About John Gibbons: John Gibbons is an environmental journalist and commentator who has been speaking about climate change in Ireland for over a decade. The Lie of the Land is his first book.

John Gibbons

Dave Gibbons

About Stella Gibbons: Stella Gibbons was born in London in 1902. She went to the North London Collegiate School and studied journalism at University College, London. She then worked for ten years on various papers, including the Evening Standard. Stella Gibbons is the author of twenty-five novels, three volumes of short stories, and four volumes of poetry. Her first novel Cold Comfort Farm (1932) was an immediate success and won the Femina Vie Heureuse Prize for 1933. Among her works are Nightingale Wood (1938), The Bachelor (1944), Westwood (1946), and Starlight (1967). She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1950. Stella Gibbons died in 1989.

Stella Gibbons

Edward Gibbon

Lewis Grassic Gibbon

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Andrew Pinder

One plucky meerkat with a thirst for knowledge. No happy endings.

Curiosity Killed the Meerkat

Choking the chicken, spanking the monkey, airing the orchid-whatever you call it, none of the images in this book will encourage the gentle art of self-pleasure. This deceptively simple and strangely addictive book presents a laugh-out-loud collection of random pictures virtually guaranteed to dampen the urge of even the strongest libido.

Images You Should Not Masturbate To

Robert Macfarlane

Jackie Morris

In 2017 Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris broke the mould with The Lost Words, a book of paintings in watercolour and gold leaf accompanied by acrostic spell-poems, capturing the unique essence of common but underappreciated species like Otter, Acorn, Ivy and Heron, Willow and Kingfisher. The response from readers was truly extraordinary: an instant bestseller, it inspired people of all ages all over the world, prompting mass fundraising campaigns to donate copies, and adaptations into folksong, symphony, theatre, puppetry, dance and mural. Three years later the creative duo delighted fans with a second title, The Lost Spells, celebrating the spirit of Red Fox, Silver Birch, Swallow, Jackdaw, and more. 
 
The Wild Cards draws together 100 pieces of artwork from The Lost Words and The Lost Spells. Every named species from the books is pictured at least once; many appear several times, though each postcard image is unique. The series also depicts many plants and animals not named in the original books - hidden details for the keen-eyed aficionado to discover - such as Blackbird, Stag and Rowan. On the reverse of the cards is an accompanying line of spell-text along with an identification of the depicted species. They have been otherwise left blank, their space waiting to be filled in by pen, pencil or paint and sent out into the world to make and renew connections.

The Wild Cards

A 100 Postcard Box Set

Alison Davies

Be More Tree is a celebration of our long-standing friends and reveals how we all could benefit from branching out.If trees could talk, they would have a lot to say. The gentle giants of the forest, they have fascinated us for millennia &ndash; there is much we can learn from their wise woody ways to live a healthier and happier life.From learning to share the spaces we inhabit, to changing with the seasons and sticking together and leaving a lasting legacy &ndash; Alison Davies delves deeps to reveal the stories and secrets of thinking like a tree.Next title in the successful Be More... series and packed with beautiful illustrations, advice, folklore, exercises and handy spotter&#39;s guide, this is the ultimate guide to harness the wisdoms of trees.

Be More Tree

Life Lessons to Help You Grow into Yourself

Stephen Moss

Naturalist Stephen Moss digs beneath the surface of some of our most popular Christmas carols in an ornithological celebration of the Festive Season. 
 
Using the structure of the carol as a jumping off point, he explores the place of twelve fascinating British birds in our history, culture and landscape. Some of the birds are obvious, there's the swan and of course the partridge. Other chapters are loose interpretations of a verse: for drummers drumming he delves into the woodpecker's distinctive drumming tap. Woodpeckers, he explains, have special padded skulls to mitigate against using its head like hammer drills. They carefully select dead trees for the most hollow, sonorous sound. 
 
