Black Cats – serie

The Honourable Ratts are a distinguished family whose ancestors appeared at a time when witches were commonplace and giants roamed the land. They built their ancestral home, Clawfoot Hall, and they began collecting the Great Ratt Hoard - that is, any and every item of gold they could lay their hands on. At the time of this story, the Ratts are diminished in size and stature and now live under the floorboards of Clawfoot Hall. Then one day, everything changes. The ancient enemies of the Ratts have tracked them down and they are looking for ...the Great Ratt Hoard. The future of the Ratts is at stake. They must protect their inheritance at all costs. This is an exciting and action-packed story of the unusual, rodent-like family and their search for treasure with villains on their trail.

Tim is an ace actor and keen member of the school drama club. So of course he expects to be the star of the end of year school play. But to his horror he finds he''s been cast as a tree. And not just that - his only lines are in verse. Is there anything he can do to save his reputation? A brilliantly funny, hugely readable story, about how to make the most of a supporting role.

Following his star turn in I am a Tree Tim is back for more comic fun. This time he''s spending half term cleaning cars, and screaming toddlers have taken over his home. He''s not happy. Luckily his friend Flora is on hand to help out and have a joke with. Things start to look up. Until, that is, they encounter a very angry customer and a very wet Rottweiler. But in this comedy, who will have the last laugh?

This laugh-out-loud comic romp marks Michael Cox''s debut on the A&C Black children''s list. Captain Codswallop''s pirate ship has been stolen by the ruthless highwayman, Dick Turnip. But it seems that Dick is even more incompetent than the captain and his hapless crew. However, the pirates get more than they bargained for when they find themselves head-to-head with the Spanish Armada.

Identical twins Hailey and Hugo Huckleberry win the prize of a lifetime - the chance to meet their favourite horror author, the mysterious and reclusive Chad Piranha. Accompanied by Chad''s editor, Tamara, they set off for his solitary mountain hideaway. But little do they suspect the series of horrific and blood-curdling events that are in store. A spoof horror story from a master of black comic writing.

Gerry dreams of becoming a marathon champion, so is thrilled to get aplace at B.A.S.E. camp - the British Acadamy of Sporting Excellence,where he will train alongside talented young athletes from all over thecountry. But who is the mysteryrunner that appears out of nowhere? Is there really a ghost in theupstairs rooms? And what lies at the end of the tunnel, which isdiscovered underneath the statue of the legendary Taffy Jones? In theirhunt for answers, Gerry and his friends soon find themselves in moredanger than they could''ve imagined. A pacy sports story involving mysterious goings-on and secret cloningexperiments that will keep readers gripped to the thrilling end.

This time-slip adventure centres around the powers of a strange-looking watch, found by ten-year-old twins, Becky and Chris. The twins are joined in their adventures by their collie dog, Tan, but someone else at school also wants to get his hands on the watch - class trouble-maker, Luke. Engaved on the back of the watch is a short, cryptic rhyme: ''By a click of the clock, You can go in reverse, Time and Again, For better or worse'' The twins discover that clicking a red button above the number twelve causes time to be reversed and they can relive the events of the past hour - and have the potential to affect and change what happened duringthat time. Humorous, but sometimes unnerving experiences ensue as they find that in trying to change things for the better, their actions have unforeseen knock-on effects and consequences...

An engaging, well-written, humorous story about a perennially popular subject. James and the Alien Experiment is a comedy about a boy who is kidnapped by aliens. They''re quite well-meaning aliens though, who want to improve his rather useless human body - which proves not to be entirely a bad thing (just mostly a bad thing). Ross is given super-strength, super-brains and super-speed and in the end he succeeds in sorting out his truly loathsome form teacher.

''It was never meant to feed the needy; but to serve up grief to the mean and greedy''Theunfortunately named Albert Grub (A. Grub) has parents who are obsessedby mini-beasts; there are insects in the fridge, woodlice living in thehall and spiders dwelling in the cupboard under the stairs. Buteverything changes one day when Albert discovers that his dad is heirto the factory of the legendary Piddler''s Porridge. Why is the town''snoodle King, and owner of the adjacent factory so keen to get his handson the Piddler''s place? Is he after the legendary Spoon of Doom,believed to be hidden somewhere in the factory? And what can ourreluctant hero do to stop him?A mix of quirky characters andoutlandish goings on topped with lashings of bugs and porridge, this isa laugh-out-loud comic adventure that will appeal especially to boys.

