Joseph Delaney used to be an English teacher, before becoming the best-selling author of the Spook's series, which has been published in 30 countries and sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide. The first book, The Spook's Apprentice, was adapted into a major motion picture starring Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore.

Joseph Delaney

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Rupert Isaacson

One family's epic journey to rescue their son . . . 
 
Rupert and Kirstin Isaacson were heartbroken when they learned that their two-year-old son Rowan was autistic. And with each passing day, Rowan's growing isolation, his uncontrollable fits, each failed treatment, filled them with despair. 
 
Then one day Rowan escaped and ran into a field of horses. Rupert watched in horror - but saw a miracle occur. The horses responded lovingly to Rowan - and he to them. Could Rowan's affinity with these animals save their son from his condition? 
 
The Isaacsons left their home in Texas and travelled to the plains and mountains of Mongolia - the spiritual home of the horse - risking everything - their happiness, future and sanity - on an arduous epic horseback journey in search of a cure for Rowan . . .

The Horse Boy

A Father's Miraculous Journey to Heal His Son

Clare Balding

'I had spent most of my childhood thinking I was a dog, and suspect I had aged in dog years. By the time I was ten I had discovered the pain of unbearable loss. I had felt joy and jealousy. Most important of all, I knew how to love and how to let myself be loved. All these things I learnt through animals. Horses and dogs were my family and my friends. This is their story as much as it is mine' 
 
Clare Balding grew up in a rather unusual household. Her father a champion trainer, she shared her life with more than 100 thoroughbred racehorses, mares, foals and ponies, as well as an ever-present pack of boxers and lurchers. As a toddler she would happily ride the legendary Mill Reef and take breakfast with the Queen. 
 
She and her younger brother came very low down the pecking order. Left to their own devices, they had to learn life's toughest lessons through the animals, and through their adventures in the stables and the idyllic Hampshire Downs. From the protective Candy to the pot-bellied Valkyrie and the frisky Hattie, each horse and each dog had their own character and their own special part to play. 
 
The running family joke was that "women ain't people". Clare has to prove them wrong, to make her voice heard - but first she had to make sure she had something to say. 
 
My Animals and Other Family is a funny, brave, tender story of self-discovery.

My Animals and Other Family

Rowan came back from the shamans in Mongolia a changed boy. The three most debilitating effects of his autism - his incontinence, his endless tantruming, and his inability to make friends - were gone. 
 
But a year almost to the day since Rowan's improvement he started regressing: the accidents and tantrums reappeared, terrifying his father Rupert. Something had to be done. 
 
Father and son embarked on a new quest, journeying from the bushmen of Namibia to the coastal rainforests of Queensland, Australia and finally to the Navajo reservations of the American southwest, where Rowan was transformed - they had begun the Long Ride Home.

The Long Ride Home

The Extraordinary Journey of Healing that Changed a Child's Life

Megan Rix

When Megan and Ian got married, they wanted to start a family. But their desire to be parents ended up bringing one furry bundle of fun after another into their lives. 
 
At the same time as embarking on difficult and traumatic fertility treatment, Megan and Ian became involved with a charity which provides helper dogs to people with disabilities. And into their home one day came Emma, a soft, sweet-natured puppy with whom they fell instantly in love. 
 
However, after six months Emma had completed her training and was given to someone in need. To get over their broken hearts, Megan and Ian took in another pup: Freddy. And fell in love all over again . . . only for Freddy to move on too. 
 
Megan and Ian didn't know if they could keep taking in these adorable puppies and giving them away later. It was getting too hard, too painful. 
 
But then, one Christmas, little Traffy came along . . .

The Puppy that Came for Christmas and Stayed Forever

Colin Butcher

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Molly and Me, written and read by Colin Butcher. 
 
Ex-policeman Colin Butcher had just set up his own pet detective agency. It was running smoothly but he realized he needed a partner. And that's when inspiration struck... 
 