With brilliant anecdotes and insights, Stephen Moss weaves history, culture, bird behaviour and folklore into a compelling narrative for each species, tracing its fortunes over the past two centuries. 
 
'A superb naturalist and writer' Chris Packham 
 
'Moss has carved out an enviable niche as a chronicler of the natural world' Daily Mail

The Twelve Birds of Christmas

Tom Frost

Discover the intriguing world of wildflowers with this handy pocket guide. Beautifully illustrated throughout, The Little Guide to Wildflowers offers a fresh perspective on identifying the flowers around you. Featuring 40 of the most beautiful flowers from around the world, including the common wildflowers we know and love, as well as the rare and interesting. Each flower has been delicately illustrated by printmaker Tom Frost to capture its individual characteristics, and is accompanied by information about the plant family to which it belongs and where it can be found, plus associated facts and fables. There is also an interactive spotter&#39;s guide at the back, where you can check off each flower you find. This informative, practical and beautiful guide is part of a new nature series designed&#160;to encourage creativity through exploring the outdoors.

The Little Guide to Wildflowers

I Like Birds

A hardback A5 notebook containing 128 lined pages and a ribbon marker. The cover shows a beautiful illustrations of puffins in flight. A group of puffins can be referred to as a burrow, circus, colony, puffinry, loomery or improbability.&#160;

Flying Puffins A5 Hardback Notebook

John Lewis-Stempel

"I adore the fox for its magnificence; I hate the fox for killing my chickens. 
To love and loathe the fox is a British condition." 
 
The fox is our apex predator, our most beautiful and clever killer. We have witnessed its wild touch, watched it slink by bins at night and been chilled by its high-pitched scream. And yet we long to stroke the tumbling cubs outside their tunnel homes and watch the vixen stalk the cornfield. 
 
There is something about foxes. They captivate us like no other species. 
 
Exploring a long and sometimes complicated relationship, The Wild Life of the Fox captures our love – and sometimes loathing – of this magnificent creature in vivid detail and lyrical prose.

The Wild Life of the Fox

Discover the intriguing world of the leaf with this handy pocket guide. Beautifully illustrated throughout, The Little Guide to Leaves offers a fresh perspective on identifying the trees and plants around you.It features 40 of the most spectacular leaves from around the world, including the common British tree leaves we know and love, as well as exotic palms, ferns and houseplants.Each leaf has been delicately illustrated by printmaker Tom Frost to capture its individual characteristics, and is accompanied by information about the tree or plant to which it belongs and where it can be found, plus associated facts and fables. There is also an interactive spotter&#39;s guide at the back, where you can check off each leaf you find.This informative, practical and beautiful guide is part of a new nature series designed to encourage creativity through exploring the outdoors.

The Little Guide to Leaves

James Norbury

From the global bestselling author-illustrator James Norbury comes Big Panda’s Little Book of Calm, a collection of gentle wisdom, tender reflections and serene illustrations from beloved character Big Panda, helping readers find stillness, presence and peace amid life’s everyday noise. With Big Panda as our wise and gentle guide, this enchanting little book reminds us to seek out moments of quiet and contentment – even on the busiest days. A portable, pocket-sized invitation to pause, breathe and rediscover stillness. A perfect gift for anyone in need of calm, comfort and clarity as the year draws to a close.

Big Panda's Little Book of Calm

Following his bestselling biographies of some of our favourite birds - The Robin, The Wren, The Swallow and The Swan - author and naturalist Stephen Moss now turns his attention to a group of birds we rarely see, occasionally hear, yet are always on our minds: the owls. 
 
Owls are among the most mysterious birds in the world. Their hauntingly beautiful calls at dusk and nocturnal habits have long captured our collective imaginations - inspiring more superstitions, folktales and myths around the world than any other group of bird. The 'magnificent seven' most famous species of owl - the tawny, little, barn, long-eared, short-eared, snowy and eagle owl - can all be spotted in th UK and each have vast ranges spanning multiple countries and continents where they have lived alongside people for thousands of years. 
 
