A. L. Kennedy – författare

The first book in a hilarious, heart-warming series for children from Costa Award-winning author A. L. Kennedy, illustrated by Gemma Correll.Badger Bill needs rescuing. He's been kidnapped by two nasty sisters who are about to make him fight a boxing match against three even nastier dogs.The four most depressed llamas in the history of llamas need rescuing too. They are about to be turned into llama pies.But never fear – Uncle Shawn is here! He loves rescuing things. He has a rescuing plan, which involves dancing, and a mole, and an electric fence. What could possibly go wrong?

The first book in a hilarious, heartwarming new series for children from Costa Book of the Year Award-winning author A. L. KennedyThe first book in a hilarious new series from Costa Book of the Year-winning author A. L. Kennedy, featuring a polite badger, the world's most depressed llamas, and an eccentric but extremely kind uncle named Shawn.Badger Bill is having a very bad evening - possibly the worst of his whole life. He's been just been kidnapped by the McGloone sisters, two huge, mean women with eyes the colour of bad-flavoured boiled sweets. In just two days time, they're going to dress him in unflattering shorts and make him fight Ripper, Snapper and Cracker, three vicious, unimaginatively named dogs. The only things in the world that are more depressed than Bill are four llamas who are about to be made into pies by the unpleasant McGloone sisters' even less pleasant brother, Farmer McGloone. But it's all right, because Uncle Shawn is here, and he has a plan - or part of one. He's going to rescue Badger Bill and the four llamas with the help of a friendly mole and a few squirrels. As long as his plan works. It involves quite a lot of dancing for a rescue mission - can Uncle Shawn really pull off his plan and save the day?

The second book in a hilarious, heart-warming series for children from Costa Award-winning author A.L. Kennedy, illustrated by Gemma Correll.Badger Bill loves his best friend Uncle Shawn. But he has started to notice that Uncle Shawn is a bit unusual.Dr P'Klawz hates Uncle Shawn. He has also noticed that Uncle Shawn is a bit unusual - pajimminy crimminy unusual, in fact.It looks like Badger Bill is going to need a plan, or Uncle Shawn might be sent to the Institution for Maximum Security and Unusualness Curing for ever. But all Bill has to help him are four bickering llamas, one pirate boy and one invisible girl. What could possibly go wrong?

The second book in a hilarious, heart-warming series for children from Costa Award-winning author A.L. Kennedy, illustrated by Gemma Correll.Badger Bill loves his best friend Uncle Shawn. But he has started to notice that Uncle Shawn is a bit unusual.Dr P'Klawz hates Uncle Shawn. He has also noticed that Uncle Shawn is a bit unusual - pajimminy crimminy unusual, in fact.It looks like Badger Bill is going to need a plan, or Uncle Shawn might be sent to the Institution for Maximum Security and Unusualness Curing for ever. But all Bill has to help him are four bickering llamas, one pirate boy and one invisible girl. What could possibly go wrong?

The third book in a hilarious, heart-warming series for children from Costa Award-winning author A.L. Kennedy, illustrated by Gemma Correll.Uncle Shawn and his best friend Badger Bill are back for another brilliantly bonkers adventure. They've seen off the nasty Dr P'Klawz with the help of their trusty llama pals, and now everything on their farm up on the sunny side of Scotland is just about perfect. Apart from the moon needing rescuing and a suspicious lady badger setting her sights on Bill... What could possibly go wrong?

The third book in a hilarious, heart-warming series for children from Costa Award-winning author A.L. Kennedy, illustrated by Gemma Correll.Uncle Shawn and his best friend Badger Bill are back for another brilliantly bonkers adventure. They've seen off the nasty Dr P'Klawz with the help of their trusty llama pals, and now everything on their farm up on the sunny side of Scotland is just about perfect. Apart from the moon needing rescuing and a suspicious lady badger setting her sights on Bill... What could possibly go wrong?

The fourth book in a hilarious, heart-warming series for children from Costa Award-winning author A.L. Kennedy, illustrated by celebrated cartoonist Gemma Correll.Hold onto your underpants – there's a mysterious purple bottom explosion problem plaguing the world, and no one knows what to do! No one, that is, apart from Uncle Shawn. He knows he and his best friend, Badger Bill, can fix everything by visiting the Living Fish Tree at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. As long as there is no dastardly villain with an army of evil clockwork clones on the loose, everything will be fine. And how likely is that...?

