Fox Magic

Holland, 1650. One fine spring day in Friesland, twenty-year-old Clara van Weiren is faced with an ill omen: a whale, beached and rotting in the noonday sun. But Clara doesn’t believe in magic and superstition, and this portent is quickly dismissed when a proposal from a wealthy merchant arrives, promising Clara the freedom she seeks from her mother’s overbearing rule. When her attempts at overseeing the household at the family’s estate lead to her chance encounter with a young man with russet hair and sparkling eyes the color of the sea, she finds herself strangely drawn to him.

Roald Dahl’s wickedly funny novels have turned him into the world’s number one storyteller. In this collection five splendiferous stories are brought to life by the author himself.

I shared my soul to save his life. It seems as if great happiness is for other men. For most of my life, it's eluded me. I get close and then it disappears. But when I watched Sergeant Ryker Drellan slide across an icy battlefield to save my army from an unexpected attack, something inside me began to hope. He gave his life for ours that day, but I brought him back with the help of my soul stone, the Fox Soul. I'm the warlord of the Fox Army—a blended fighting force of faeries and humans. I've been the Fox Lord for many years, but I've never met a soldier like Ryker. He's rash, brave, ...

Clare is the undead fox of Deadwood Forest. Here, leaves grow in a perpetual state of fall: not quite dead, but not quite alive…just like Clare. Long ago, he was struck by a car, and, hovering between life and death, he was given the choice to either cross into the Afterlife or become an Usher of wandering souls. Clare chose the latter: stepping into a solitary life of helping souls meet their destiny. Clare’s quiet and predictable days are met with upheaval when a badger soul named Gingersnipes knocks on his door.

Number one New York Times best-selling author John Flanagan returns to the world of Ranger's Apprentice, beginning a new story arc starring fan favorites, Will and Maddie (Ranger's Apprentice: The Royal Ranger). Picking up where Ranger's Apprentice: The Royal Ranger left off, this next installment continues the story arc featuring young apprentice, Maddie, and the student-turned-master, Will Treaty. The time has come for the next generation to assume the mantle and become protectors of the kingdom of Araluen.

Writing as an ordinary mother as well as a best-selling author and internationally respected literacy expert, Fox explores when and where to read aloud and demonstrates with clear, easy-to-follow examples how to read aloud to best effect and how to get the most value and joy out of a read-aloud session. Filled with practical advice, activities, and inspiring true read-aloud miracles, this audiobook is a must for every parent - and for anyone who would like to know more about how children learn to read.

Meet DJ Funkyfoot! He’s not actually a DJ - he’s a chihuahua and a butler! Meet ShrubBaby! She’s an adorable baby shrub with a taste for thrills, fertilizer, and fame. Finding a butler gig is hard these days, so DJ Funkyfoot takes a job that’s almost like being a butler.... He becomes a nanny for ShrubBaby! A nanny might say no to this baby’s whims, but a good butler always says yes. So when adventure calls and ShrubBaby says, “Let’s go!”, DJ Funkyfoot says, “Very good, m’lady, I’ll fetch your stroller”.

I've been living in a small town working for the vampires for the last six months. All I want is to save up enough to open an apothecary so I don't have to heal the neckers anymore. Of course, nothing in my life can be that simple. Two detectives show up at my door asking questions about a dead girl and trying to pin the murder on my employer. Next thing I know, I'm dodging fireballs in parking lots.

From the bestselling author of the Blackthorn Key series, this magic-infused fantasy brings together a ragtag group of kids to pull off a crime so difficult, countless adults have already tried and failed. Lured by the promise of more money than they've ever dreamed of, five young criminals are hired to steal a heavily guarded treasure from the most powerful sorcerer in the city.

