The Truth Tie and Other Stories

Barbara Steel-Knowles presents three fun-filled children's tales with captivating illustrations by Simon Knowles.

In The Truth Tie, eight years old Henry tells lots of lies. When some elves see his behaviour, they decide to teach him a lesson!

Four Pairs of Shoes for Ollie follows a group of sea creatures as they swim to the surface and spot some humans. Ollie, the octopus, decides he wants to wear shoes too, but how will he find four pairs?

Finally, in The Glass Slippers, Ellie puts on some magical shoes and finds she can't stop tapping her feet! Follow her on a unique, magical adventure!

The Truth About Itty Bitties

 “At the end of every garden in the country and the cities live the strangest little creatures who are called the Itty Bitties.”

Discover a secret world of magic right outside your door. Everybody has got one, you just need to know where to look…

The True Adventures of Beau and Ted

Here are a few doggy tales about Beau and Ted. These tales are all true.

Beau and Ted are great mates. Teddy is a real character; he’s a golden Labradoodle who thinks he’s human, and Beau is a beautiful chocolate Labrador who thinks only about nicking food and sneaking out.

If you have your own Beau and Ted, or even if you don't, you’ll love the adventures of this cute, but sometimes troublesome, duo.

The Tremendous Travels and Intergalactic Misgivings of the Karillapig

Do you ever find yourself looking up at the night sky and asking, ‘who lives on the dark side of the Moon?’

Well, it’s a fair question, is it not? It’s certainly up there with other such burning questions, such as, ‘If you can tune a piano, why can’t you tuna fish?’

The Tremendous Travels and Intergalactic Misgivings of the Karillapig continue on from The Adventures of the Karillapig where we follow our intrepid Moon hero, the Karillapig, who is from the dark side of the Moon, as he embarks on a series of calamitous investigations in an attempt to establish how us earth beings achieved space travel.

Incidentally, in case you were wondering – and I’m sure you were – The dark side of the Moon is inhabited by many different Moon Critters; Moon Critters come in all shapes and sizes and include favourites such as ‘The Hippobuffafrog,’ ‘The Evil Flapperbiller,’ and ‘Moofus McRadling.’ For years now, Moon Critters have puzzled over a burning question: ‘How did Earth beings achieve space travel?’ Hence the Karillapig’s investigations…

The Karillapig isn’t alone. Not at all – you may be surprised to learn that there are at least three Moon Critters currently here on Earth – as may The Bumblebottoms, whose garden (to be more precise, a discarded washing up bowl at the bottom of the Bumblebottoms’ garden) is home to our Moon Critters whilst here on Earth.

One thing is for sure – where the Karillapig is, you will find chaos, havoc, and general tomfoolery…

The Tree Troll Fables

Tula is a fun-loving tree-troll who loves to play in the forest, but one day while exploring the forest, she is captured and imprisoned! Her captor is called Cedric, who is big and strong despite being only 12 years old, and is a cruel bully who delights in causing misery. But Cedric has a giant sister: Polly, with whom Tula develops a heart-warming friendship. Join Tula and Polly’s charming and heart-warming forest adventure! Will Polly be able to free Tula? Is she truly ‘Pure of Heart’? And what secret does Polly’s grandmother hold?

The Three Monarch Butterflies

In The Three Monarch Butterflies, join three fluttering friends as they embark on an unexpected adventure.When danger looms, they must rely on their natural instincts and each other to find safety.Dive into this vibrant tale of friendship, bravery, and the wonders of the natural world.Perfect for young explorers ready for an enchanting journey.

The Tales of Mr. Mouse – Meet the Children

First, you met Mr Mouse and his friends Frog and Bee in the wonderful storybook The Tales of Mr Mouse and Friends by Jacqueline Mead. Now meet his children. Mr Mouse met his match in the first book (Chapter 5, Mr Mouse Meets his Match) Mr Mouse and Hilda married and had 12 children: 11 sons and a daughter. In the first book, you met the children briefly as they got into trouble on a day out on a raft (Chapter 10 Coastguards Save the Day). This book introduces each child, through the use of adjectives we learn that Fletcher is fun and fast, Brian is brave and brainy. We learn their favourite thing to do and their favourite colour. Hidden in each picture are three objects for your child to find. Each illustration brings to life the child as we see Iain invent a robot and Edgar measuring a very large egg. Enjoy this book with your child as they learn new words, fall in love with the children and have fun too. In the next adventure book the children will have their own story to tell, meet the children now but hold on tight, things are going to get a lot more fun.

The Tales of Mr Mouse and Friends

Join Mr. Mouse as he tends to his award-winning garden, makes friendships, meets Hilda his future wife, all the while drinking lots of tea and eating lots of cake. Mr. Mouse is a popular character whose door is always open, who is on hand to help anyone who needs assistance, who will rally around a worthwhile cause and who is highly thought of throughout the woodland community. Each chapter is a short story of its own and set in a season, there are twelve chapters following Mr. Mouse over three years. Read about the woodlands during a harsh winter when the woodlands are covered in six-foot snow drifts, during spring when the season is changing from winter, summer when Mr. Mouse’s award-winning gardens are at their best and autumn when the trees and plants are losing their leaves.

Mr. Mouse with a house on the River Louse will become a favourite bedtime story for your children.

The Tales of Hamish the Haggis

Come and join Hamish on his many adventures through the Scottish Highlands. 

Hamish is a friendly, misunderstood but lonely Haggis; that’s right, you heard me, a haggis – they are real you know!

Hamish manages to make friends with an equally lonely mouse….or is she a mouse? 

Will they both manage to travel safely through the unrelenting rain, howling wind and rocky slopes of the Scottish Highlands, meeting many friends and foes (even the famous Loch Ness monster) in search of wise old elves…?

The Tale of Light and Dark

The daughter of planet Saiko’s king, Princess Penelope, has taken her magic wand without permission and accidentally created a completely new planet, Crossfire. There is an ongoing struggle and fight between light and the dark on this planet. So Penelope comes up with a great idea: she organises a race! Both forces, light and dark, must take a part in it.

What will be the winner’s prize? The prize is intimidating because the winner will take over all the power on Crossfire. Who will be stronger? Who will win? Will this planet become a good or an evil place? What will happen to all the creatures that live there?

The Tale of Dotty Mouse - a 1 Only

When Michelle, a struggling writer, falls in love with and buys a very expensive handmade mouse - a 1 only, she does not realise that the mouse has actually come to life.

Michelle takes her home to live with her six children, four dogs, three horses and a house full of teddies, and that is when strange things start to happen.

Whilst in the shop, Dotty has heard that she is a 1 only, but she does not know what she is a 1 only of, so sets off on a quest to find out.

After having adventures with all the dogs and animals on the farm, Dotty does eventually find out what she is, but along the way she has found out something much more important.

The Sydney Seahorses

Can you see the sparkling sand?

Can you taste the salty air?

Can you hear the birds?

Can you smell the ocean?

Can you touch the crystal-clear water?

Dive into an adventure with me and let’s explore the underwater world together. If you see anything, let me know. There might be someone shy and special close by.