Humorous Fiction Family

Before Stinkville, Alice didn't think albinism - or the blindness that goes with it - was a big deal. Sure, she uses a magnifier to read books. And a cane keeps her from bruising her hips on tables. Putting on sunscreen and always wearing a hat are just part of life. But life has always been like this for Alice. Until Stinkville.

Meet eleven-year-old Dara Palmer. She loves dancing and dreams of being a world famous actress - which means she has to get the main part in the school play. When she doesn't get any part at all, Dara begins to wonder whether it's because of her looks rather than her acting skills. But Dara has big ideas - and is determined not to let prejudice stop her from being in the spotlight.

Achim is 11 years old when he moves from the orphanage to the house by the sea. Here everything is strange and new. But one day he discovers an unusual door that leads to a circular room with walls made of rough stone. The light coming through the window is hazy, as if the room is under water. It is a magic room - which he calls “The Adopted Room” - belonging to another world. And on a bed in the room sits a boy who is waiting to take Achim with him into the realm of the powerful Nameless One.

Kathryn Erskine won the National Book Award for her mesmerizing novel Mockingbird. In The Absolute Value of Mike, a young man grows up during an unlikely adventure. Despite his best efforts, Mike has a hard time communicating with his calculus-loving father - and having a math learning disability certainly doesn’t help. But when Mike is sent to Pennsylvania to work on an engineering project, the young man learns valuable lessons from the colorful characters he meets.

This fun-filled tale by acclaimed children’s author Laura McGee Kvasnosky was named an ALA Notable Children’s Book and received the Theodor Seuss Geisel Beginning Reader Award. Fox sisters Zelda and Ivy refuse to eat cucumber sandwiches for lunch ever again. To avoid this nasty meal, they pack their bags and run away (even if they only make it to the backyard). The young foxes’ adventures are separated into three chapters - perfect for young listeners.

All the troubles in sixth-grader Claudia Harper’s life seem to start with her fourth-grade friend Dunford Wylie Booth V.

From the Waterstones Book Prize shortlisted author of A Boy Called Hope and The Boy Who Sailed the Ocean in an Armchair. Mabel has a suitcase full of worries - it turned up just after her dad disappeared and before her mum started dating Gavin. She worries about big things and little things and shoves them into her suitcase until it’s so full it might explode....

With her cat, Matzo Ball, her grandmother’s basset hound, Moneypenny, and Harriet’s new friend, Clarence, helping her out, Harriet knows she can crack the case. But when the culprit isn’t who Harriet expects, it’s up to her to decide how important the truth really is.

Leroy Ninker is a small man with a big dream: he wants to be a cowboy, but for now he's just a thief. In fact, Leroy is robbing the Watsons' kitchen right this minute! As he drags the toaster across the counter ( screeeeeech) and drops it into his bag ( clannngggg), little does he know that a certain large pig who loves toast with a great deal of butter is stirring from sleep.

Clarice Bean usually looks forward to Christmas. Except this year, it is going to be a quiet-ish Christmas in her house, which doesn’t feel right because Christmas is all about noisiness and being full up and family. And without those things, she is going to have to try exceptionordinarily hard to stop the Christmas spirit completely floating away.... But luckily, there is no one in the world like Clarice Bean - and she is going to think like an elf, and that means everything will be A-okay. Won’t it?

Moongobble must complete one last Mighty Task before he is accepted into the Society of Magicians. But this one is a doozy: he must retrieve "The Queen's Belly Button", an enchanted stone that has turned an entire elf village bad! Soon Edward and Moongobble, along with Urk the Toad, Fireball the Dragon, and the Rusty Knight, are off on their greatest adventure yet. Can they regain the stone without turning evil themselves?

The Easter holidays are about to get a lot more exciting! Maddy and her best friend Dev have lucked out and are heading to the seaside where the brand-new roller coaster, the Mega Beast, is about to open. This will literally be life-changing! One problem: Maddy has to bring her annoying little brother Oli and her cheeky grandad Agung along for the weekend. With seaside hazards such as terrifying seagulls, stinky pickled eggs and a giant candyfloss-mad dog to deal with, will Maddy ever get to loop-the-loop on the best ride ever?

Maddy Yip is perfectly happy in life, until she realises that everyone she knows has a talent—except for her! Maddy is determined to change that, with the help of her brothers, bewildered grandad and her best friend Dev. There are disastrous attempts at breakdancing and playing the recorder, revolting cakes, and a magic disappearing trick that ends up with an escaped guinea pig. Will Maddy ever find her true calling?

Lucille is very jealous of her little sister, Margaret. Everything Margaret does gets attention, and Lucille feels left out. When their grandma comes to visit, Lucille must learn how to deal with her jealousy.

Marty's mountain means more to him than meatballs, magic, and movies. But does it matter more than Mom?

Katie Woo is excited to go a to a special daddy-daughter dance. There's only one problem. Katie's dad keeps stepping on her toes. Can Katie help her daddy with his dance moves?

Four fantastic new stories about everyone’s favourite twins. There’s always double trouble when these two are about, so get ready for more mayhem as they look after the school hamster for half term, have a competition to build the best snowman, raise money with a yard sale and have a roller coaster of a time at the local theme park!

A new baby is coming! Do you know what to do? This heartwarming new addition to the bestselling How to... series is all about welcoming a new sibling into your family. Learn how to get ready for the baby, how to make the baby laugh, and how to help Mom and Dad when things get a little topsy-turvy. Follow along through the first year of baby's life, and learn How To... from the experts -- kids! Filled with charming role-reversal humor, creative ideas, and sweet moments, How To Welcome a New Baby is sure to delight new siblings and growing families everywhere!

Ramona feels this is the awkward age - too little to stay by herself after school when her mother is at work, but too big to enjoy playing with pesty Willa Jean at her sitter's house. These days, all Ramona really wants is to twitch her nose and be her mother's little rabbit like she used to be. Can't she be her mother's little girl forever?

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.