The year is 2057. Endless wars have torn the USA apart and enslaved Americans to the evil CCR, the Confederation of Consolidated Republics. Growing up in wartime has made 14-year-old Cody Pierce wise in survival skills. Now he’s The White Fox, rebel leader of the children’s barracks in a CCR prison camp. Cody manages a terrifying escape and then plays cat and mouse with the CCR. Every day brings him closer to capture, but closer as well to his goal - to return and liberate the children he left behind.

The quest continues as white fox Dilah and his friends follow the moonstone's guiding light, hearts set on transforming into humans. Along the way, they discover hostile terrain, new friends, fearsome enemies and legendary magic -- including a mythical enchanted forest which may be the answer to all their prayers... but can they pass the ultimate test and prove they have what it takes to be human?

Manchuria, 1908: A young woman is found frozen in the snow. Her death is clouded by rumours of foxes, believed to lure people into peril by transforming into beautiful women and men. Bao, a detective with a reputation for sniffing out the truth, is hired to uncover the dead woman's identity. Since childhood, Bao has been intrigued by the fox gods, yet they've remained tantalizingly out of reach. Until, perhaps, now.

When a young white fox named Dilah discovers a human family, he begins to dream of being human himself. But when his parents are assassinated, long-held secrets and a legend about a miraculous treasure rise to the surface. A treasure with the power to make animals human.... The clues to its location are contained in a moonstone buried beneath their den. But evil blue foxes seek the treasure, too, and Dilah must race to find it first. Along the way, he meets all sorts of other creatures: a friendly seal, an ancient tortoise, and a fierce leopard - but can he stay one step ahead?

With the stroke of a pen, twenty-three-year-old Ivy Radcliffe becomes Lady Hayworth, owner of a sprawling estate on the Yorkshire moors. Ivy has never heard of Blackwood Abbey, or of the ancient bloodline from which she’s descended. With nothing to keep her in London since losing her brother in the Great War, she warily makes her way to her new home.

The Keepers are a secretive tribe of little people who live at the heart of the Whispering Woods, caring for the countryside and rewilding it when humans (or Ruffins, as they call them) are careless with it.

It's been years since screenwriter Georgie Johansen last visited her Aunt Olivia's farm in the coastal town of Twilight Cove, and things have certainly changed. First of all, it's now an animal sanctuary, and then there's the new farmhand who's as mysterious as he is handsome. Her first day on the farm, Georgie encounters the eccentric Dorothy Shale, an older woman who lives in a cabin in the woods. There are rumours that Dorothy's a witch, but Georgie doesn't believe that. Although, Dorothy does have an unusual magical presence around her.

John Flanagan returns to the world of Ranger’s Apprentice to find out what happens when Will’s apprentice, Maddie - the Royal Ranger - returns home to Castle Araluen. The Kingdom may have been at peace for a number of years, but there are always those who would commit treason to take power for themselves. When Maddie learns of a plot against the crown, she must go undercover to find out more - and hopefully stop it. But going undercover isn’t easy when you’re the princess - even if you’re trained as a Ranger.

Commanded by the magical artifact known as the Dragon’s Eye, junior con artist Callan and his friends are eagerly reaching the end of the epic quest that will finally free him from the Eye’s sinister hold. But their final task is their most ambitious: sneaking into the emperor’s private island prison and rescuing a man from a jail cell that has been locked tight for a hundred years. This impossible heist will strain the gang’s unique abilities to thieve and deceive everyone from the guards, the city elite, the warden, and even the nefarious local crime boss who warns them to stay away.

Comedy is king. From multimillion-dollar TV specials to sold-out stand-up shows and TikTok stardom, comedy has never been more popular, democratized, or influential. Comedians have become organizing forces across culture—as trusted as politicians and as fawned-over as celebrities—yet comedy as an art form has gone under-considered throughout its history, even as it has ascended as a cultural force.

Rule number one: Never mess with magic. Even so, a life-or-death situation calls for Callan and his criminal friends to make a deal with the Eye—the sinister, sentient artifact they stole from a sorcerer. It's Lachlan's life in exchange for a future task, and the gang has no choice but to agree.