebrand programme, HarperCollins is relaunching Dr. Seuss's best-selling books. In response to consumer demand, bright new cover designs incorporate much-needed guidance on reading levels. The standard paperbacks divide into three reading strands -- Blue Back Books for parents to share with young children, Green Back Books for budding readers to tackle on their own, and Yellow Back Books for older, more fluent readers to enjoy. This is a Yellow Back book.

Giles Andreae - Giraffes ​Can't Dance
All ​the jungle's got the beat, but Gerald the giraffe has four left feet. Such is the dilemma in this British team's bouncy if didactic picture book about self-esteem. As a multitude of fleet-footed beasts eagerly "skip and prance" at the annual Jungle Dance in Africa, Gerald feels sad "because when it comes to dancing/ he was really very bad." Jeered by waltzing warthogs and cha-cha-ing chimps when he attempts to cut a rug, Gerald hangs his head and leaves the celebration behind. Luckily, a friendly cricket appears in the moonlight, chirping a morale-boosting song of self-confidence that soon sets Gerald in graceful motion. Andreae's rhyming text has a jaunty rhythm that's likely to spark interest in the read-aloud crowd, in spite of a heavy-handed message. Parker-Rees's kicky depictions of slightly anthropomorphic animals boogying on the dance floor are the highlight here. His watercolor and pen-and-ink artwork exudes a fun, party vibe. Ages 3-6.

Roald Dahl - Matilda ​(angol)
Matilda ​is an extraordinarily gifted four-year-old whose parentsa crass, dishonest used-car dealer and a self-centered, blowsy bingo addictregard her as "nothing more than a scab." Life with her beastly parents is bearable only because Matilda teaches herself to read, finds the public library, and discovers literature. Also, Matilda loves using her lively intelligence to perpetrate daring acts of revenge on her father. This pastime she further develops when she enrolls in Crunchem Hall Primary School, whose headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, is "a fierce tyrannical monster . . . ." Adults may cringe at Dahl's excesses in describing the cruel Miss Trunchbull, as well as his reliance on overextended characterization at the expense of plot development. Children, however, with their keenly developed sense of justice, will relish the absolutes of stupidity, greed, evil and might versus intelligence, courage and goodness. They also will sail happily through the contrived, implausible ending. Dahl's phenomenal popularity among children speaks for his breathless storytelling charms; his fans won't be disappointed by Matilda. Blake's droll pen-and-ink sketches extend the exaggerated humor. Ages 9-11.

Stephen Cosgrove - Fanny
Sharing ​life lessons and memorable morals, the Serendipity(tm) books are a seasoned favorite with children and parents alike. So journey to the magical, mystical land of Serendipity(tm) with these four cherished editions featuring newly revised text from the author. Fanny, a kitten with only three legs, and her friend Ruby, a puppy, help the other farm animals learn that being handicapped is only a state of mind.

Holly Black - Tony DiTerlizzi - The ​Ironwood Tree
First ​a pack of vile, smelly goblins snatch Simon. Then a band of elves try to entrap Jared. Why is the entire faerie world so eager to get their hands on Spiderwick's Guide? And will the Grace kids be left alone, now that the Guide has mysteriously disappeared? Don't count on it. At school, someone is running around pretending to be Jared, and it's not Simon. To make matters even worse, now Mallory has disappeared and something foul in the water is killing off all the plants and animals for miles around. Clues point to the old abandoned quarry, just outside of town. Dwarves have taken over an abandoned mine there. And the faerie world's abuzz with the news that a creature with plans to rule the world has offered them a gift to join with him -- he's given them a queen...

Tove Jansson - Moominsummer ​Madness
When ​a flood sweeps through the valley, the Moomins must find a new house. And with typical Moomin good luck, one just happens to be floating by. It looks normal enough, but there are curtains where one wall should be, strange rows of lights, and other odd amenities. Then Moomintroll and the Snork Maiden disappear, and the family realize that the house may hold the answers to more than they ever dreamed.

Neil Gaiman - Fortunately, ​the Milk
While ​picking up milk for his children's cereal, a father is abducted by aliens and finds himself on a wild adventure through time and space.