The fourth book in a hilarious, heart-warming series for children from Costa Award-winning author A.L. Kennedy, illustrated by celebrated cartoonist Gemma Correll.Hold onto your underpants – there's a mysterious purple bottom explosion problem plaguing the world, and no one knows what to do! No one, that is, apart from Uncle Shawn. He knows he and his best friend, Badger Bill, can fix everything by visiting the Living Fish Tree at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. As long as there is no dastardly villain with an army of evil clockwork clones on the loose, everything will be fine. And how likely is that...?

A beloved classic adult novel skilfully abridged to inspire and engage a new generation of middle-grade readers, from a multi-award-winning author.Young orphan Pip, downtrodden and mistreated by his guardian sister, has a terrifying meeting with an escaped convict. Soon afterwards he is invited to play at the gloomy, cobwebbed house of unhappy Miss Havisham, where he is humiliated by her beautiful ward, Estella. Pip falls in love with the girl, despite her disdain for his ignorance and rough appearance, and begins his apprenticeship to his blacksmith brother-in-law feeling ashamed of his lowly home.Then Pip is told he is to be brought up as a wealthy gentleman, and he delightedly assumes his secret benefactor to be Miss Havisham, planning him as a match him for Estella. When he discovers this is not the case, his heart is broken and his loyalties torn.What is the connection between Miss Havisham and the mysterious convict? And will Pip ever win Estella’s heart?

A beloved classic adult novel skilfully abridged to inspire and engage a new generation of middle-grade readers, from a multi-award-winning author.Young orphan Pip, downtrodden and mistreated by his guardian sister, has a terrifying meeting with an escaped convict. Soon afterwards he is invited to play at the gloomy, cobwebbed house of unhappy Miss Havisham, where he is humiliated by her beautiful ward, Estella. Pip falls in love with the girl, despite her disdain for his ignorance and rough appearance, and begins his apprenticeship to his blacksmith brother-in-law feeling ashamed of his lowly home.Then Pip is told he is to be brought up as a wealthy gentleman, and he delightedly assumes his secret benefactor to be Miss Havisham, planning him as a match him for Estella. When he discovers this is not the case, his heart is broken and his loyalties torn.What is the connection between Miss Havisham and the mysterious convict? And will Pip ever win Estella’s heart?

Our bodies all have stories to tell - and who better to tell them than fifteen of the world''s finest writers? Buried beneath layers of flesh, our hearts pump, our lungs inflate, our kidneys filter. These organs, and others, are essential to our survival but remain largely unknown to us. In Beneath the Skin, fifteen writers each explore a different body part: Naomi Alderman unravels the intestines and our obsession with food; Thomas Lynch celebrates the womb as a miracle; AL Kennedy explores the nose''s striking ability to conjure memories; and Philip Kerr traces the remarkable history of brain surgery.The human stomach, we discover, contains as many brain cells as a cat has in its head. The lungs weigh about the same as a loaf of bread. A traumatic memory can show itself on the skin. Moving, comical and often unexpected, this is an awe-inspiring voyage through the mysterious landscape of our bodies. Based on the BBC Radio 3 series ''A Body of Essays''.

'Charming lessons in life, death and kindness . . . Hugely moving' ObserverThis is the story of Mary, a young girl born in a beautiful city full of rose gardens and fluttering kites. When she is still very small, Mary meets Lanmo, a shining golden snake, who becomes her very best friend.The snake visits Mary many times, he sees her grow and her city change, as bombs drop and war creeps in. Lanmo wonders, can having a friend possibly be worth the pain of knowing you will lose them?

'These essays lift back the skin to reveal something secret and precious, articulating private truths and distilling sensation into language ... this collection is a timely, triumphant celebration of our embodiment' - iNewsBuried beneath layers of flesh, our hearts pump, our lungs inflate, our kidneys filter. These organs, and others, are essential to our survival but remain largely unknown to us. In Beneath the Skin, fifteen writers each explore a different body part: Naomi Alderman unravels the intestines and our obsession with food; Thomas Lynch celebrates the womb as a miracle; AL Kennedy explores the nose's striking ability to conjure memories; and Philip Kerr traces the remarkable history of brain surgery.Moving, intimate and often unexpected, this is an awe-inspiring voyage through the mysterious landscape of our bodies.