With this book, Stephen Moss takes us on a journey to discover the secret lives they live between twilight and dawn, from the moment they first hatch, to their nightly hunts and how they raise the next generation, weaving together his insights as a naturalist, international folklore and history, his experiences encountering these birds in the wild and some tips for how - with a bit of luck - you can catch a glimpse of them yourself.

The Owl

A Biography

Discover the fascinating lives of some of the most brilliant musical minds and master choreographers in the avian world.Even with its beautiful iridescent plumage and magical gift to mimic both human and natural sounds, this common garden bird can often be overlooked. But as they come together in their thousands to display their unique ability to perform dazzling aerial manoeuvres known as murmurations, starlings are nothing short of breathtaking. This is the captivating story of how starlings have shaped our world, from influencing agriculture and inspiring musicians such as Mozart and writers such as Shakespeare, to their impact as an invasive species in North America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.With beautiful illustrations throughout, and an expert guide to the most magnificent murmurations in the UK, this eye-opening biography reveals the hidden secrets of one of our most talented and luminous birds.

The Starling

Chris Riddell

Bears are seriously underestimated creatures when it comes to spirituality and religious feeling. For the first time, this book recognises their huge potential and offers ursine students of Buddhism everywhere the opportunity to focus their skills and follow the path to enlightenment. From the meditation to the essential concepts of Zen, all the fundamentals are set out here in a series of concise interpretations of Buddhist teaching. Wonderfully illustrated by well-known illustrator Chris Riddell, this is the perfect gift with a difference.

Buddhism For Bears

Adele Nozedar

'Nozedar is a font of botanical insight' 
Guardian 
 
 
WITH A FOREWORD BY SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR, TOM COX 
 
Celebrate the 10th anniversary of the definitive guide to hedgerow foraging with this special edition of the bestselling The Hedgerow Handbook, by esteemed author Adele Nozedar, featuring a foreword from Tom Cox. 
 
The hedgerow is one of the most iconic and distinctive features of the British countryside, so familiar that we often take it for granted. Take a closer look, though, and you'll see that the diversity and variety of plant species that form hedgerows, and the animals and insects that they shelter, are a complete world of delight. 
 
Angelica to ash, bird cherry to borage, pineapple weed to plantain and wild garlic to wimberries, The Hedgerow Handbook is a directory of our best known and most useful hedgerow plants, each entry botanically illustrated in colour to help you identify the plant or flower, along with its history and folklore, and its culinary and medicinal uses, from the traditional to the unusual. 
 
The ultimate guide for nature-lovers and foragers alike, discover how you can transform wild and natural hedgerow ingredients into fresh and delicious recipes. From Elderflower Champagne and Blackberry Sorbet to Wild Raspberry and Meadowsweet Jam, the hedgerow has more possibilities than you could ever imagine.

The Hedgerow Handbook

Recipes, Remedies and Rituals – THE NEW 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Dawn Porter

There's a new shade in vogue: silver is the new black. Women everywhere are falling for the sophisticated charms of this increasingly visible species - the silver fox. Take a trip to the cinema and there's gorgeous George Clooney smiling at you with his salt and pepper charm, Harrison Ford with his shimmering locks, Sean Connery with that white-silver tonsure. Turn on your TV and there's a shiny array of them; Des Lynam and Parky, John Slattery as Roger Sterling in Mad Men, endless re-runs of Inspector Morse, Larry Lamb in Eastenders. 
 
All your favourites and more are packed into this treat of a book. You won't be able to resist: there's only one reason Monica Lewinsky kept returning to the Oval Office - it's the silver fox charm.

Silver Foxes

Older, Wiser and a Damn Sight Sexier

Pop Press

Is your dog an Indiana Bones or a Droolius Caesar? 
 
From majestic wolves roaming the wild to handbag fillers in sparkly diamond collars, dogs have fully embraced their position as man's best friend and the world's greatest freeloader. 
 