Plumbing. This is what the future has in store for Billy Box - to follow in the footsteps of generations of Boxes and spend his life with his arm down people''s toilets. Or so he thinks... For when an angel appears on his 11th birthday, Billy''s life suddenly takes an unexpected turn. His destiny is now to be a Guardian Angel and his first task is to protect Thelma Potts, the toughest girl in school. Billy soon finds himself caught up in a world of competitive pie eating, skeletons and magic, not to mention smelly drains!

Spooker is back for a new school year at the Anne Boleyn Secondary School, and now that the wicked Sir Rupert is out of the picture, he hopes his life will be much easier. But when he goes on a residential trip to a remote Scottish castle to make a video about the school''s new approach to haunting, strange happenings start to take place - it''s almost as if the ghosts themselves are being haunted. And when a group of Americans come to turn the castle into the venue for a celebrity wedding, things start to get very complicated indeed. Who or what can possibly be behind these odd events?

Jake is a sci-fi buff, so when he''s abducted by aliens he''s delighted.But when he realises that his younger sister has also been taken, he''snot so pleased. What do they want with her?They find themselves on a space ship manned by aliens from aconfederation of planets. They form part of a Galaxy Patrol team,ceaselessly patrolling the galaxy to check on alien incursions intoless advanced worlds, such as Earth. They recruit children as localagents to help them in their work. Children believe: adults don''t. NowJake and Rosie''s first mission is to rescue the Queen, who has beentaken over by an alien bug ...

Our hero is a Tamworth pig with attitude. He was imported from Australia to improve the "bloodline" of the farmer''s herd and he is in no doubt about his own importance. But his days of usefulness are numbered and he''s about to be packed off on that final journey...or is it? This is a hilarious story based on the escape of the Tamworth Two, from an exciting new writing talent.

"Mr Snitcher is an alien! Pass it on..."Nobody knew where the rumour came from. Most of the boys think it''s a joke. But the more Joe and Andy think about it, the weirder Mr Snitcher starts to look. Is he really an alien? And how about the rest of the teachers? Laugh-out-loud school story with a sci-fi twist.

As soon as Tiffany sets eyes on Crumbling Cow cottage, she realisesthat moving there is the worst decision her parents have ever made. Andshe knows that sooner or later it will bring the whole family a lot oftrouble. But what she doesn''t know is just how terrible that troublewill be... and just how soon it will all begin!

When Sam and Karen''s mum is dragged away by heavily armed police, their whole lives change. With no clues apart from a cryptic message screamed out as she leaves, the kids suddenly find themselves embroiled in a high-adrenalin race against time to stop a bomb blowing up Westminster Bridge. Chased by terrorists at every turn, Sam and Karen need to use all their ingenuity to survive, rescue their mum, and stop this terrible crime! Fast, furious and gripping, this is a page-turner that will hook the most reluctant reader.

A time-slip ghost story based in the gritty reality of Victorian London. Ben breaks into the empty house next door and discovers a family of children suffering at the hands of their drunk and abusive father. Ben has to befriend someone from the family''s own time to contact their relatives and rescue them, hence a combination of modern sleuthing and contemporary letter-writing to achieve the desired end.

What could be worse for a ghost than not being frightening enough? That''s Spooker''s problem as he faces his Practical Haunting examinations at the Anne Boleyn Secondary School, under the watchful eye of the Inspectre-ate and Sir Rupert Grimsdyke (who''s definitely not Spooker''s favourite teacher). He isn''t helped by the fact that he''s sent for training to a brand-new house in Buttercup Avenue - not at all the kind of dingy, creaky building in which ghosts feel most comfortable. Spooker must find a way to spook the most unspookable people imaginable . . . Or maybe ghosts don''t have to be scary, after all?

