Barnaby always gets pushed around by everybody: the other boys at school, his friends, the teachers and even his sister. Then Mr Orlando sells him a music player that lets him re-live the last few minutes again whenever he wants to and everything starts to change for Barnaby. He becomes the school’s best cricket player, he wins the chess tournament, he can even stand up to the school bully…he can even win over his older sister. But is everything right for Barnaby?

Barnaby Cole: Detective!

Barnaby Cole’s passion is detective stories and Barnaby wants to be a detective but the problem is he’s not very good at it and all the other children in school make fun of him. There’s more important things going on at school though because the children all want to earn some money to send Geoff away on a gymnastic course. Rallied by the incredible Jessica they all put on a fete that raises much more than they intended and they are left with the problem of what to do with the extra money. But someone is stealing lunches from the locker room and Barnaby bets everybody he will find the culprit. But he’s still not very good at it: he gets locked in his own locker, he has his own lunch stolen and finally covers the Headmistress with soot!

Gordon lives in a school, he’s supposed to haunt it but the problem is that he is very nervous. Gordon is scared of everybody, that’s why he only gets a school to haunt. Then Gordon meets one of the pupils, Jessica and Jessica isn’t afraid of anybody. But she has a problem too, all the pupils hate their new teacher, Miss Vickers and they want Mr Honeybun back because he can waggle both his ears at the same time. Jessica and Gordon unite and she shows Gordon how to be a proper ghost.

Obo the Space Animal

Sam lives on a space ship and is very lonely because the only two other children are much older and they play tricks on him. He befriends Obo, the space animal, who is like a big balloon with feet sticking out all over it. The astronauts want to put Obo back in his cage and Sam has to find a way to keep him out and Obo has to find a way to help Sam with the other children.

Roland the Short Giant

All the other giants laugh at Roland because he is so short. In the wrestling ring he keeps getting stomped flat, just like a pancake. Roland runs away into the forest and there he meets Obadiah and they come up with a plan to help him stand up to the other giants.

Tick, Tock and Toby

Tick lives inside Toby’s clock only Tock has run away and Tick is very sad about it. So is Toby, he can’t sleep without the clock ticking. Toby has to look after Tick to try and cheer him up so he carries him around inside his jacket but Tick gets him in trouble because he keeps on ticking at the wrong moments. Toby has find a way to help Tick get his brother back so he doesn’t have to carry Tick around with him anymore.

Daniel, who is already nine, is awakened by a fat and very strange cat in his bedroom. The cat’s name is Gerzergerblad and the reason Daniel knows this is because Gerzergerblad can talk, he is after all a very strange cat. Gerzergerblad has been sent to fetch Daniel because his help is needed and Daniel is introduced to the very strange world below ground where the strange creatures live who make the world work: Workhorses, Footballs, Yards, Tyson the boxer, Mrs Throttle the cook…and The Incidences who have gone on strike!

Led everywhere by Gerzergerblad who is not only fat, but greedy, selfish and a total coward, Daniel is led through a series of very strange adventures: he is squashed flat by a Football, Squeezed by a Bearhug, told off by Nosey Parker and chased by Ringpulls.

This charming and hilarious little novel was written by a bestselling author who got bored reading to his own children and decided to write a book that would entertain both the adults reading it aloud as well as the children listening

Arnold, the World’s Greatest Swordtoad

Arnold is the world’s greatest Swordtoad but nobody takes him seriously because he is from Chipping Sodbury and everybody just laughs at his name. Then things get worse when Izzy, the hedgehog, moves in. Izzy just takes over everything of Arnie’s: his chair, his bed, even his food. The very next day Arnie is getting roughed up by a bunch of local frogs and has to be rescued by Garth another Swordtoad. Garth gets voted in as town Mayor and he completely takes over and he and his friends start bullying everyone. Can Arnie put things to rights again?

Arnold the World’s Greatest Swordtoad: although Arnold is the World’s Greatest Swordtoad he is too easy going and lets everybody push him around. When Floyd, the hedgehog, gets flooded out he moves in with Arnie and sleeps in his bed and eats his supper and still Arnie can’t bring himself to protest. Finally Arnie loses his job as Town Marshall and Garth takes over and starts to terrorise the villagers. Can Arnie finally stand up to Garth and rescue the villages? Well, maybe, with Floyd’s help!

Martin The Huge Hungry Spider: Daniel finds Martin, a huge hungry spider in a crate of bananas but Martin is always hungry and Daniel has to find him food. The trouble is that Martin likes eating people, he eats up Granny Perkins which Daniel doesn’t mind at all but then he gobbles down Police Constable Blotto, Mr Orlando The librarian, the manager of Sainsbury’s,  all the pigeons in Trafalgar Square and finally The Prime Minister. Can Daniel ever find a way of filling Martin Up?