Diary of a Barking Mad Dog Owner Due to his obsession with the hedgehog, Mr Mac was lead-walked in the garden first thing in the morning before the sun was quite up and as soon as it was dusk, when hedgehogs are likely to be around searching for food. Thus, you can imagine how mad I was when I arrived home from work on Friday, drove towards my gate and saw this half-flat, brown, spiky lump in the middle of the road. "Arrrgggghhhh " I shouted at it, "you stupid, stupid hedgehog " I parked my car in the drive and stomped back up the road. I was still shaking my head and ranting, "How could you be so stupid? After my efforts to keep you safe all summer and you go and run out in front of a car in broad daylight." I reached the little spiky brown lump and stared at it as if I was hoping for an answer to my questions about its stupidity. Then a big smile spread across my face and I looked round sheepishly, hoping that noone had witnessed or heard my outburst. The little spiky brown lump was left on the road by a horse.

Adrian Mole's first love, Pandora, has left him; a neighbor, Mr. Lucas, appears to be seducing his mother (and what does that mean for his father?); the BBC refuses to publish his poetry; and his dog swallowed the tree off the Christmas cake. "Why" indeed.

Fans of dog stories and the RMS Titanic, take note! This new entry in the Dog Diaries series—based on a true story—is narrated by a pampered Peke that survived the fateful voyage! Sun Yat-Sen—aka Sunny—enjoys the finer things in life. Noble canine companion to globe-trotters Henry and Myra Harper, Sunny doesn't even like to walk, preferring instead to be carried! Sunny and the Harpers are traveling on the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic—the biggest, finest ship in the world. So imagine Sunny's horror when he learns he must stay in the Titanic's kennel with eleven other dogs, not in the Harpers' luxurious stateroom! It's . . . unthinkable! But only four days into the voyage, Sunny learns the true meaning of tragedy when, hidden inside Myra's fur coat, he escapes the sinking ship in a lifeboat. Based on a true story, with realistic black-and-white illustrations throughout and a fact-filled appendix that includes information about the RMS Titanic, Pekingese dogs, and more, this is historical fiction for middle graders who don't realize they like historical fiction!

Dizzy is a Romanian street dog who was rescued and brought to the UK for a better life, a life which is very new and full of things she is initially very scared of. First she has to learn her name, and the routines, and then, bribed by sprats she begins to learn to trust and finally to play. It is a funny, sad and utterly bewildering tale of readjustment. She is supported, or not, by Candy the resident sable border collie who can be as confused and otherwise as she is; as one dog improves the other gets naughty, and vice versa. She has to come to terms with an apparently endless stream of friends and family who react to her in different ways, and cause her even more confusion. When Dizzy dies, her owner is inundated by sympathy letters which show what an impression she had made on the local community.

At first, Fingers refuses to believe that his Granddad has gone barking mad! But what straight-thinking grownup goes around licking the postman, growling like a dog and chasing hospital security guards up trees? And when Fingers and his sister Sally discover a bizarre machine in Granddad's workshop, mix-ups turn into mind-swapping madness-one look at Granddad's dog DaVinci is proof of that!

Everyone’s favorite girl-next-door dives head first into high school and extracurricular activities. Betty can do it all—but can she get by WITHOUT a little help from her friend? Freshman year is off to a rocky start with some major BFF drama! Betty’s longtime best friend Veronica is rich, ruthless and snobby—the total opposite of Betty. And in high school, where social status means EVERYTHING, it seems like Betty and Veronica can’t be besties anymore. Luckily, Betty is armed with her trusty diary to document her ups and downs. Read about them all in this heartwarming and funny diary about the scariness that is starting high school!

A bestselling modern classic—both poignant and funny—narrated by a fifteen year old autistic savant obsessed with Sherlock Holmes, this dazzling novel weaves together an old-fashioned mystery, a contemporary coming-of-age story, and a fascinating excursion into a mind incapable of processing emotions. Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, Christopher is autistic. Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. At fifteen, Christopher’s carefully constructed world falls apart when he finds his neighbour’s dog Wellington impaled on a garden fork, and he is initially blamed for the killing. Christopher decides that he will track down the real killer, and turns to his favourite fictional character, the impeccably logical Sherlock Holmes, for inspiration. But the investigation leads him down some unexpected paths and ultimately brings him face to face with the dissolution of his parents’ marriage. As Christopher tries to deal with the crisis within his own family, the narrative draws readers into the workings of Christopher’s mind. And herein lies the key to the brilliance of Mark Haddon’s choice of narrator: The most wrenching of emotional moments are chronicled by a boy who cannot fathom emotions. The effect is dazzling, making for one of the freshest debut in years: a comedy, a tearjerker, a mystery story, a novel of exceptional literary merit that is great fun to read.