Nature Mysteries

Cat ranch or cattle ranch? Hank the Cowdog doesn't like cats. Not one bit. So when a mother cat and her kittens take up residence in the haystack, he does all he can to get them to leave. But they've got nowhere to go. Unfortunately, neither does the gigantic bull who has knocked down the fence - and is headed right for the haystack! Hank knows that it's up to him to run that bull off and keep the ranch safe for everyone...even if that includes a bunch of cats.

Learn how fossils teach us about dinosaurs.

It's the first day of quail season, and Plato the Bird Dog is missing. At first, Hank is willing to let him stay lost. But when Beulah pleads for help, Hank caves in and takes off in search of Plato. Before he can catch a scent of spotted bird-dog, he finds himself face-to-face with an angry mother hog and her litter. Can Hank's quick wits help him out of this fix? Or will he become hogmeat?

Cattle call. A gang of marauding dogs is threatening the calf population on the ranch, and Hank knows that it's up to the Head of Ranch Security to do something about it. But instead of being outside where he can fight off the fiends, Hank is trapped inside - at the mercy of Slim and his dreaded vampire sweeper!

Just when the perfect mystery arises, Simone goes missing. This sounds like a job for Tabitha the Undercover Moth!

Hank is in real trouble this time. Loper and Sally May's relatives are coming for Christmas dinner, and Sally May has been working to get the entire ranch in order - including preparing for the Christmas feast. Unfortunately, when she discovers that the turkey she bought has met a terrible end, she pins the blame on Hank! Is he the guilty party, or have more sinister forces been at work to frame him for the crime?

When the Aldens hear that Mr. Wood's cat Spotzie is missing, they immediately help out by putting up "LOST CAT" posters and going door-to-door with a photograph of the cat. But along the way, they meet some strange characters, receive frightening phone calls, and even find a cat that looks just like Spotzie - but is it? It seems that the more they search, the more mysterious the mystery becomes!

Lost: one little boy. When Little Alfred runs away from home and winds up in the Dark Unchanted Forest being trailed by a bobcat, Hank the Cowdog knows that it's up to him to save his young master. So, mustering up all the courage that a Head of Ranch Security can come up with, he bravely makes his way into the forest.

Legal investigator Finley O’Sullivan has had a difficult year in the wake of her husband’s murder. But in her line of work, there’s no time to grieve. Her job is to protect the firm’s clients and defend their innocence through grueling investigative work. Ellen Winthrop is a force to be reckoned with in the financial world. In a male-dominated industry, she shattered the glass ceiling by empowering and promoting women. But now her husband is dead, killed in the Winthrop family home—and she stands accused of his murder.

Eleven-year-old Leo is an "armchair adventurer." This, according to Dad, means he'd choose adventures in books or video games over real-life experiences. And while Leo hates the label, he can’t argue with it. Unlike his little sister Lizzie, Leo is not a risk-taker.

Help solve the mystery with the detective dog, set sail on an exciting adventure in the flying bath and cook up a feast for a very fussy king! This collection includes stories from four of Julia's illustrator partnerships: David Roberts, Sara Ogilvie, Catherine Rayner and Rebecca Cobb.

It's summertime, and the weather on Hank's West Texas ranch is hot and dry. So dry, in fact, that everyone is on the lookout for prairie fires. So Hank bravely adds the title of Head of Fire Safety to his already impressive list of responsibilities and gets to work. But patrolling for fires is dull, and it's hard to do on an empty stomach. Despite the distractions - desperate hunger, a cruel trick at the hands of Pete the Barncat - Hank somehow manages to stay focused on the job at hand.

This bundle includes Basil of Baker Street, Basil and the Cave of Cats, Basil in Mexico, and Basil in the Wild West.

Harold and Chester could hardly believe it. The Monroe family was going on vacation without them. Bunnicula, the family rabbit, would be boarded with a neighbor. But they, the family's loyal dog and cat, were to be sent away with strangers; they were to spend a week at Chateau Bow-Wow. Chateau Bow-Wow, observed Chester,soon after they arrived, could more properly be called Howliday Inn. Though what was howling, neither of them knew. Chester had his suspicions, however; only a werewolf could make that chilling sound.

Hank the Cowdog and his trusty partner, Drover, are just beginning their latest investigation when a pirate suddenly appears on the front porch! Has the ranch really been set upon by one-legged men of the sea? Hank and Drover soon realize that the pirate is just Little Alfred in disguise.

Hank runs into a dispute with a giant bullfrog over the Emerald Pond. Then, there's a battle with a...well, let's just say a monster. It's too scary to even tell what kind of monster it is! However, things get really tough when Hank is entrusted with the job of guarding Little Alfred's soon-to-be prize winning chicks.

Judy Moody is in a mood. A sleuthing, Nancy Drew kind of mood. So what’s a WBMS (world’s best mystery solver) to do? Go find a mystery, that’s what! And she doesn’t have to snoop for long: when Mr. Chips, a beloved crime-dog-in-training, goes missing, Judy Drewdy and her chums, agents Dills Pickle (Frank), Spuds Houdini (Rocky), and James Madagascar (Stink) find themselves smack-dab in the middle of a real-life, scare-your-pants-off whodunit. Was Mr. Chips stolen by dirty dognappers? And why are chocolate-chip cookies disappearing all over town?

No sooner has Sally May finished planting her vegetable garden when some kind of unearthly being decides to burrow in the neatly planted rows of tomatoes and peppers. It looks like a job for the Head of Ranch Security, so Hank sets straight to work trying to dig the space monster robot out of its hole.

Sometimes I take an opportunity to say good-bye to the cattle and wish them a safe journey. "Well, good-bye, you morons. It was nice having you here at the ranch, but it'll be even nicer having you gone. You ate all our grass and taking care of you was a pain in the neck. Good-bye, good riddance, and don't ever come back."

Walter the Cat is a star, but is he too famous for his own good? The Boxcar Children must find out who's trying to ruin this cat's career!