Enter Molly, an unloved and unwanted cocker spaniel rescued from a classifieds website. Clever and charismatic, she melts Colin's heart, the two are soon inseparable. 
 
With Colin by her side, Molly cracks cases and solve crimes across the country, using her exceptional sense of smell to locate missing pets and reunite them with their grateful owners. From the search for Pablo the ginger tom who's kidnapped from a sleepy Devonian village, to unearthing a treasure trove of stolen jewels in a north London wood, Colin and Molly's work takes them around the country, with plenty of new friends and eccentric encounters along the way. 
 
By turns charming, moving, and thrilling, Molly and Me is the story of a rescue cocker spaniel with a troubled past who - thanks to the love and devotion of her owner - finds a new life, a new purpose and a forever friend.

Molly and Me

An extraordinary tale of second chances and how a dog and her owner became the ultimate pet-detective duo

Caleb Carr

Caleb Carr lived with cats ever since he was a young boy. He grew up in a turbulent household – where famous Beat poets, artists and addicts came and went – and his steadiest companions were pets. Since then, he had many feline companions, with relationships that have outlasted most of his human ones. But only after building a three-story home in rural, upstate New York did he encounter someone extraordinary: Masha, a Siberian Forest cat who had been abandoned as a kitten and was languishing in a shelter. She had hissed and fought off all previous carers and potential adopters, but somehow, she chose him. 
 
For the seventeen years that followed, Caleb and Masha were inseparable. Masha ruled the house and the dangerous wilderness surrounding it. When she was hurt, only Caleb could help her. When he suffered long-standing physical ailments, Masha knew what to do. Caleb learned to decode much of Masha’s inner life but their bond went far beyond owner and pet. Inspiring, heart-breaking and life-affirming, this is a love story like no other.

My Beloved Monster

Judith Summers

When Judith Summers&rsquo;s husband and father both died within the space of two weeks, she found herself floundering. Life for her and her eight-year-old son Joshua seemed relentlessly bleak. Then George bounced into their lives. 
 
A loving Cavalier King Charles Spaniel with film-star looks, George reawoke their joie de vivre. Yet Judith soon discovered that living with George had its drawbacks. He was a full-time job and as expensive to run as a Ferrari. Wilful and badly behaved, he refused to eat anything other than roast chicken, preferred travelling by car to walking, and became as jealous as a spurned lover if any man dared show an interest in her. And when a near-death tangle with a Staffordshire Bull terrier resulted in costly sessions with an animal psychologist, Judith found that it was she who was put on the couch . . .

My Life with George

The Inspirational Story of How a Wilful Dog Brought Joy to a Bereaved Family

Tom Inglis

Tom Inglis and his Wheaten terrier, Pepe, have lived together for eighteen years: countless days of walks and play and the odd bit of chaos. Now, though, they are both getting old. 
 
To Love a Dog tells the story of Tom's life with Pepe, and looks at the ancient connection between humans and dogs. It explores why we take on the hassle of caring for these pet animals who rely on us so completely, who can create mess and upset in our lives, and who will probably die before us, leaving us behind to grieve. 
 
Wise, life-affirming, and often deeply moving, this is a book for everyone who has ever loved a dog.

To Love a Dog

The Story of One Man, One Dog, and a Lifetime of Love and Mystery

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home

Discover these heart-warming tales from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, celebrating the power of animals to transform people's lives. 
 
We hear from the young boy whose Battersea dog helped him to deal with a serious autoimmune disease, and from a woman whose Staffie was the friend who got her through cancer. 
 
We meet the couple who were brought together by a Battersea dog; the man who took on a three-legged kitten which changed his life; and the former Battersea hound which became a search and rescue dog. 
 
Read these and many other powerful stories in Lost and Found.

Lost and Found

True tales of love and rescue from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home

Mala Kacenberg

Growing up in a Polish village on the fringes of a deep forest, Mala has a wonderful childhood. But when the German invasion reduces her loved ones to starvation, Mala takes matters into her own hands and sneaks out to find food. On her way back, she is handed a smuggled letter that reveals her family and friends have been rounded up for deportation. With only her cat, Malach for company, she must flee. 
 
