A full-colour gift book of ten darkly-comic and hilarious cautionary tales by Astrosaurs author Steve Cole, illustrated by Tim Archbold. In these delightfully humorous tales of a decidedly blackish hue, ten follysome toads can never change their beastly habits despite the efforts of goodly witch Madame Rana who reminds them 'It's never too late to change.' The Toad With Square Eyes develops mutant thumbs and fingers and finds himself on the other side of the screen; Cherry Oddfellow, the Dirty Little Toad, is part-girl, part-mudslide; and Jeremiah Bratson, the Spoiled Little Toad, finds himself face-to-face with a perfect robot replica. Featuring toady facts, quizzes and games, this collection of tales is a warning to certain children that there must come an hour when they pay the price...

Mirari is the story of Virgil, a man who has lost his capacity for wonder. Magically transported to the fairy tale world of Mirari, he is given the quest of retrieving a precious cup long ago stolen from his hosts of the Middle Kingdom. Journeying forth on horseback with a cat and a peregrine falcon as his companions, Virgil encounters many and varied creatures and adventures, gradually learning to see the world through new eyes. He falls in love with Lily, who is pursuing her own quest, and together they gain a renewed sense of wonder. [author bio]Lyndall Morgan lives in Colorado. This is her first novel.

Reaching Ten By: Teresa Kokke Born in Southern England three months before World War Two was declared, Teresa, the author, describes growing up amidst nightly air raids, bombings, and shortages, as seen through the eyes of a small child. Her four older sisters had been sent off to the comparative safety of Boarding Schools in the West of England. Teresa, however, being too young for this, stayed home with her parents in their hectic medical practice. Her father was one of the few doctors exempted from military service, due to his own medical issues. So it was his job to take care of not only not only his patients, but those of five other doctors in the area, with the help of his wife, a very qualified nurse. Despite the daily trauma, Teresa had a very happy childhood, listening to the wonderful stories told by her parents, as they awaited the nightly drone of approaching German planes. But one day, at the age of two and a half, Teresa carelessly caused a nasty bike accident, and Victoria, the live-in household helper, had shouted that she was so wicked she would never live to see the age of ten. Through the pages of this book, we learn that Teresa did indeed reach the age of ten, mainly because of the great love and care of her delightful parents. Sadly, Victoria had passed away a month earlier, day whilst living in the care of the nuns, devoted to minding the poor and handicapped.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1874.

She's good for the environment... and she's disgusting! Distinctive trait: Warts Food preference: Bugs and worms Special talent: Eating her own skin Disgusting? Yes, but fun, too! The Toad is the next installment of the Disgusting Critter series. Hilarious illustrated non-fiction about toads perfect for beginning readers. Although silly and off-the-wall, The Toad contains factual information that will both amuse and teach at the same time.