New Releases by Angela McAllister

When Nancy and her accident-prone pen pal Ally meet for the first time, the unlikely duo discover that they are more like sisters than just good friends.

It''s a big day for Ollie. For the first time he is allowed to go to the shops on his own to buy some cheese for his mum (and some sweets for himself). Although Mum warns him of many things to watch out for on the way there are some that she has just failed to mention. When Ollie returns home safely with the correct change, some cheese and sweets, he reassures Mum to trust him but doesn''t mention all the adventures he had on the way.

Diego siempre quiso tener una mascota. Algo grande y salvaje. Así que cuando su padre trae a casa un hámster, Diego le pone el nombre de "Monstruo" e intenta amaestrarlo para que se convierta en la fiera que realmente quiere. Pero Monstruo no va a buscar palos ni trepa a los árboles y Diego pierde interés por él. Entonces, de una manera extraña, se intercambian los papeles y Diego experimenta lo que se siente siendo una mascota y entiende que no se ha comportado como debía. A partir de 5 o 6 años. Un divertido cuento con moraleja sobre la responsabilidad y las recompensas de tener una mascota.

Ruby and her son, Little Joe, are hand-me-down toy kangaroos. Arriving at their new home, they are surprised to discover that the fine, expensive toys there just sit on the shelf - which probably explains why they''re all so unfriendly. It''s not until Little Joe is thrown out with the rubbish that the other toys finally rally together to help reunite Ruby with her Little Joe. A touching story about the power of love.

Today is Ollie’s very first trip to the store by himself. His mom has taught him well, so he knows exactly what to do: be safe, be polite, and never talk to strangers. But what will Ollie do when he is faced with a bug-eyed monster, a cackling witch, or two threatening aliens? Mom didn’t warn him about them! But Ollie isn’t worried; he knows just how to handle these kinds of calamities… With a little luck and imagination, an ordinary errand becomes an adventure in this silly story for kids who really can take care of themselves—no matter what comes their way.

An imaginative little girl and her mother come home from shopping to find a lion playing in their house, so they must stay--and play--outside until bedtime, when the lion must go home.

After asking for a big, wild, and exciting pet, Jackson receives a boring hamster and quickly forgets to care for it, with frightening results.

Discover the joys and responsibilities of pet care from a whole new perspective! 2 yrs+

Poor Little Elephant is stuck in a rowboat in the middle of the lake! A succession of weird and wonderful people want to get across, but why? And how will Little Elephant manage to save the day?

Milo always goes to sleep with his beloved Raggy, a toy so old and loved that no one can remember what she is. But one stormy night Raggy gets lost. Milo tries to find her and he finds himself in the night market, the place where strange and wonderful creatures sell the stuff of dreams.

''Blue Rabbit slept in a very big bed with a very big pillow. But Blue Rabbit didn''t feel lost in his very big bed because every night he had his Boy to cuddle.'' Blue Rabbit loves his Boy, and his Boy loves him! But one day Boy disappears and Blue Rabbit spends all of his time looking for Boy everywhere. His friends help him, but Boy is nowhere to be found. Gradually Blue Rabbit''s eyes lose their sparkle, and his whiskers droop. Where on earth can Boy be? But finally Boy appears - sunburnt and happy, and the two friends are reunited.

A young boy and his dog spend an afternoon playing with a cardboard box and imagining that it has become all sorts of exciting things.

This extraordinarily beautiful bedtime book, a gentle twist on the classic lost-toy story, features an irresistible plush rabbit. Blue Rabbit is loved by his Boy, and everything seems fine until one night Boy doesn''t come to his bed where Blue Rabbit sleeps with him every night. The other stuffed animals help Blue Rabbit search the house, but they find only a photograph:no sign of the boy at all. Finally, nearly inconsolable, Blue Rabbit hides away in the bed to cry. Then suddenly an eye peeks under the covers and it is Boy! Since he is browner and his clothes have shrunk, Blue Rabbit assumes that "he must have been left out in the garden in the rain." Of course, he has been away on a summer vacation, and though he seems a bit different, when they hug each other tight, Blue Rabbit knows his Boy hasn''t really changed at all,"for he was still soft and warm and stuffed with love."

Little wombat is very excited. He''s playing hide and seek with his friends Rabbit and Koala today!

Barkus and Sly are foxes who have the unfortunate habit of sneaking out at night and stealing things from around and about. On one of these night-time excursions they find themselves the proud owners of three chickens. One for supper for three whole days! Yum. But the chickens have no intention of being eaten and pretty soon they''re masterminding a brilliant war of resistance to the foxes rumbling tummies.

“Night-night, little one,” says Duffy’s mommy, but the little rabbit cannot fall asleep. He moves his toys around: monkey next to mouse, big bear next to little bear, and duck in the middle. But it doesn’t help. Mommy brings him a drink of water, but that doesn’t help either. So Duffy starts singing a song to monkey, but that only gets him in trouble for making too much noise. Duffy’s not scared of the nighttime; he’s just lonely and bored because nothing ever happens in the dark. So Mommy sits down and tells him all about the nighttime, when Mr. Fox takes his walk, the Hedgehog family go looking for snails, and Herbert the little badger plays in the very same woods that Duffy plays in during the day. Poor Duffy is getting awfully sleepy now, and as the moon slips its night light into his bedroom, he falls fast asleep. From the Hardcover edition.

A well-behaved boy learns to have a bit more fun when a new babysitter arrives.

Jack is four and his little sister Lily is two, and their world will be utterly familiar to all small children. A new washing machine being delivered; choosing new shoes; making friends with a dog in the park; a new babysitter; helping in the kitchen; hiding something and forgetting where: all these themes and more are covered in the stories. Written and illustrated with the greatest charm, they are warm and comfortable in tone, with a gentle humour and appealing characters that children of Jack and Lily''s age will relate to. This is a lovely family book, reminiscent of Shirley Hughes''s bestselling Alfie and Annie Rose books. Angela McAllister writes out of her own experience as a mother of small children, and Phillida Gili illustrates each page with delightful colour pictures of the children, their toys and pets, and their small adventures indoors and outdoors.

Clever Cowboy enters a "pancake tossin''" contest in Yippeville with the hope of winning first prize, a telescope that could help his ma look for his long-lost sister, Kate.

Dinny is wild about dinosaurs. She persuades her parents to take her on a dinosaur holiday. They live in a cave and hunt for food. While Dinny''s parents adjust to their primitive, prehistoric lifestyle, Dinny goes off exploring and is befriended by two young dinosaurs.

On his rooftop, Ellie''s grandfather needs a special kind of garden that the wind won''t destroy.

Summary: While Anna lies sick with a fever, her father tells her stories about an ice palace in a land of icy cold and plans a marvelous surprise for her.

Elsa thinks her little brother imagines seeing a snow angel until she meets the angel herself.

Each naptime the babies of Cockle Bay are babysat by Lily Bolero, whose resourcefulness is put to the test when pirates visit. Suggested level: preschool, junior.

In verse. Ella, half-awake, half asleep floats off into magical dream worlds; she dives down to coral caves, rows on a boat downstream, but finally she falls asleep in her own bed at home.