Malach becomes her family, her only respite from loneliness, and a guide through unfathomable darkness. Together, they navigate forests, outwit soldiers, and, against all odds, survive.

Mala's Cat

The moving and unforgettable true story of one girl's survival during the Holocaust

Ex-policeman Colin Butcher had just set up his own pet detective agency. It was running smoothly but he realized he needed a partner. And that's when inspiration struck... 
 
Enter Molly, an unloved and unwanted cocker spaniel rescued from a classifieds website. Clever and charismatic, she melts Colin's heart, the two are soon inseparable. 
 
With Colin by her side, Molly cracks cases and solve crimes across the country, using her exceptional sense of smell to locate missing pets and reunite them with their grateful owners. From the search for Pablo the ginger tom who's kidnapped from a sleepy Devonian village, to unearthing a treasure trove of stolen jewels in a north London wood, Colin and Molly's work takes them around the country, with plenty of new friends and eccentric encounters along the way. 
 
By turns charming, moving, and thrilling, Molly and Me is the story of a rescue cocker spaniel with a troubled past who - thanks to the love and devotion of her owner - finds a new life, a new purpose and a forever friend.

Molly the Pet Detective Dog

The true story of one amazing dog who reunites missing cats with their families

Thomas F. Ryan

Tom Ryan is a middle-aged, overweight, no-nonsense newspaper editor. But when Atticus M. Finch, a Miniature Schnauzer, arrives, he is forced to question everything about his life. 
 
Wanting to raise money in memory of a friend who died of cancer, Tom decides that they will both climb 48 of New Hampshire's mountains during a single winter - twice. 
 
What awaits the pair is the adventure of a lifetime. 
 
In an enchanting but dangerous winter wonderland, they face raging blizzards, frostbite and storms. It is a rare test of endurance that soon becomes a soul-searching journey. 
 
And then, within a month of returning home, tragedy strikes. Atticus goes blind, and the blood tests suggest something even worse. Now facing an even greater challenge, Tom and Atticus undertake a journey through darkness and into light. 
 
Following Atticus is a heartwarming story of friendship, selflessness, redemption - and above all, love.

Following Atticus

How a little dog led one man on a journey of rediscovery to the top of the world

Arthur Parkinson

Most of us want a dog, or a cat, or a pony when we are young &ndash; but for Arthur Parkinson, it was always hens. Growing up in an ex-mining town in Nottinghamshire, the other kids in the playground called him 'Chicken Boy'. The quiet fulfilment of keeping hens became his sanctuary, a tonic for mental and physical health, a connection with his family and the natural world. Illustrated with Arthur's own characterful watercolours and photographs of his &lsquo;girls&rsquo;, Chicken Boy is a one-of-a-kind memoir of a life in nature.

Chicken Boy

My Life With Hens

Judith Summers' life is about to change dramatically. 
 
Her five-year relationship with her on-off boyfriend has finally ended. Her son, Joshua, is off to university, and for the first time since her husband died she's living alone. Well, not entirely alone. She still has George, her King Charles Spaniel. 
 
Judith knows she needs a new challenge. But how free can she ever be with George in tow? He is, of course, immensely lovely. But he's also spoilt, lazy, and prone to flouncing around the house like a fluffed-up diva. 
 
But then, during a chance encounter , Judith finds out about Many Tears, a dog rescue centre. Before she knows it, she has joined a nationwide network of canine foster carers. Far from having Judith all to himself, George suddenly finds he has to share his owner with lots of other less fortunate dogs. And he's finding adjusting to this new way of life a bit of a challenge...

The Badness of King George

Malachy Tallack

Shortlisted for the Richard Jefferies Award 2022 
 
Growing up in Shetland with its myriad lochs and burns, Malachy Tallack and his brother would roam the island in search of trout, and in so doing discovered a sense of freedom, of wonder - and an abiding passion. 
 
