This is the story of a boy called Bob. He’s a little scrawny, a little scruffy, and he likes to sniff footballs (weird). But he has the game in his veins and he’s determined to be one of the greats, like his hero from the mighty Tigers, Matthew Richardson. And he will be! But not without a few misadventures first … His older brother and sister are the worst, he has a major crush on a girl who doesn’t seem to notice him, and his footy oval at school is actually a rectangle and instead of grass, it’s covered in gravel! But that’s not going to stop him. Follow Bob as he gets drafted to the Western Bulldogs at 17, slogs his guts out at training with the big Dogs, and – finally – becomes one of the greatest football captains ever.

A charming romance of book meets book and boy finds boy. Meet 'Bob the Book, ' a gay book for sale in a Greenwich Village bookstore, where he falls in love with another book, Moishe. But an unlikely customer separates the young lovers. As Bob wends his way through used book bins, paper bags, knapsacks, and lecture halls, hoping to be reunited with Moishe, he meets a variety of characters, both book and human, including Angela, a widowed copy of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park, and two other separated lovers, Neil and Jerry, near victims of a book burning. Among their owners are Alfred and Duane, whose on-again, off-again relationship unites and separates our book friends. Will Bob find Moishe? Will Jerry and Neil be reunited? Will Alfred and Duane make it work? Read 'Bob the Book' to find all the answers...

Brian and Bob are best friends. Each day, they play 'I Spy' together and talk to their friends in the pet shop. But when Bob is bought by a little boy, Brian feels very alone and without as much as an earwig for company. Will he ever see his best buddy again? This feel-good story is the second book by Georgie Ripper, winner of the Macmillan Prize for Illustration 2000.

For years Dickens kept the story of his own childhood a secret. Yet it is a story worth telling. For it helps us remember how much we all might lose when a child's dreams don't come true . . . As a child, Dickens was forced to live on his own and work long hours in a rat-infested blacking factory. Readers will be drawn into the winding streets of London, where they will learn how Dickens got the inspiration for many of his characters. The 200th anniversary of Dickens's birth was February 7, 2012, and this tale of his little-known boyhood is the perfect way to introduce kids to the great author. This Booklist Best Children's Book of the Year is historical fiction at its ingenious best.

Bob is a boar who loves to play in the mud. When Bob meets Freddy the frog, there is even more fun to be had in the mud with his new friend. That is, until Bob smells corn, and gets caught in a hog trap! Bob and Freddy learn about teamwork, friendship, and overcoming obstacles in The Boar Named Bob.

It’s been five years since Livy and her family have visited Livy’s grandmother in Australia. Now that she’s back, Livy has the feeling she’s forgotten something really, really important about Gran’s house. It turns out she’s right. Bob, a short, greenish creature dressed in a chicken suit, didn’t forget Livy, or her promise. He’s been waiting five years for her to come back, hiding in a closet like she told him to. He can’t remember who—or what—he is, where he came from, or if he even has a family. But five years ago Livy promised she would help him find his way back home. Now it’s time to keep that promise. Clue by clue, Livy and Bob will unravel the mystery of where Bob comes from, and discover the kind of magic that lasts forever. Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead, two masterminds of classic, middle-grade fiction come together to craft this magical story about the enduring power of friendship. This title has Common Core connections.

‘A young, naive kid, with a brand-new football. Over time, the leather aged from the bumps along the trail. The Footscray winters and some glorious liniment-scented afternoons. All of the laughs, the scraps, the yarns and characters. The game. It all left a mark on me, on my soul.’ Bob Murphy has never been a typical footballer. Music buff, Age columnist and Winnebago driver, he is as comfortable in a quiet corner of a Fitzroy café or the front bar of a grungy pub as he is in the locker room. Murphy takes the reader inside his 17-year career, including his three years as captain of the Bulldogs, exploring the people, places and events that shaped him: from playing backyard cricket in 1980s Warragul to Community Cup with Paul Kelly in the 2000s, and from the joy of marrying his high-school crush to the agony of a season-ending ACL ruptures. How did the country kid with a gypsy’s heart become an All-Australian captain? What’s it like to have your club win the grand final for the first time in 62 years and have to cheer from the sidelines? How does it feel to realise you can no longer do the things that made you great? The celebrated Australian football bard Martin Flanagan has long insisted Bob Murphy has a book in him like no footballer has written. Leather Soul proves him right.

Come along with Average Boy, the longtime popular character from the Clubhouse magazine feature, “Adventures of Average Boy,” in his hilarious journey through the school year. In this middle-grade fiction book, readers will follow Bob (Average Boy) and laugh at his antics as he seeks to set goals and reach them with varying success. One of his big goals is his youth group’s yearlong challenge to stand up for God. Enjoy the signature humor of Christian comedian Bob Smiley. Boys and girls, ages 8 to 12, love the funny stories as they learn important biblical lessons packed into every adventure. Families can also read the Devotions for Super Average Kids (book 1 and 2) and listen to The Official Average Boy Podcast.

The original bestseller and heartwarming story of the life-saving friendship between a man and his streetwise cat '[Bob] has entranced London like no feline since the days of Dick Whittington.' (Evening Standard) 'A heartwarming tale with a message of hope' (Daily Mail) 'Reminded me how amazing having a cat can be' (Glamour) * * * * * * * * The uplifting true story of an unlikely friendship between a man on the streets of Covent Garden and the ginger cat who adopts him and helps him heal his life. Now a major motion picture starring Luke Treadaway. When James Bowen found an injured, ginger street cat curled up in the hallway of his sheltered accommodation, he had no idea just how much his life was about to change. James was living hand to mouth on the streets of London and the last thing he needed was a pet. Yet James couldn't resist helping the strikingly intelligent tom cat, whom he quickly christened Bob. He slowly nursed Bob back to health and then sent the cat on his way, imagining he would never see him again. But Bob had other ideas. Soon the two were inseparable and their diverse, comic and occasionally dangerous adventures would transform both their lives, slowly healing the scars of each other's troubled pasts. A Street Cat Named Bob is a moving and uplifting story that will touch the heart of anyone who reads it. IF you love A Street Cat Named Bob, don't miss The Little Book of Bob, the new book from James and Bob.

When Bob the dolphin was born, he was small and sickly, with an unusual comet-shaped mark on his drooping dorsal fin. No one at the aquarium expected him to survive. But like his mother, Aster, Bob was ornery, and he stubbornly struggled to overcome his health problems. And soon, he loved to leap high into the air and perform tricks. Then one day, Bob taught himself a new trick-and jumped into more trouble than any other dolphin in the history of the aquarium. With a dolphin like Bob around, you never know what will happen!