New Releases by Brian Patten

A very small mouse sets out to find something special―the biggest creature in the world. Along her journey, she meets a menagerie of animals who want to join her in her quest, including a frog, a badger, and a tiger. She visits lakes, rivers, woods, and even climbs a mountain and stops by a zoo. Finally, she arrives at the ocean. Will she finally find the biggest animal of all? From the world-renowned team of author Brian Patten and illustrator Nicola Bayley, this gentle story is a celebration of the world''s wide variety of living creatures. While the poetic text and cumulative tale treatment pull readers along, the gorgeous colored pencil art will have little ones lost in the wonders of the natural world.

A stunning prose retelling of Beowulf from an author-illustrator dream-team. One dark night, the music and singing wake a monster from a swamp ... Warrior after warrior comes to slay the monster, but no one can outwit Grendel. Only the great hero Beowulf stands a chance - but even he is not prepared for the horror that lies in wait.

A Restricted View From Under The Hedge (In The Springtime) is a stunning collection of some of the finest contemporary poetry. Including new work from Chen Chen, D.M. Thomas, Robert Sheppard, Sophie Hannah, Mimi Khalvati, Bill Herbert, Megan Falley, Moniza Alvi, Sanjeev Sethi and Eileen Myles. Additionaly, it features, Brian Patten Talking to Eileen Carney Hulme Alison Lock Penny Rimbaud Paul Moss Matt Duggan Patricia Oxley Charlotte Begg Sandra Beasley S.A. Leavelsey Isabelle Kenyon Artwork From Moose

Gargling with Jelly by Brian Patten, one of our best-loved poets. Hilarious, lyrical, outrageous and serious poems all rub shoulders in this collection. Naughty children with nasty habits, cartoon heroes that come to life, lonely caretakers, unhappy ghosts, fantastical creatures with crazy names, giants, goblins, vampires, mermaids ... there''s never a dull moment in this marvellously quirky and refreshing jelly pot!

A baby blown out of an upstairs window by a WWII bomb lives to hear others tell the tale… A woman embarks on a long-term obsession with a city landmark, abandoning her lover for the Liver… A bricklayer working on the foundations of a never-built cathedral becomes its evangelist, its full splendour soaring only in his mind… Bringing together fiction from some of the city’s most celebrated writers, The Book of Liverpool traces the unique contours that decades of social and economic change can impress on a city. Set against key historical moments from the Second World War to the Capital of Culture year, these stories question what ‘belonging’ and ‘home’ mean in the Liverpudlian context, from the regenerated city centre to satellite suburbs, from the sparring cathedrals to the no-go concrete housing estates. Liverpool emerges in these short stories as a city in constant flux: haunted by ghosts, buoyed up by myths, and shifting with an ebb and flow like the Mersey itself. "A literary gem that will share a niche in my library with M.R. James and E. F. Benson..." - Metapsychology online Read review. "Words thrive here, carried on the saline breeze of the Mersey and twisted round agile tongues into sentences as resilient as the sandstone blocks in the Town Hall walls..." - The Liverpool Daily Post, 11 Jul 08 Read review.

It all started with a scarecrow coming into the house out of the snow, bringing with him the mouse that lived up his sleeve. But it wasn''t only these two who were looking for a warm place to snuggle up!

"I nibbled a mother, But wanting something new I boiled a bit of Granny And tried some Uncle-stew. I did not eat the baby, That was out of the question. (And anyway they wriggle And cause indigestion.) Ever joined a Giant''s family dinner, kept a pet wig, thawed a frozen frog or snaffled a giraffe? Thawing Frozen Frogs is a brilliantly inventive collection from one of the UK''s top performance poets, including a wide range of poems that showcase Brian Patten''s wit, slapstick humour, wisdom and sensitivity - and his poetry''s huge appeal to children of all ages. Perfect for reading at school or at home, out loud or by yourself. Illustrated with Chris Riddell''s funny and illuminating line drawings.

Of all the poets writing today, Brian Patten is perhaps the most accessible and popular. Now his love poems, old and new, are collected together in his single volume.

A selection of Brian Patten''s best work over the last forty-five years, chosen by the poet himself. The earliest of these poems, ''Sleep Now'', was written when Patten was fifteen, the latest when he was sixty. Presented in rough chronological order, the selection includes a dozen new poems.

Roger McGough and Brian Patten have selected the very best of their animal poems in order to help two loveable monsters from outer space who visit Earth in search of a pet and need a bit of guidance...Split into sections, the monsters are introduced to animals that fly, swim, crawl and purr by two of our greatest childrens poets. Illustrated in Guy Parker-Rees'' lively and intimitable style.

A magical story that weaves together fifty world tales, by a renowned poet, and illustrated by 2002 Greenaway Medal winner Chris Riddell.

Unfeasibly funny sequel to the popular Impossible Parents - part of the Sprinters series relaunch Poor Ben and Mary Norm. Their parents have decided to become ecologists and are getting it impossibly wrong. First they ditch their clothes, then the TV and now they''re eating yak cheese Worst of all, the kids at school have found out, and Ben and Mary are a laughing stock... again If only their parents could go back to being normally impossible, rather than ecologically impossible. But then Mary has an idea that might just work...

A great new collection of poetry, wide-ranging in both form and subject matter. Full of Brian Patten''s wonderful wit and moments of beauty as in GERANIUMS IN THE SNOW: Like children snuggling down under a white duvet Slowly the red geraniums Vanish under the snow. Brilliantly complemented by Chris Riddell''s illustrations.

One day a shy little creature looked at its reflection in a frozen pond. But the little creature doesn''t know who it is. And so starts an important quest of identity.

Ben Norm and his sister Mary take care over their appearance. They like to look good, while fitting in with the rest of the kids at school. But their parents are impossible Dad has a scruffy ponytail and a nosering and Mum is a belly dancer who wears a fishnet bodystocking. Why can''t they be respectable like other kids'' parents? And how can they be stopped from totally mortifying Ben and Mary at Parents'' Day? But, when the big day arrives, there are surprises in store for everyone

A collection of poetry casting light upon the world we live in, and upon the darker corners of the self. The book tries to make sense of a world which is chaotic with unemployment, in-and-out affairs, street violence, hip vicars and terrorism among many other themes.

Uncle Elliot and Mrs. Battyhats are the craziest new neighbours Jimmy can imagine. Not only do they look daft and say the oddest things, but they have real secret adventures on which Jimmy is always invited.

When Danny Harris knocks over a witch, she puts a spell on his bike, and he''s off on a non-stop journey around the world. Adapted from T̀he saga of the doomed cyclist''. Rhyming text suitable for reading aloud. 4-8 yrs.