Anna's missing her friend, Sophie, who's moved away . . . but when Mum suggests getting a new doggy companion from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, Anna knows she won't be lonely for long! Alfie, the adorable border terrier puppy, is Anna's perfect match - he's a quiet pup who can't bark, but he makes up for it by having a very waggy tail! Anna and Alfie soon become best friends, but some bad news from school puts a stop to their fun. A scary speech day is shy Anna's worst nightmare. Will Alfie be able to find his voice - and help Anna find hers too? Contains LOADS of information about Battersea Dogs & Cats Home - including how to adopt your very own dog or cat, dos and don'ts of looking after them, and fun pet-themed puzzles! Featuring a photo and fact-file of a real-life dog from Battersea!

Anna's missing her friend, Sophie, who has moved away, but when her mom suggests getting a new doggy companion from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, Anna knows she won't be lonely for long! Alfie, the adorable border terrier puppy, is Anna's perfect match. He's a quiet pup who can't bark, but he makes up for it by having a very waggy tail! Anna and Alfie soon become best friends, but some bad news from school puts a stop to their fun. A scary speech day is shy Anna's worst nightmare. Will Alfie be able to find his voice--and help Anna find hers too?

Eight-year-old Naima dreams of being on the stage. She loves singing and dancing, and has been performing in local talent shows with her big sister, Mina, since she was five. But recently Mina has been too busy to spend time practising their routines - she's always chatting on the phone with her friends and giggling about boys. Naima doesn't know if she can perform without her . . . When the family decides to get a puppy, Naima quickly throws herself into being the best owner a pet could wish for. Suzy, the adorable springer spaniel pup, loves the limelight just as much as Naima - and when Mum spots an advert for an animal talent show, it looks like Naima has found the perfect partner to join her on the stage!

Best friends Jo and Helen are alike in every way - apart from their choice in pets! But Battersea Dogs & Cats Home is making both of their Christmas wishes come true this year . . . in the form of a cuddly golden Labrador puppy for Jo, and an adorable tabby kitten for Helen. With all the excitement of Christmas just around the corner, and two new pets in tow, Jo and Helen's school holidays look set to be extra special. But puppies and kittens don't always get along . . . Will Buddy and Holly prove to be best friends too? Contains LOADS of information about Battersea Dogs & Cats Home - including how to adopt your very own dog or cat, dos and don'ts of looking after them, and fun pet-themed puzzles! Featuring a photo and fact-file of a real-life dog from Battersea!

Ellie is fed up. Her Dad is never at home, and now he's going on tour to Germany without her. He's in a band called The Day Trippers and is always travelling. Ellie and her big sister, Rachel, know the perfect thing to stop them from feeling lonely and to tempt Dad home to them -- they'll get a family dog from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. Rocky the Rottweiler is quite a handful, and he just won't stop chewing everything in sight. But when Ellie gets lost on Rachel's birthday trip, Rocky proves he's more than just a naughty puppy.

The latest title in this perfectly pitched and packaged series for young readers -- resistance is futile! Gemma is the youngest of a big family -- what with her parents plus SIX older brothers and sisters, there isn't room for anyone else. But then they meet Petal, the adorable dachshund puppy from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, who quickly makes herself at home! Mum and Dad decide to take everyone to the funfair one day -- but Gemma and Petal end up losing their way and getting separated from the rest of the family. Can Gemma's plucky puppy lead the way back home?

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home is the best-known animal sanctuary in the world. Since it first opened its doors in 1860, millions of abandoned and abused pets have benefited from its refuge. Around the world Battersea is a byword for compassion and hope. It hasn't always been this way. Victorian London had little time for canine strays, and homeless dogs were routinely destroyed.During its early years the Home was threatened by financial crises, eviction and legal action by neighbours upset by the constant barking. Yet the Home not only survived, it thrived. Here is the story of this remarkable institution. At its heart are the characters that made Battersea what it is today, from Mary Tealby, the extraordinary founder of the Home, to Airedale Jack, the dog who became a hero in the trenches of the Great War. Through both triumphs and tragedies, it is a book that will warm the hearts of animal lovers everywhere.

Jessica is over the moon when her parents take her to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home to choose a new puppy - the moment she sets eyes on Chester the lovable lurcher, she just knows he's the perfect pet for her! Chester has a special talent for opening doors, especially when he's on the hunt for a midnight snack! When Jessica accidentally shuts herself into a dark, scary basement, can her clever puppy use his skills to save the day? Contains LOADS of information about Battersea Dogs & Cats Home - including how to adopt your very own dog or cat, dos and don'ts of looking after them, and fun pet-themed puzzles! Featuring a photo and fact-file of a real-life dog from Battersea!

Anna's missing her friend, Sophie, who's moved away . . . but when Mum suggests getting a new doggy companion from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, Anna knows she won't be lonely for long! Alfie, the adorable border terrier puppy, is Anna's perfect match - he's a quiet pup who can't bark, but he makes up for it by having a very waggy tail! Anna and Alfie soon become best friends, but some bad news from school puts a stop to their fun. A scary speech day is shy Anna's worst nightmare. Will Alfie be able to find his voice - and help Anna find hers too? Contains LOADS of information about Battersea Dogs & Cats Home - including how to adopt your very own dog or cat, dos and don'ts of looking after them, and fun pet-themed puzzles! Featuring a photo and fact-file of a real-life dog from Battersea!

An anatomy of failed-state Britain, by the author of A Guide to the New Ruins of Great Britain. In A Guide to the New Ruins of Great Britain, Owen Hatherley skewered New Labour’s architectural legacy in all its witless swagger. Now, in the year of the Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics, he sets out to describe what the Coalition’s altogether different approach to economic mismanagement and civic irresponsibility is doing to the places where the British live. In a journey that begins and ends in the capital, Hatherley takes us from Plymouth and Brighton to Belfast and Aberdeen, by way of the eerie urbanism of the Welsh valleys and the much-mocked splendour of modernist Coventry. Everywhere outside the unreal Southeast, the building has stopped in towns and cities, which languish as they wait for the next bout of self-defeating austerity. Hatherley writes with unrivalled aggression about the disarray of modern Britain, and yet this remains a book about possibilities remembered, about unlikely successes in the midst of seemingly inexorable failure. For as well as trash, ancient and modern, Hatherley finds signs of the hopeful country Britain once was and hints of what it might become.