Quagmire Castle is the much-loved, but totally dilapidated, home to a motley cast of humans and ghosts. When it comes to saving the Castle from demolition at the hands of the the gruesome bank manager, Gordon Grabbit, Aunt Tabitha''s solution is to start knitting. Fortunately, her niece and nephew, Emily and Jack, are determined to preserve their beloved home. Meanwhile, upstairs in the attic, the whist-playing ghosts, Dudley and Delicia (together with their pet monkey, Powderball), can smell trouble, too. Soon, it''s all hands to the pump (even if some of those hands are see-through) in an effort to save Quagmire Castle. And nobody could ever have predicted the chaos and hilarity that will ensue! This is a laugh-a-minute action adventure with as madcap a cast of characters as you''re ever likely to meet. Another winner from the highly-acclaimed author of Something Slimy on Primrose Drive - which sold out in hardback virtually upon publication.

A time-slip ghost story based in the gritty reality of Victorian London. Ben breaks into the empty house next door and discovers a family of children suffering at the hands of their drunk and abusive father. Ben has to befriend someone from the family''s own time to contact their relatives and rescue them, hence a combination of modern sleuthing and contemporary letter-writing to achieve the desired end.

"Mr Snitcher is an alien! Pass it on..."Nobody knew where the rumour came from. Most of the boys think it''s a joke. But the more Joe and Harry and their friends think about it, the weirder Mr Snitcher starts to look. Is he really an alien? And how about the rest of the teachers? Laugh-out-loud school story with a sci-fi twist.

This laugh-out-loud comic romp marks Michael Cox''s debut on the A&C Black children''s list. Captain Codswallop''s pirate ship has been stolen by the ruthless highwayman, Dick Turnip. But it seems that Dick is even more incompetent than the captain and his hapless crew. However, the pirates get more than they bargained for when they find themselves head-to-head with the Spanish Armada.

Max used to be an ordinary boy... until he offered himself up to Death in the place of his little sister, and somehow ended up as Death''s assistant! Life in the Underworld isn''t all bad though, despite housekeeper Liah''s abysmal cooking.Above ground, someone has worked out how to bring the dead back to life, with potentially universe-destroying consequences. Can Max and Liah stop the culprit in time? Or will Max get a lot more than he bargained for? A darkly comic fantasy adventure in the Black Cats series: short, gripping stories for newly confident readers aged 8-12.

Max used to be an ordinary boy... until he offered himself up to Death in the place of his little sister, and somehow ended up as Death''s assistant! Life in the Underworld isn''t all bad though, despite housekeeper Liah''s abysmal cooking.Above ground, someone has worked out how to bring the dead back to life, with potentially universe-destroying consequences. Can Max and Liah stop the culprit in time? Or will Max get a lot more than he bargained for? A darkly comic fantasy adventure in the Black Cats series: short, gripping stories for newly confident readers aged 8-12.

Two abandoned children make their home in a castle - which turns out to be haunted by the Duke of Wellington! The ghost is a particularly determined spook who helps them hide from the castle''s caretaker. But when developers want to turn their home into a spa, everyone who loves the castle must band together to save the day. Comic ghostly fun for newly confident readers aged 8+ and those looking for a fast, fun read.

Two abandoned children make their home in a castle - which turns out to be haunted by the Duke of Wellington! The ghost is a particularly determined spook who helps them hide from the castle''s caretaker. But when developers want to turn their home into a spa, everyone who loves the castle must band together to save the day. Comic ghostly fun for newly confident readers aged 8+ and those looking for a fast, fun read.

As soon as Tiffany sets eyes on Crumbling Cow cottage, she realisesthat moving there is the worst decision her parents have ever made. Andshe knows that sooner or later it will bring the whole family a lot oftrouble. But what she doesn''t know is just how terrible that troublewill be... and just how soon it will all begin!

What could be worse for a ghost than not being frightening enough? That''s Spooker''s problem as he faces his Practical Haunting examinations at the Anne Boleyn Secondary School, under the watchful eye of the Inspectre-ate and Sir Rupert Grimsdyke (who''s definitely not Spooker''s favourite teacher). He isn''t helped by the fact that he''s sent for training to a brand-new house in Buttercup Avenue - not at all the kind of dingy, creaky building in which ghosts feel most comfortable. Spooker must find a way to spook the most unspookable people imaginable . . . Or maybe ghosts don''t have to be scary, after all?