In this barking personality quiz book, you can find out how much of the distinguished wolf remains in your furry shadow. Are they an artistic Pawcasso? Or an energetic Bark Wahlberg? 
 
With 16 personality profiles and tips on how to live in harmony with your dog, find out if yours is university material or a rugged (read: brainless) adventurer.

Is Your Dog A Good Boy?

The Ultimate Pawsonality Test

Discover the secret world of our feathered friends with this handy pocket guide. Beautifully illustrated throughout, The Little Guide to Birds offers a fresh perspective on identifying the finches from the waterfowl around you. 
 &#160; 
 Featuring 40 of the most spectacular birds from all over the world, including common garden birds we know and love, as well as exotic flyers, birds of prey and sea-faring fowl. 
 &#160; 
 Each bird has been delicately illustrated by printmaker Tom Frost to capture their individual characteristics, and accompanied by information about where they come from, how many eggs they lay, wingspan and the incredible journeys they may fly in their lifetime, plus associated facts and fables. There is also an interactive spotter&rsquo;s guide at the back, where you can check off each bird as you find them. 
 &#160; 
 This information, practical and beautiful guide is part of a new nature series designed to encourage creativity through exploring the outdoors.&#160; 
 &#160;

The Little Guide to Birds

From the bestselling author of The Robin: A Biography 
 
The wren is a paradox of a bird. On the one hand wrens are ubiquitous. They are Britain's most common bird, with 8.5 million breeding pairs and have by far the loudest song in proportion to their size. They also thrive up and down Britain and Ireland: from the smallest city garden to remote offshore islands, blustery moors to chilly mountains. 
 
Yet many people, particularly a younger generation, are not sure if they have ever seen a wren. Perhaps because the wren is so tiny, weighing just as much as two A4 sheets of paper, and so busy, always on the move, more mouse than bird. 
 
However if we cast our eyes back to recent history wrens were a mainstay of literary, cultural and popular history. The wren was on postage stamps and the farthing, it featured in nursery rhymes and greetings cards, poems and rural 'wren hunts', still a recent memory in Ireland particularly. 
 
With beautiful illustrations throughout, this captivating year-in-the-life biography reveals the hidden secrets of this fascinating bird that lives right on our doorstep. 
 
PRAISE FOR STEPHEN MOSS: 
 
'A superb naturalist and writer' Chris Packham 
 
'Inspired, friendly and blessed with apparently limitless knowledge' Peter Marren 
 
'Moss has carved out an enviable niche as a chronicler of the natural world' Daily Mail

The Wren

Chuck Sambuchino

There’s a new threat in town – and it’s only twelve inches tall. How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack is the only comprehensive survival guide that will help you prevent, prepare for, and ward off an imminent home invasion by the common garden gnome. Once thought of as harmless garden decorations, evidence is mounting that these smiling lawn statues are poised and ready to wreck havoc. The danger is real. And it’s here. 
 
Class 1 gnome-slayer and gnome defence expert Chuck Sambuchino has developed a proven system – Assess, Protect, Defend, Apply – for safeguarding property, possessions, and loved ones. Strategies include step-by-step instructions for gnome-proofing the average dwelling, recognising and interpreting the signs of a gathering horde and – in the event that a secured perimeter is breached – confronting and combating the attackers at close range.

How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack

From the renowned naturalist Stephen Moss comes the must-have gift for bird lovers this Christmas. 
 
 'Wherever there is a stretch of water for them to find food and make their nest, you will come across swans' 
 
 With beautiful illustrations throughout, this eye-opening biography reveals the hidden secrets of one of Britain's best-known birds. 
 
 The Mute Swan is not so much a bird, as a national treasure: the avian equivalent of Sir David Attenborough or the Queen. These huge and stately creatures are part of our urban and rural landscapes, a constant presence on lakes, rivers and ponds throughout Britain. Yet despite their familiarity, they are often misunderstood; and while many people love swans, others fear them. 
 
