Humorous Fiction Family

Stan is going on holiday to Italy with his (fifth) best friend, Felix, and a load of strangers. Stan is absolutely terrified. Luckily, his mum's given him an emergency list that includes how to survive a shark attack and what to do if he gets kidnapped. Stan thinks that a better list would include how to cope with odd food and what to do if he accidentally calls Felix's mum 'mum'. And it soon turns out Italy is full of dangers and things that can go wrong. One thing's for certain, Stan's not going to come back the same boy he left. He just hope he comes back at all.

Victor Spoil realizes he's not cut out for life as a supervillain and instead decides to be...a librarian. Little does he know that librarians are a kick-butt secret society who will stop at nothing to control - and shush - the world!

A brilliant collection of four stories about this favourite character, one of the few new characters to have emerged in recent years for this age group.

What if it was every day? This is the story of Sam Green, who really, really, really loves birthdays. He loves the special breakfasts in bed. The presents. The themed parties. Blowing out the candles on his cake. Everything. He is so excited about his 11th birthday, in fact, that he wishes it was his birthday every day. So at first it's quite exciting when his birthday happens again the next morning. And again. And again. And again....

Odawahaka has always been too small for Maggie's big scientific ideas. Between her stuck-in-a-rut mom, her grumpy grandpop, and the lifetime supply of sludgy soda in the fridge, it's hard for Maggie to imagine a change. But when Lena moves in, with her creative spirit and outrageous perspective, middle school takes off with a bang. Someone starts pulling the kind of pranks that send their rule-loving new principal into an uproar. Suddenly the same old football games, election for class president, and embarrassing stories feel almost exciting.

Arthur wants to enter a jingle in the Crunch Cereal Contest, but he can't seem to come up with anything. Just when he's about to give up he hears D.W. singing a catchy tune. But can he call that jingle his and enter it in the contest?

To celebrate her 14th birthday, Sammy’s newly found, long-lost father takes her and best friend Marissa on a cruise. As Sammy navigates her feelings about this new relationship, she and Marissa become involved in another family’s bizarre drama which includes the mysterious disappearance of the wealthy matriarch and suspicious activity by the greedy heirs.

It's Halloween, and Splat is determined to be the scariest cat in the class. Unfortunately he's just too much of a scaredy-cat. He's afraid of a little spider, and everyone says his costume looks more silly than scary. And when Mrs. Wimpydimple tells a ghost story in the dark, Splat gets so frightened that he tips over his jack-o'-lantern. But when the lights go back on, the entire class is scared silly by a small, black, furry creature with a big pumpkin head. Whooooo can it be?

In this fresh take on love and trouble in America, Brock Hobson, an insurance salesman and Sunday-school teacher, finds his equilibrium disturbed by the results of a predictive blood test. Baxter, a master storyteller, brings us a gradually building rollercoaster narrative, and a protagonist who is impertinent, searching, and hilariously relatable.

Meet Weir Do. No, that's not a typo, that's his name! Weir Do's the new kid in school. With an unforgettable name, a crazy family, and some seriously weird habits, fitting in won't be easy...but it will be funny!

When Stink Moody's second grade class goes on a field trip to the Gross-Me-Out exhibit at the science museum, he learns that his very own nose has amazing sniffing abilities - and that some people have real jobs sniffing stuff for NASA! Soon Stink is engrossed in toilet water, corpse flowers, and all things smelly. But is his fetid footwear foul enough to win a Golden Clothespin Award? Loyal fans will be holding their breath for Stink's latest outrageous solo adventure.

Bick, Beck, Storm, and Tommy Kidd have uncovered and rescued some of the world’s greatest treasure, without ever seeking out fame and glory. So they aren’t happy when the Collier Kids (as in Nathan Collier, the Kidds’s nemesis) start treasure hunting for the camera, more focused on looking good and selling ads for their streaming show than actually recovering treasure. When the Kidds are invited to compete with the Colliers for the title of “The World’s Greatest Treasure Hunting Kids,” they jump at the chance to show the world what real treasure hunting looks like.

Omar and his friends are blasting off on another adventure—this time at a rocket-building competition. All of his family's Science Sundays prepared Omar to lead his friends on their quest to build the best rocket in their school, sending them to the nationals. But when their rocket is sabotaged, Omar and his friends have to use their expertise in science and mysteries to find the culprit.

Unfortunately, unlike his siblings, Arthur hasn't broken a single, solitary world record! But when the Whipples suffer a spate of catastrophes and a curious amount of attention from a pair of irregularly sized and unusually menacing clowns, Arthur might be the only one who can save his family from losing their collective crown… or worse.

All Tog wants to do is work in Santa's workshop, and one wonderful day, the letter from Santa arrives: Tog has been selected as an apprentice elf! Making toys is a lot more technical and a lot less fun than Tog had imagined, and even though his new friend Holly tries to help him, he's quickly relegated to cleaning out the reindeer stables. But someone has been stealing the presents from the workshop, and a case of mistaken identity finds Tog accused of being the culprit!

It's not easy being shy, especially when you suddenly find yourself at the center of a widening circle of lovesick boys. But this is exactly the predicament Juliet Dove ends up in after she receives a strange amulet in Mr. Elive's magic shop.

What’s the difference between a friend and a fiend? Jake is so embarrassed by a reading circle blunder, he vows never to speak in class again. Abigail believes she can no longer trust one of her best friends. Their teenage cousins have turned into fiends. And on the perfect snow day, who jumps on Jake and washes his face in snow? And who rescues him?

While looking out the window with her grandma's binoculars, Sammy witnesses a crime across the street at the Heavenly Hotel. What's worse, the thief saw her spying! As Sammy attempts to find the burglar who has made several other hits in the neighborhood, she finds herself trying to keep him from uncovering her - or worse, the police discovering that she's living illegally with her grandmother in the seniors-only housing!

Ruth, Naomi, Rachel and Phoebe Conroy are all struggling to deal with the trials and tribulations of first love(s). Ruth develops a crush on the school bus driver, but finds herself conflicted when she also develops feelings for Mr Rochester from Jane Eyre, the temporary English teacher (who Naomi is also smitten with) and Alan Adair who works in the butcher's shop. Meanwhile, the younger two sisters have other things on their minds—Rachel is plotting to become May Queen at her school and Phoebe is in training to become an international spy.

When Ruth Conroy decides to sponsor a child in Africa, she is unprepared for just how difficult it is to find 10 pounds per month. As any sister's next step would be, Ruth enlists the help of Phoebe, Naomi and Rachel. All too eager to help their sister, the four girls work together to come up with multiple hare-brained, fundraising schemes that are a bit too mischievous to be fruitful. From undisciplined babysitters to unhygienic caterers and fraudulent pavement artists, the Conroy sisters' hilarious projects never fail to cause chaos and mayhem.