New Releases by Diana Hendry

In search of the perfect holly with shiny berries to decorate his Christmas tree, Little Mouse begins to make his way home. Suddenly soft white flakes begin falling all around him. "The sky is coming undone!" fears Little Mouse. As he hurries home to tell Big Mouse his imagination overwhelms him. First, he sees a "strange creature" waving its arms at him as he passes the water. Then when he turns around he sees that an invisible monster is leaving footprints right behind him! Finally, after running circles Little Mouse arrives home only to find a giant "white monster" in front of the door. When Big Mouse finds Little Mouse outside he reassures him that the sky is not coming undone, but that it is snowing; after explaining away lIttle Mouse''s fears, he shows Little Mouse that snow makes for a magical Christmas indeed.

When Little Mouse can''t sleep because of all the noises he hears outside, it''s Big Mouse to the rescue in this padded board book featuring a story perfect for calming fears at bedtime. Little Mouse can''t sleep. He can hear huffing and puffing outside the house. Something is tapping on the window, and there''s someone calling "Hoo-hoo! Hoo-hoo!" out there, too! Little Mouse asks if he can sleep in Big Mouse''s bed. But Big Mouse is determined that Little Mouse should sleep in his own bed. Can Big Mouse help Little Mouse with his fears or will they both be up all night long trying to get to sleep?

Everyone knows that little sisters can be a handful. But this little sister is more - she''s a zoo-ful ! A fresh and funny picture book from much-loved author Diana Hendry. This little sister is a monkey, a bear, a camel, a penguin, a crocodile... Her big brother just wishes she''d be a little girl now and again. After all, you can''t cuddle a crocodile... A wonderful imaginative romp from an award-winning author and bestselling illustrator. Read more about Diana Hendry at dianahendry.co.uk

A beautiful gift collection of ten favorite Christmas stories. Join Little Rabbit as he builds a magical snowman, Molly Mouse as she decorates the best Christmas tree ever, and Santa''s helpers as they rush to deliver all the Christmas presents on time!

Nothing ever seems to happen in the quiet, respectable seaside town of Norton. The war is over, and everyone''s thrilled to be living peacefully - everyone but 13-year-old Lizzie, who''s so bored she could scream. But when the wild and dangerous Natalie arrives, Lizzie is drawn irresistibly to the new girl from the wrong side of the tracks.

When the story opens, Megan who is a foster mother, has two children in her charge: Anna a 12 year old who is, ''rather given to magical thinking'' and Raymond who is 10 and never speaks to anyone. Both children have sad broken backgrounds; Anna (in her fourth foster home) fantasises that her debt-ridden, alcoholic mother is a famous actress and Raymond''s totally unreliable mother rarely comes to see him. Sam, a frightened rabbit of a child, rejected by his family because of lameness and pebble specs is the next to join the foster family and then Brent arrives dramatically in the middle of the night - a tearaway teenager totally beyond the control of his unimaginative, intellectual father. All four of Megan''s foster children have difficulties to overcome in the house high above the river, where each one of them becomes involved in some way with the mysterious river woman. It is impossible not to be totally drawn into the pattern of Brent, Anna, Raymond and Sam''s lives in this imaginative and compassionate novel.

When Henry finds a strange baby hidden among the flowers in Aunt Agatha''s garden, it looks like another adventure is in store - especially when little Sweetheart sprouts antennae! But when a host of ghostly women begin to haunt 131 Ballantyre Road, all desperate to catch a glimpse of the baby, Henry and his new friend Rosie know this is a job for the magical, marvellous Harvey Angell. Henry''s extraordinary friend quickly realizes that Sweetheart isn''t from this world - she''s from the future, and she needs to get back home before it''s too late. That means a breathtakingly dangerous trip through time for Harvey Angell . . .

There''s a mysterious, magical new lodger at gloomy 131 Ballantyre Road: Harvey Angell, whose bright beaming, thousand-watt smile can somehow cheer the most miserable people - even cross, penny-pinching Aunt Agatha! From the moment Harvey walks through the front door, Henry knows there''s something very strange and special about his new friend. But where does he disappear to late at night? And why does he have an unusual clock, that tells the time in centuries and years, rather than hours and minutes? Henry''s determined to find out Harvey Angell''s marvellous secret . . .

Since the arrival of Harvey Angell at 131 Ballantyre Road, life is a little bit brighter for orphan Henry - even mean old Aunt Agatha isn''t quite so miserable these days. Still, when she agrees to take everyone on holiday, Henry can''t believe his luck. For the first time ever, he''s about to see the sea. Sibbald House isn''t quite what he''d pictured - a dusty, tumbledown, creaking old cottage in a freezing, windswept Scottish fishing village. On the first night, Henry can''t sleep a wink for the spooky moaning noises coming from somewhere within the house - and on discovering a hidden room with a ghostly secret, he knows he has to solve the mystery that the house - and the village - has been hiding for years. It''s time to enlist the help of the extraordinary Harvey Angell . . .

Ava and Ben''s mom, Mrs. Mungo has a new pasta-making machine. But as soon as Ava and Ben go to school, the pasta maker begins working all by itself. Noodles fill the house, slither down the sidewalk and even show up at Ava and Ben''s school. It''s up to Ava and Ben to stop the flood of noodles.

"Molly is a total town person. She doesnt want to spend a week in the middle of nowhere, with crazy old Grandad and a whole lot of chickens But when Grandad wants to catch a new Gran, Molly is just the girl to help... A heartwarming and humorous tale.Reading age 8

''Sparks '' is the record of a two-year creative correspondence between friends and fellow poets Diana Hendry and Tom Pow, during which they set each other challenging poetic problems, resulting in the 24 poems collected in this book.

Little Mouse has a busy day playing in the garden.

Do you collect things? Stamps, spiders, CDs? Tess has some really crazy collections, or at least, that is what her brother James thinks. But he can hardly believe his ears when Tess tells him what she plans to collect next

The flat above Lily''s is empty until the day that Shanta and her family move in. Lily and Shanta hit it off at once and have lots of fun together. This is one of a new set of stories about the friendship between 2 girls of different races, by Diana Hendry.

One-Eyed Penguin, Knitted Owl, Albapot and Raggy Christine are abandoned in the attic - uncared for and unloved. One Christmas Eve, Father Christmas decides that they will be the perfect present for Lily Peppermint. But what about the children of Hartlepool? Who is going to deliver THEIR presents when Father Christmas is stuck in a cupboard hiding from the new owners. . . . ?

The awesome bird messenger of the strange island of children makes a grave mistake when he bring''s the wrong child back to the island from earth.

Opening with a group of poems set in Crete, this book also features poems about Christmas, pianos, family, people (real and imaginary), pigeons and skylarks.

The seven members of the Dottington family are all scared of something, so they decide to get a dog. But although he is called Hero, their new dog doesn''t quite live up to his name. Suggested level: junior.

When Kid Kibble, the new seventh-grade biology teacher, moves into their attic room with a skeleton and an assortment of living things, Ned, his sister, and their mother wonder if their bad luck with boarders is continuing.

A kitten does not like it when his mother goes away without him, but after enjoying some time by himself, he understands why she does it.

It''s Christmas time and in the attic of a long-deserted house, four toys are waiting for an event they barely remember. Suggested level: Preschool, junior.

A bewildered dog cannot understand what is so special about a box that makes wah wah noises - until he discovers there''s a baby inside. Diana Hendry won the Whitbread Children''s Book Prize in 1992.