 Swans also feature in myths and legends, art and literature, dance and music, not just in Britain but all around the world. Stephen Moss delves into the facts and fiction about these charismatic birds, describes their seasonal life cycle and examines their central role in our history and culture. He also includes stories about 'wild swans' - Whooper and Bewicks - that visit us in winter; and the Black Swan of Australia. 
 
 'A superb naturalist and writer' Chris Packham 
 
 'Moss has carved out an enviable niche as a chronicler of the natural world' Daily Mail

The Swan

Cat Faulkner

Avocadabra! Guaca-mole, Kiss My Hass! Let’s Avocuddle, Hugh Guacman …?! Pit-iful puns and avocado smash-ups with cute illustrations that celebrate our global avo-obsession. Bravocado!

You’ve Guac to be Joking! I love Avocados

Sanna Annukka Ltd

Hans Christian Andersen's tragic tale of naive greed and dissatisfaction is retold through the beautiful and intricate illustrations of Finnish illustrator Sanna Annukka. 
 
Sanna Annukka is familiar to many from her collaborations with Marimekko and her artwork for Keane's album, Under the Iron Sea. For her first book project, she illustrates Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairy tale, The Fir Tree.

The Fir Tree

Can dogs really smile? It's a bone of contention, but yes, they can! 
 
Dogs Who Smile is jam-packed with ludicrously funny photos of the happiest hounds around. From beaming Border Collies and delighted Daschunds, to laughing Labradors and cheerful Chihuahuas, some pooches love their dog's life so much they've got to smile about it. 
 
Guaranteed to make you howl with laughter, this is a must for any dog lover.

Dogs Who Smile

The Happiest Hounds Around

Stephen Wildish

Find out if your cat is Pussolini or Mother Purresa 
 
In ancient Egypt cats were viewed as gods and in modern day they are no stranger to worship as the internet's favourite animal, but have you ever stopped to consider the true nature of the smug little creatures we so willingly welcome into our homes? 
 
Is your cat a dazzling Dolly Purrton in the making? Or a hateful Hannibal Lickter waiting to strike? Find out with this killer purrsonality quiz. 
 
With 16 personality profiles and tips on how to live in harmony with your cat, whatever their result, find out if your furry housemate dreams of world peace or world domination.

Is Your Cat A Psychopath?

Marc Hamer

Longlisted for the Wainwright Book Prize 2019 
 
A calming, life-affirming book about the British countryside, the cycle of nature, solitude and contentment, by a brilliant new nature writer who spent time homeless as a young man, sleeping in the hedgerows he now knows so well. 
 
Although common, moles are mysterious: their habits are inscrutable, they are anatomically bizarre, and they live completely alone. Marc Hamer has come closer to them than most, both through his long working life out in the Welsh countryside, and his experiences of rural homelessness as a boy. 
 
Over the years, Marc has learned a great deal about these small, velvet creatures who live in the dark beneath us, and the myths that surround them, and his work has also led him to a wise and uplifting acceptance of the inevitable changes that we all face. In this beautiful and meditative book, Marc tells his story and explores what moles, and a life in nature, can tell us about our own humanity and our search for contentment. 
 
How to Catch a Mole is a gem of nature writing, beautifully illustrated by Joe McLaren, which celebrates living peacefully and finding wonder in the world around us.

How to Catch a Mole

And Find Yourself in Nature

Alena Tkach

When llife gives you llemons, make llamanade! Everything you will ever need to know in llife, you can llearn from a llama. 
 
Fluffy, funny looking, curious creatures who spit to show their disgust, what’s not to llove? Discover 120 empowering quotes and positive aphorisms alongside llight-hearted llama illustrations. This is llife llessons, llama-style. 
 
The perfect gift for all llama llovers.

Llive, Llaugh, Llove: Llike a Llama

Susan E. Clark

As the world becomes more uncertain and life more stressful, getting outside and connecting with nature is an easy and affordable way to boost our mental and physical health. 
 