But why is it that fishing - or the mere contemplation of catching a fish - can be so thrilling and so captivating? 
 
Why is it that time spent beside water can be imprinted so sharply in memory? 
 
Why is it that what seems a simple act - of casting a line, waiting and hoping - can leave so much room for mystery? 
 
Here award-winning author and singer-songwriter Malachy Tallack tells the story of his own infatuation with fishing, a pastime that has brought him joy (and frustration) since early childhood. And in bringing together memoir, nature writing and reflections on culture and history, he explores why angling means so much to so many. 
 
Beautifully written and hugely engaging, it is a book about attention, about nature, and that sense of wonder; it is about a way of engaging with the world, of reaching out - and feeling it reach back.

Illuminated By Water

Nature, Memory and the Delights of a Fishing Life

Linda Steliou

Little Linda was three years old when she told Father Christmas a secret. 'What I want more than anything is to have a puppy of my own to love'. 
 
But with every Christmas that went by, no puppy appeared. Linda grew into a busy working mum and wife, and her dreams of a puppy were pushed to the back of her mind. It wasn't until a special visitor one dark and cold Christmas Eve, that she began to remember the wish she had made sixty years earlier. . . 
 
Full of charming and touching stories, and in the wake of A Streetcat Named Bob and Christmas at the Ragdoll Orphanage, comes an unforgettable true story about childhood, love, and how an animal can change anyone's life.

The Lost Christmas Puppy

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home is the oldest and most-loved animal home in the country, caring for thousands of lost, abandoned or unwanted cats and dogs each year. 
 
Christmas at Battersea: True Stories of Miracles and Hope will feature tear-jerking but heart-warming real-life stories about the animals that have passed through Battersea's doors at Christmas time. 
 
This collection of stories will show the extraordinary lengths Battersea volunteers go to in order to give animals a second chance, as well as celebrating the power of animals to transform people's lives.

Christmas at Battersea: True Stories of Miracles and Hope

Elli H. Radinger

Love your family, care for your those around you, never give up and always find time to have fun - these are the golden rules of wolves. These remarkably intelligent animals take empathetic care of their old and injured, bring up their young lovingly and are able to forget everything when playing. They think, dream, make plans, communicate intelligently with one another - and behave more like humans than any other animal. 
 
Elli H. Radinger, wolf expert and naturalist, tells readers of astonishing and hitherto unknown facts about the lives of wolves and demonstrates the many ways in which we can improve our own lives by learning from them.

The Wisdom of Wolves

How Wolves Can Teach Us To Be More Human

Suzanne Lambert

Christmas, 1953: When little Billy discovers a lost puppy in the grounds of his orphanage home, he knows that the nuns will never allow him to keep a pet. But as Billy stares into the adorable Labrador's big brown eyes, he knows in his heart that he can't bear to be parted from his new friend. So he comes up with a plan. 
 
With the help of his fellow orphans, Billy hides the puppy in the caretaker's cottage. Together the children swear not to reveal the secret to the grown-ups. Yet as Billy and the puppy's special bond develops, his dread of discovery and being separated from his beloved dog grows . . . 
 
The Puppy and the Orphan tells the story of many lost souls who have found refuge at the orphanage, and how love helps each of them to fight for a second chance of somewhere to call home.

The Puppy and the Orphan

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home is the oldest and most-loved animal home in the country, caring for thousands of lost, abandoned or unwanted cats and dogs every year. 
 
A Friend for Life will feature tear-jerking but heart-warming real life stories about the animals that have passed through Battersea's doors. 
 
This collection of stories will show the extraordinary lengths Battersea volunteers go to in order to give animals a second chance, as well as celebrating the power of animals to transform people's lives.

A Friend for Life

Tim Birkhead

In Birds and Us, award-winning writer and ornithologist Tim Birkhead takes us on an epic and dazzling journey through this mutual history with birds, from the ibises mummified and deified by Ancient Egyptians to Renaissance experiments on woodpecker anatomy, from Victorian obsessions with egg collecting to the present fight to save endangered species and restore their habitats. 
 
