Calm Pond

Are you looking for the ideal bedtime book for your child? A book where you and your child can connect to strong characters and develop essential life skills through fun?

Then look no further than Calm Pond!

Calm Pond is in Blackstone Edge. It is a wonderful place, a special place.

It can be quiet and beautiful, but it can also be noisy and fun as it is the home of some amazing creatures!

The creatures of Calm Pond live and work together, helping each other to form a strong community.

The nine short stories cover many topics to help children understand many life issues, such as equality, resilience, honesty, change, strengths and weaknesses, anxiety, differences, empathy, and bereavement.

Calm Pond – educating and entertaining!

Dartmouth and Cuthbert's Car Adventures

Dartmouth is a 7-year-old brown teddy bear. He is rather grumpy, very wise and knows a lot. Cuthbert is Dartmouth’s friend. He is a 4-year-old green dragon. He is very lively and rushes about everywhere. His breath is only just warm as he is a baby, but his tail flicks about all over the place! He loves telling jokes to Dartmouth.

They sit on the front passenger seat with the seat belt on when Mum takes her twin boys to school in the car. Oliver and Lewis are 5 years old and identical. They can’t sit in front as Mum wouldn’t know which is which, and they would argue a lot about whose turn it is.

The boys’ favourite soft toys Dartmouth and Cuthbert (known to each other as Squeezums and Fishooks), sit next to Mum with Oliver and Lewis in the back. Dad works in London during the week, so doesn’t know about the furry friends’ adventures.

Dee's Stories: The Accident

Dee is an ordinary girl with three extraordinary stories to tell. This is the story of The Accident.

Children learn the importance of road safety from a very young age and know what might happen if the rules of the road are not followed. The Accident tells a story of what happened to Dee when she didn’t do as she was told and decided to cross the road alone...

Dee's Stories: The Big C

Dee is an ordinary girl with three extraordinary stories to tell. This is the story of The Big C.

Dee was a normal, healthy kid growing up. That was until something happened that meant her life was suddenly turned upside down. At the age of 12, Dee was diagnosed with the frightening ‘C’ word that everybody knew – Cancer. Dee’s experiences of receiving the bad news, having treatment and surviving this dreaded disease are shared in this story.

Fairies at Number 55

“Nobody in the world will admit to having seen a fairy, but it doesn’t mean they are not there.”

“Fairies are kind and they always, always do the sweetest, gentlest things for you and for all that you love, but rarely will they be visible. But you just never know…”

Fairy mum, Starlight, is beautiful. Sheer gossamer wings with a duck-egg blue hue, her tinkling voice always sounds like tiny cymbals chinking as she laughs, forever checking her fairy family, imploring them to keep kindness and gentleness to the fore of every endeavour.

From their garden at number 55, the family of fairies, Starlight and Nimbus, their fairy children, Mimosa, Chicory and Chirrup, Lychen and Moss, weave in and out of the lives of various woodland and water creatures, “giants” and their pets, all along the leafy green and cool bridleway.

Calling, along the way, upon such firm friends as doves, Darcy and Dill and magpies, Mick and Maggie, Spinner the friendly spider, and Skeet the generous dog, the fairies cheerfully carry out rescues, avert danger, make gifts, and even bring love to two lonely foxes.

Grumpy Gramps

Grumpy Gramps can often be found taking an impromptu nap under a tree on a bright sunny day, when he believes he is away from prying eyes. However, his young grandchildren are often in hot pursuit to catch Grumpy up to his usual tricks. Grumpy is a cantankerous old chap who is shy of hard work and loves nothing better than getting the upper hand over his long-suffering family with whom he resides, his daughter Maggie and her three children Clara, Emma and William. They love having a day out together but these trips usually result in Grumpy getting into some kind of a scrape.

Jock the Sheepdog

This is the story about a border collie puppy who is the sole survivor of a litter born in the wild in the hills above the Town of Drummond in the Scottish Highlands. He is found, reared and trained by a local hill farmer and becomes renowned for his intelligence, courage and endurance. His remarkable series of adventures eventually see him win the 'One Man and his Dog trophy' competition on television. 

Magnificent, Marvellous Minibeasts

A series of short stories written about minibeasts for young children and self-readers.

Do you know the minibeasts in your garden? Enjoy listening and reading about their adventures and learn some fun facts about each minibeast. Can you learn the Beetlebop with Bertie Beetle? Or follow the figure-of-eight dance with Belinda Buzz Bee and Walter? Or can you follow Sydney Snail and Eva’s trail around the garden? What about reading how Willie Waspie catches the robbers and saves the day?

Nature's Friends

Nature is, at times, taken for granted. We have a tendency to forget that this has a lot of control over the outcome of every single day.

These short stories bring life, love and enjoyment to ordinary natural occurrences that happen every day. These stories teach us about the unknown team work between people and nature. These stories give personality to nature’s grandeur that may not usually be seen in such a way or appreciated.

Next time you look up at the night sky and find yourself enjoying the moon's glow, give the moon a name. Next time you are basking in the sun’s warmth or drying yourself off from the heavy rains, just remember that every element of nature has a purpose. They work together to give us a home so we can live, thrive, enjoy, grow, and form long-lasting friendships.

Petronella's Three Good things

A fairy without a home, is such a thing possible? Petronella is out of favour with the Grand Council of Fairies for failing her wand exams. There are tasks to do before she can earn back her place in Fairyland. Pumpkin the cat, Robin, Mrs Wren and Oliver Otter can help. But will Petronella get home again?

Professor Bongo's Bedtime Nursery Rhymes and Tales of Nonsense - Book Two

Book Two is a collection of hilariously funny nursery rhymes to share with reader and listener alike, as well as a colouring book for quieter times. The book includes such characters as, a foolish king and a clever fool, a troll who is always burping and farting because he only has rubbish to eat. Sir Ponsalot who goes to slay a very argumentative dragon. There is also an alien who is lost and can’t find his way home, three mice who are the best cheese bandits in the world and a genie who is very forgetful.

Quirky Bird and Friends

"Model the muddle, be proud of the blooper, make a mistake and say ‘wow that was super!’

This darling catastrophe is a crazy delight, good golly, I’m glad that it didn’t go right.

It’s fantastically awful – an amazing disaster. 

Fetch her a sticker and maybe a plaster."

These wise words from Chomp Plodder have helped Quirky Bird and Friends be brave enough to share their stories.

Filled with colour and kindness, this collection of short stories is created to inspire children to be their most wonderful, brightest, creative selves.