Paul Bright - Morcos ​Borz karácsonya
Közeledik ​a karácsony, ezért mindenki izgatott - kivéve Morcos Borzot. BADARSÁG! - kiabál. - Én tavaszig aludni fogok, és ha valaki felébreszt, hát IGAZÁN morcos leszek. Ám Morcos Borznak három látogatója is érkezik... és valaki veszélybe kerül. Vajon Borz rájön-e, hogy hibázott, mielőtt túl késő lenne? Elbűvölő karácsonyi történet, amely megnevetteti a gyerekeket!

Julia Donaldson - The ​Gruffalo's Child
Julia ​Donaldson and Axel Scheffler team up again to create this funny and adorable sequel to The Gruffalo. One night, the Gruffalo’s child wanders into the woods to search for the Big Bad Mouse. But instead, she comes upon a small mouse in the woods . . . and decides to eat him! But wait, what is that? A shadow of a very large, scary creature falls on the ground. Could it be the Big Bad Mouse after all?

Christopher Healy - The ​Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom
Prince ​Liam. Prince Frederic. Prince Duncan. Prince Gustav. You've never heard of them, have you? These are the princes who saved Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel, respectively, and yet, thanks to those lousy bards who wrote the tales, you likely know them only as Prince Charming. But all of this is about to change. Rejected by their princesses and cast out of their castles, Liam, Frederic, Duncan, and Gustav stumble upon an evil plot that could endanger each of their kingdoms. Now it's up to them to triumph over their various shortcomings, take on trolls, bandits, dragons, witches, and other assorted terrors, and become the heroes no one ever thought they could be. Debut author Christopher Healy takes us on a journey with four imperfect princes and their four improbable princesses, all of whom are trying to become perfect heroes--a fast-paced, funny, and fresh introduction to a world where everything, even our classic fairy tales, is not at all what it seems.

Alan Alexander Milne - Hatévesek ​lettünk / Now We Are Six
"Ahol ​én vagyok, ott van Micimackó, együtt vagyunk mindenképpen." "Wherever I am, there's always Pooh, There's always Pooh and Me."

Mary Norton - The ​Borrowers
Pod, ​Homily and Arrietty are a familly of tiny people who live beneath the floor, behind the kitchen clock. Everything they have is borrowed from the "human beans" who don't even know they exist. That is, until the fateful day when Arrietty makes friends with "the boy upstairs".

Christopher Healy - The ​Hero's Guide to Being an Outlaw
The ​League of Princes returns in the hilariously epic conclusion to the hit series that began with Christopher Healy's The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, which the Los Angeles Times called "one of the more clever, hilariously successful incarnations of the current literary rage to rip apart and rewrite fairy tales." Prince Liam. Prince Frederic. Prince Duncan. Prince Gustav. You think you know those guys pretty well by now, don't you? Well, think again. Posters plastered across the thirteen kingdoms are saying that Briar Rose has been murdered—and the four Princes Charming are the prime suspects. Now they're on the run in a desperate attempt to clear their names. Along the way, however, they discover that Briar's murder is just one part of a nefarious plot to take control of all thirteen kingdoms—a plot that will lead to the doorstep of an eerily familiar fortress for a final showdown with an eerily familiar enemy.

Jacob Grimm - Wilhelm Grimm - Grimms' ​Fairy Tales
The ​Brothers Grimm rediscovered a host of fairy tales, telling of princes and princesses in their castles, witches in their towers and forests, of giants and dwarves, of fabulous animals and dark deeds. This selection of their folk tales was made and translated by Lucy Crane, and includes firm favourites such as _Rapunzel, The Goose Girl, Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretel_ and _Snow White._ It is illustrated throughout by Walter Crane's charming line drawings.

Alan Alexander Milne - Winnie-the-Pooh
,,You're ​the Best Bear in All the World,' said Christopher Robin. 'Am I?' said Pooh hopefully. Meet the world's favourite bear in this delightful collection, in which Pooh gets into a tight place, nearly catches a woozle, and discovers the wrong sort of honey — amonpst other things!"

Anne Fine - The ​More the Merrier
In ​Ralph's house, Christmas means ten or more relatives coming to stay, including nutty Great-Aunt Ida and ghastly cousin Titania. Jammed into one house for three days, with Uncle Tristram hurling potatoes at the cat and Mum on the verge of a breakdown, it soon becomes obvious that more definitely does not mean merrier.