R. W. Alley

Truly bad things happen in life. And while we cannot shelter children from every hurt and harm, we can reassure them that they, like the little elves in these pages, will always be loved and cared for. We can teach children the skills needed for coping with life's biggest challenges and changes. And we can restore children's trust that life, after all, is good.

Told through Paddington's letters to his Aunt Lucy back in Peru, this new novel offers Paddington's own special view on some of his most famous tales, from stowing away on a ship, to working as a barber.

Paddington visits the beach where he splashes in the ocean and builds a sand castle before being swept off in an adventure.

In three separate stories, boy detective Saxby Smart exposes a comic book counterfeiter, restores a slandered dead man's good name, and uncovers a massive case of identity theft. As Saxby notes, "I don't have a sidekick, so that part I'm leaving up to you.

While trying to recover the stolen necklace of his classmate, Kim, Jigsaw witnesses the scarecrow on Kim's neighbor's lawn move, so he and Mila investigate.

April Fools' Day is not a happy one for Wagner the mouse because his best friend, Pearl the rabbit, and other children and adults at school keep tricking him.

A big, bulky, brave bull named Bernardo is infuriated by anything red.

When Tootsie, a small, pampered dog, joins Danny Dougle's Dogwalking Group, he is teased and tormented by the other dogs until he wins their respect by foiling a robbery.

A search for identity and a dose of reality come in a pleasing package. Dulcie lives on a farm in Hollyhock, Iowa, but she knows there's been a terrible mistake. As she mucks out the chicken coop, she knows her real mother is a queen who would let her eat chocolates all day, and would never wear bunny slippers. Her real dad wouldn't smell of manure or wake her up early to help with the milking. And surely her real brother wouldn't steal her underpants...