Humorous Nature

When Hester is diagnosed with terminal cancer on her fortieth birthday, she knows immediately what she must do: abandon her possessions and drive to California to kill her estranged father. With no friends or family tying her to the life she’s built in New York City, she quits her wildly lucrative job in corporate law and starts driving west. She hasn’t made it far when she runs into John, an environmental activist in need of a ride to different superfund sites across the United States.

Returning from a riding trip through New England, Freddy the pig, Jinx the cat, and Samuel Jackson the mole are surprised at the cool reception they get from the people of Centerboro. It seems that some animals have been raiding gardens, stealing bicycles, and breaking into houses. And they'e led by a pig that matches Freddy's description!

The Chicken Squad is back for their second (mis)adventure, and this time they’re solving the mystery of a kidnapped…HOUSE? A hilarious chapter book from the bestselling author of Click, Clack, Moo and The Trouble with Chickens. Dirt, Sugar, Sweetie, and Poppy are the four members of The Chicken Squad, and business is booming.

Warnings had been printed in the Bean Home News and the Centerboro Guardian, but nobody paid much attention to them. An animal revolt? "Preposterous!" said the Beans and all the other humans.

But it's true - and the outrages begin: cars are stopped and overturned all over the county, farmers starting out to do their morning chores are driven back into the house, and the cows refuse to come in at milking time.

In The Case of the Crown Jewels, when the crown jewels go missing from Kennel Palace, it's up to super-sleuth Sherlock Bones and Dr. Catson to solve the crime. But with multiple suspects and a trail that's starting to run cold, will they be able to catch the culprit in time? In The Mystery of the Vanishing Magician, when a famous magician vanishes from a train bound to Paris, Catson is convinced of foul play… but none of the other passengers seem to know anything about the magician. Was he on the train at all?

A series of robberies has disrupted the peaceful life at the Bean Farm. First, food disappears from The First Animal Bank. Then sheets and shirts vanish from a clothesline. By the time oats are stolen from the barn, everyone is suspicious and upset. Soon, the animals even suspect Freddy! Who, or what, is responsible for the crimes? What is the mysterious white shape in the Great Woods?

Harriet Hamsterbone is not your typical princess. She may be quite stunning in the rodent realm (you'll have to trust her on this one), but she is not so great at trailing around the palace looking ethereal or sighing a lot. She finds the royal life rather...dull. One day, though, Harriet's parents tell her of the curse that a rat placed on her at birth, dooming her to prick her finger on a hamster wheel when she's 12 and fall into a deep sleep. For Harriet, this is most wonderful news: It means she's invincible until she's 12!

Mr. Boorschmidt's Stupendous and Unexcelled Circus is back in town. This time one of its attractions is really out of this world. In the big ring are six Martians and their flying saucer! But Boorschmidt doesn't stop there. He wants something even more spectacular to offer the audience, so he asks Freddy for help. Freddy knows what to do. He organizes an amazing baseball team.

Something weird is going on! Miss Suki is a famous children's book author - and she's coming to A.J.'s school! She lives in the rainforest and writes about endangered animals. But when her pet raptor gets loose in the classroom, it's the kids who are going to be endangered! Yikes!

Bill Bryson has been an enormously popular author both for his travel books and for his books on the English language. Now, this beloved comic genius turns his attention to science. Although he doesn't know anything about the subject (at first), he is eager to learn, and takes information that he gets from the world's leading experts and explains it to us in a way that makes it exciting and relevant.

The Chicken Squad prides themselves on being ready for anything. Marshmallow life preserves? Check. Copious bags of jellybeans for a car ride? Check. Storm shelter? Storm shelter! They need a storm shelter in case there is ever a storm. So Sugar takes it upon himself to build one in the yard. But it turns out it's not big enough for everyone. And the big dig has unearthed some mysterious surprises.

Worried that he'll be bored to tears by a school assembly, Billy Burger decides to bring along his own excitement—the class pet ferret, Franklin! The only problem is Franklin gets away from him, taking over the stage and leaving chaos behind. Now Billy's in a heap of trouble, but while he waits for his punishment from his parents, he gets to spend the afternoon with his loving grandma. The wise woman has lots of funny stories, and more importantly, great ideas on how Billy might use his punishment time helping others.

A magical beanstalk leads to a giant surprise in book four of Ursula Vernon's critically acclaimed Hamster Princess series. Harriet Hamsterbone doesn't go looking for trouble. Somehow it always finds her. So she isn't completely shocked when a salesman attempts to sell her some magic beans, or when one of those beans grows into a towering beanstalk leading up into the clouds. But even Harriet is surprised to find a giant castle - complete with one very poetically challenged giant - at the top of it.

Princess Harriet has absolutely no interest in brushing her hair, singing duets with woodland animals, or any other typical princess activities. So when a fairy tells a very bored Harriet about 12 mice princesses who are cursed to dance all night long, she happily accepts the quest and sets off with a poncho of invisibility and her trusty battle quail. But when she arrives at the Mouse Kingdom, she discovers there's more to the curse than meets the eye, and trying to help is dangerous business...even for a tough princess like Harriet.

Pete the Cat is back in five groovy I Can Read adventures! Children will love these cool stories about everyone's favorite cat - now all together in one collectible box!

Honey Santana, impassioned, willful, possibly bipolar, self-proclaimed "queen of lost causes", has a scheme to help rid the world of irresponsibility, indifference, and dinnertime sales calls. She's taking rude, gullible Relentless, Inc., telemarketer Boyd Shreave and his less-than-enthusiastic mistress, Eugenie, into the wilderness of Florida's Ten Thousand Islands for a gentle lesson in civility.

Fall is Mr. Putter and Tabby’s favorite time of year - a time to harvest juicy fruits and feast on baked goodies. But this year it’s not going to be so easy. Old age is making Mr. Putter’s legs, knees, and feet...cranky. Even his cat Tabby suffers from a cranky tail. But that won’t stop them! Mr. Putter comes up with a zingy way to pick the pears. And thanks to Mrs. Teaberry and her good dog Zeke, he and Tabby are showered with loads of yummy apple treats, but no pears - so no pear jelly.

Paddington Bear had traveled all the way from Darkest Peru when the Brown family first met him on Paddington Station. Since then their lives have never been quite the same... for ordinary things become quite extraordinary when a bear called Paddington is involved.

The Chicken Squad is back for its sixth (mis)adventure, and this time, there's a headless bear on the loose, and the Chicken Squad's beloved Barbara has gone missing!

Best-selling author Berkeley Breathed is the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the Bloom County and Opus comics. His unmistakable sense of humor colors every moment of Flawed Dogs. Sam the dachshund is a show dog and Heidy’s best friend, until Heidy’s uncle kicks him out of the house. Befriending other strays, Sam plots his revenge for the Westminster Dog Show.