Weaving in stories from his own life as a scientist, including far-flung expeditions to wondrous Neolithic caves in Spain and the bustling guillemot colonies of the Faroe Islands, this rich and fascinating book is the culmination of a lifetime's research and unforgettably shows how birds shaped us, and how we have shaped them.

Birds and Us

A 12,000 Year History, from Cave Art to Conservation

Tom Michell

When schoolteacher Tom Michell pulls a penguin from an oil slick off the coast of Uruguay he has no idea what to do. 
 
Back at his apartment, Tom cleans him, but upon returning to the beach the penguin refuses to return to the ocean. Tom has one option: to smuggle the penguin over the Argentinian border to the prestigious boarding school Tom calls home. 
 
There follows a heart-warming story of one remarkable penguin, who adapts to boarding school life. Whether it's as team mascot or swimming coach extraordinaire - Juan Salvador the penguin transforms the lives of all he meets.

The Penguin Lessons

Kate Moore

When Felix arrived at Huddersfield Train Station as an eight-week-old kitten, no one knew just how important this little ball of fluff would become. Although she has a vital job to do as 'Senior Pest Controller', Felix is much more than just an employee. For her colleagues and the station's commuters, Felix has changed their lives in surprising ways. 
Felix seems to have a remarkable ability to save the day time and again: from bringing a boy with autism out of his shell to providing comfort to a runaway child shivering on the platform one night. When tragedy hits the team at Huddersfield, they all rely on Felix to pull them together again. But it's a chance friendship with a commuter that she waits for on the platform every morning that finally gives Felix the recognition she deserves, catapulting her to international stardom... 
Full of funny and heartwarming stories, Felix The Railway Cat is the remarkable tale of a close-knit community and its amazing bond with a very special cat.

Felix the Railway Cat

Arabella Carter-Johnson

Iris Grace is five years old and severely autistic. For the first few years of her life she barely communicated at all and seemed to be trapped in her own world, unreachable. But when the family decided to get a cat, Thula, Iris opened up and began to communicate. The little girl who seemed to be lost in her own world slowly blossomed; Iris grew in confidence and began to explore the world around her. This led to her discovering painting - and an extraordinary talent emerged. Her exquisite Monet-like watercolour images have to be seen to be believed.

Iris Grace

This funny and touching book is bursting with more of Felix's adorable escapades, from a run-in with a rosemary plant to a frustrating encounter with a pigeon, but her role at the station goes far beyond all that: when romance blossoms, danger strikes and tragedy befalls the station, she is always there to support her team through all the highs and lows. 
 
Felix's online fame is ever increasing and she has more visitors to greet every day, but there is only so much attention that one cat can handle and isn't long before Felix's colleagues recruit Bolt: a fluffy, springy kitten-apprentice to help shoulder the burden. 
 
But will the two of them get on? And will the diva of Huddersfield station make room for the new kid on the block?

Full Steam Ahead, Felix

Adventures of a famous station cat and her kitten apprentice

Tom Watkins

"'Okay listen up everyone,' I said, zipping up my high visibility jacket. 'It will be most effective to comb the local area by taking a village each.' I told my team as I traced my finger across the map. My experience as a former copper was invaluable for our search. We weren't looking for a missing person though - we had a dog to find." 
 
Any pet owner knows the agonising panic when their beloved furry family member goes missing, but Tom Watkins, former policeman turned pet detective, is on hand to reunite our animal companions with their owners. 
 
From recording the owner's voice to lure cats from their hiding place, to organising a fly-over to raise the profile of missing Toby the terrier, from emptying the contents of the owner's vacuum to tempt in the missing animal with the scent, to organising a Crimewatch-style reconstruction of a dog-snatching on national TV, Tom will do whatever it takes to get the nation's pets home, safe and sound. The Real Pet Detective is the story of 20 years of missing pets, their owners and Tom's team of expert pet investigators.

The Real Pet Detective

True Tales of Pets Lost and Found

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