Showing results by author "Alexander McCall Smith" in All Categories

Jenny is very tall for her age, and when she dresses smartly for her first day at a new school, she looks very grown up indeed. So grown up, in fact, that when she arrives at the school, she is mistaken for a new teacher and left in charge of a classroom of kids! Jenny is forced to keep up the act and soon finds herself in all sorts of tricky situations. Whatever happens, it's going to be a real education!

The inhabitants of the Popcorn Islands lead a peaceful and comfortable existence - that is until pirates attack Captain Foster's ship on its way to America and steal half the popcorn harvest. So Lucy, Hermione and Sam offer to accompany the captain and his dog, Biscuit, on the next trip to keep a lookout for danger. But danger is exactly what they run into! Now the pirates aren't just after more popcorn...they want new recruits, too!

When Akimbo is offered the chance to help tag baby crocodiles, he is very excited. John the Crocodile Man wants to keep an eye on the latest batch of crocodiles, and Akimbo is keen to learn more about the dangerous creatures. Then John is attacked by an angry croc, and Akimbo has to use all his courage to save him!

Akimbo lives with his family on a game reserve in Kenya. When Akimbo sees what poachers do to the elephants on his game reserve, he is determined to stop them. There’s only one way to do it, and that’s to become an elephant hunter himself! But it’s going to take strength and courage and will involve facing danger. Can he stop the poachers and save the elephants?

When his loving wife, Betty, plans a trip to Ireland for Fatty O’Leary’s 40th birthday things go wrong almost immediately: the seats in economy class on the plane are too small; Irish bathroom furniture is not as commodious as he'd have liked. And all the time Fatty must put up with the unthinking cruelty of strangers.

Corduroy Mansions, Pimlico is an oasis of old-fashioned civilisation, its inhabitants considerate and peace-loving. But beneath the polite exterior seismic change is stirring. Barbara Ragg makes an eye-popping discovery about her stolid Scottish suitor’s past, while Oedipus Snark – newly appointed and tirelessly self-interested Government Minister – has a close encounter in Switzerland that leaves him a new man all together.

Alexander McCall Smith is a storyteller par excellence and the master of the serial novel form. Not content with the runaway success of the 44 Scotland Street novels he has established a second series, Corduroy Mansions, of which The Dog Who Came in from the Cold is the second volume. McCall Smith treats his characters as old friends, dropping in for a chat with them and to see what they’re up to.

Follow the exploits of the children who go to a most unusual school - the sail-powered training ship Tobermory. When a film crew arrives in Tobermory Bay, Ben and Fee are invited to be extras. But their suspicions are soon aroused - is the film crew genuine, or are they up to something sinister? Ben and Fee soon discover the truth when they uncover a dastardly plan masterminded by a South American businessman.

In this book, divided into nine sections, the author takes you on a journey across the globe from Africa to Greece, London to Mumbai, and back home to Edinburgh. In a Time of Distance is a captivating celebration of place and people, but also of animals and books. Looking at the world through the lens of this writer it is a better, more humane place. Throughout these poems there are moments of swoop and soar, descriptions that will make you laugh and realign your view.

Noah can't believe it when he finds out his uncle owns a zoo! But the zoo is closing down, and there are animals who need homes. Before he knows it, Noah and his family are setting sail on a round-the-world trip returning the zoo animals to the places they were born. But when they try to return one very cheeky monkey, they're in for a whole boat-load of trouble!

When Max finds an old car that has his last name - Champion - on the bonnet, he learns that his grandfather used to make some of the best cars around...and race them! That was until his ideas book and his favourite car, Arabella, were stolen by greedy rival Mr Grabber. Can Max find a way to get back what Grandfather Gus lost? And will Arabella ever be seen again?

This is a story of incredible acrobatics and death-defying stunts! Join Freddie Mole as he tumbles through the air, flies around the big tent and tames four growling lions! Freddie is an ordinary boy who joins the circus one day. He can't believe his luck as he is asked to understudy some of the acts. But is he brave enough to go into the lions' cage?

It is said that a picture may be worth a thousand words, but an old photograph can inspire many more. In this beguiling book, Alexander McCall Smith casts his eye over five chanced-upon photographs from the era of black-and-white photography and imagines the stories behind them. Who were those people, what were their stories, why were they smiling, what made them sad? What emerges are surprising and poignant tales of love and friendship in a variety of settings.

John and Nicky have never eaten spaghetti and would give anything for the occasional bowl of chips or piece of chocolate cake. But they live with their rather strange aunt, who insists upon health-food diets. When they use some birthday money to go out for lunch, they experience the delights of spaghetti and decide that they simply have to have more. A competition offers them just such an opportunity, which results in their mealtimes changing for good.

At the age of four Clover chooses her own name. Aged six, she falls in love with her best friend, James. But in the adult world, things are not so simple: Clover's mother finds she's fallen out of love with her husband, and realises that James's father is interested in her. As Clover and James, and their parents, navigate their irresistible but baffling mazes of emotion, we are given a beautifully realised tale about how love can shape a life.

Corduroy Mansions is the affectionate nickname given to a genteelly crumbling mansion block in London's vibrant Pimlico. This is the home patch of - among others - a lovelorn literary agent, possibly the first ever nasty Liberal Democrat MP, and Freddie de la Hay, an urbane terrier trained to be vegetarian and respectful of feline rights.

The School Ship Tobermory and its intrepid young crew are back in Hebridean waters. When a violent storm blows them off course to a remote island, they discover a fisherman's journal written 100 years ago which tells of a mysterious shipwreck crammed with treasure. But without a precise location, where do they start looking? An extraordinary chance encounter gives them a valuable clue.

Alexander McCall Smith is one of the world's most prolific and popular authors. He has won numerous awards for his writing, including the British Book Award Author of the Year Award and a CBE for services to literature.

When their circus moves into a new town they soon make friends with a young boy named Tom. But Tom can't enjoy the circus because his granny has disappeared, and he's worried he'll never see her again. With the help of their astonishing circus skills can the Shortbread circus stars crack the clues and find Tom's granny?

In the words of Alexander McCall Smith: "You feel the rocking of the train, you hear the sound of its wheels on the rails; you are in the world rather than suspended somewhere above it. And sometimes there are conversations to be had, which is what the overarching story in this collection is all about. It is a simple device: people brought together entertain one another with tales of what happened to them on trains. It takes place on a journey I frequently make myself and know well, the journey between Edinburgh and London. It is best read on a train, preferably that one."