In Butterflies, trained biologist and wellness writer Susan E. Clark introduces the curious reader to the world of these wonderful creatures. In the first part of the book, you will learn fascinating facts about butterflies, from their classifications and life cycles to their extraordinary ability to mimic other creatures, plus their place in art, mythology and psychology. The second part features 30 different butterfly species, each with a beautifully detailed illustration to help identify them. 
 
There are countless opportunities to experience nature right on our doorstep, and Butterflies will encourage you to do just that.

Butterflies

No other bird is quite so ever-present and familiar, so embedded in our culture, as the robin. With more than six million breeding pairs, the robin is second only to the wren as Britain’s most common bird. It seems to live its life alongside us, in every month and season of the year. But how much do we really know about this bird? 
 
In The Robin Stephen Moss records a year of observing the robin both close to home and in the field to shed light on the hidden life of this apparently familiar bird. We follow its lifecycle from the time it enters the world as an egg, through its time as a nestling and juvenile, to the adult bird; via courtship, song, breeding, feeding, migration – and ultimately, death. At the same time we trace the robin's relationship with us: how did this particular bird – one of more than 300 species in its huge and diverse family – find its way so deeply and permanently into our nation’s heart and its social and cultural history? It’s a story that tells us as much about ourselves as it does about the robin itself.

The Robin

Jane Struthers

- What is the significance of holly at Christmas? 
- When should you make your figgy pudding? 
- Why was the Old Lad's Passing Bell rung on Christmas Eve? 
- And who was Good King Wenceslas? 
 
Did you know that, long before turkey arrived on our shores, it was traditional to serve a roasted wild boar's head at Christmas? Or that our Christmases were once so cold that Frost Fairs were held on the River Thames? 
 
Christmas Day was first celebrated on 25 December in the fourth century CE. But when should our Christmas decorations come down - Twelfth Day, Twelfth Night ... or Candlemas? And why? 
 
Packed with fascinating facts about ancient religious customs and traditional feasts, instructions for Victorian parlour games and the stories behind our favourite carols, The Book of Christmas is a captivating volume about our Christmas past.

The Book of Christmas

Peter Fretwell

Lisa Fretwell

'An ode to one of the world’s best-loved birds' Harper’s Bazaar 
 
'The perfect book for the penguin person in your life' Daunt Books 
 
'A joy' Horatio Clare, The Spectator 
 
‘Electrifyingly charismatic’ Dan Snow, author of On This Day in History 
 
‘The world's best-loved bird from the world's best-known publisher – what's not to like?’ Stephen Moss, author of The Bird Biography series 
 
'Simply wonderful. If you like feeling joy, you'll love this book' Tristan Gooley, author of How to Read a Tree 
 
‘Beautifully written and illustrated’ Matt Merritt, Editor of Bird Watching 
 
* 
 
A charming and beautifully illustrated book about the world’s most beloved bird, written by Peter Fretwell, a leading scientist at The British Antarctic Survey, and illustrated by Lisa Fretwell. 
 
There’s something about penguins that makes them irresistible. Maybe it’s their comical waddle, their black-and-white ‘tuxedo’ plumage, or their apparent cheerfulness in the face of extreme weather conditions. Whatever the reason, their cult following around the globe is indisputable. Penguins can tell us so much about the world we live in – and what the future of both our species might look like. 
 
In The Penguin Book of Penguins, leading British Antarctic scientist Peter Fretwell introduces us to eighteen charismatic species of penguin and the fascinating lives they lead: their evolution, behaviours and habitats, and their history with humans. From the fact that emperor penguins dive twice as deep as any other bird, to the story of a king penguin called Sir Nils Olav III who was made a Major General by the Norwegian Army, we discover through fascinating first-hand encounters (and even penguin jokes and emojis!) why penguins matter so greatly to all of us.

The Penguin Book of Penguins

An Expert’s Guide to the World’s Most Beloved Bird

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