The Great Cake Mystery


Book Description

Before becoming the first female private investigator in Botswana, eight-year-old Precious Ramotswe tracks down a thief who has been stealing her classmates' snacks.




Precious and the Monkeys


Book Description

Well before Precious Ramotswe founded her Number One Ladies' Detective Agency, as an eight-year-old girl she was already solving mysteries. Here, in this delightful, enchanting tale for children, we find out just who has been stealing her schoolfriends' snacks and how the young Precious became the crafty and intuitive private investigator we all know and love!




Kasey to the Rescue


Book Description

This is a story of how miracles DO happen. How courage and a never-give-up spirit can emerge victorious. How an engaging little monkey helped change a family's life. Ellen Rogers considered herself something of a tragedy snob. The single mother of five believed she could weather any storm, that she could keep her family from harm with fortitude and grace. But nothing could have prepared her for the June 2005 car accident that left her son, Ned--then 22 years old--fighting for his life. Ellen refused to give in to despair. We'll get through this, she told herself. We have to. But love and determination can only go so far, and the road home was fraught with obstacles. Ellen and Ned took comfort in family and friends. And they prayed for a miracle. Miracles happen to those who believe, the saying goes, but who would have believed that one family's "miracle" would weigh in at five pounds sopping wet? Then Helping Hands: Monkey Helpers for the Disabled provided Ned with an affectionate and intelligent service animal with a steadfast devotion to hierarchy, a longing for "spa days," and a craving for Gummi Bears. In other words, a diva. Life with Kasey was yet another challenge for this large and lively family, but they persevered as families do, and in time this wise and sensitive animal did more than help Ned cope with his disabilities--she turned the simple tasks of life into a life worth living. Kasey's astonishing intelligence and compassion brought hope and laughter back to a family facing its greatest challenge, and helped them see the world in a new way.




Monkey & Robot


Book Description

Best friends Monkey and Robot, who laugh and jump up and down when they are happy, enjoy a variety of activities. This snappy collection includes their first four adventures. Illustrations.




No Touch Monkey!


Book Description

Zine queen Ayun Halliday confesses the best-and worst-of her globetrotting misadventures. "I laughed hard on nearly every page of this shockingly intimate memoir and deeply funny book." -- Stephen Colbert Ayun Halliday may not make for the most sensible travel companion, but she is certainly one of the zaniest, with a knack for inserting herself (and her unwitting cohorts) into bizarre situations around the globe. Curator of kitsch and unabashed aficionada of pop culture, Halliday offers bemused, self-deprecating narration of events from guerrilla theater in Romania to drug-induced Apocalypse Now reenactments in Vietnam to a perhaps more surreal collagen-implant demonstration at a Paris fashion show emceed by Lauren Bacall. On layover in Amsterdam, Halliday finds unlikely trouble in the red-light district -- eliciting the ire of a tiny, violent madam, and is forced to explain tampons to soldiers in Kashmir -- "they're for ladies. Bleeding ladies" -- that, she admits, "might have looked like white cotton bullets lined up in their box." A self-admittedly bumbling vacationer, Halliday shares -- with razor-sharp wit and to hilarious effect -- the travel stories most are too self-conscious to tell. Includes line drawings, generously provided by the author.




The Mystery of the Missing Lion


Book Description

A detective in the wild. Young Precious gets a very special treat. She gets a trip to visit her Aunty Bee at a safari camp. While there she makes a new friend, a boy named Khumo, and meets an actor-lion named Teddy, who is starring in a film. When Teddy disappears, Khumo and Precious will brave hippos and crocodiles as they search for the missing lion. With a Reader's Guide




Portuguese Irregular Verbs


Book Description

A deliciously entertaining new series by the bestselling author of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency The many fans of Precious Ramotswe will find further cause for celebration in the protagonist of Alexander McCall Smith’s irresistibly funny trilogy, the eminent (if shamefully under-read) philologist Professor Dr. Mortiz-Maria von Igelfeld of the Institute at Regensburg. Unnaturally tall, hypersensitive to slights, and oblivious to his own frequent gaucheries, von Igelfeld is engaged in a never-ending quest to win the respect he knows is due him. Portuguese Irregular Verbs follows the Professor from a busman’s holiday researching old Irish obscenities to a flirtation with a desirable lady dentist. In The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs, von Igelfeld practices veterinary medicine without a license, transports relics for a schismatically challenged Coptic prelate and is mobbed by marriage-minded widows on board a Mediterranean cruise ship. In At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances, the final novel in the trilogy, we find our hero suffering the slings of academic intrigue as a visiting fellow at Cambridge, and the slings of outrageous fortune in an eventful Columbian adventure.




The Monkey's Raincoat


Book Description

“Elvis Cole provides more fun for the reader than any L.A. private eye to come along in years.”—Joseph Wambaugh WINNER OF THE ANTHONY AND MACAVITY AWARDS FOR BEST NOVEL • NOMINATED FOR THE EDGAR AND SHAMUS AWARDS FOR BEST NOVEL Meet Elvis Cole, L.A. Private Eye. . . . He quotes Jiminy Cricket and carries a .38. He’s a literate, wisecracking Vietnam vet who is determined to never grow up. When quiet Ellen Lang enters Elvis Cole’s Disney-Deco office, she’s lost something very valuable—her husband and her young son. The case seems simple enough, but Elvis isn’t thrilled. Neither is his enigmatic partner and firepower, Joe Pike. Their search down the seamy side of Hollywood’s studio lots and sculptured lawns soon leads them deep into a nasty netherworld of drugs, sex—and murder. Now the case is getting interesting, but it’s also turned ugly. Because everybody, from cops to starlets to crooks, has declared war on Ellen and Elvis. For Ellen, it isn’t Funtown anymore. For Elvis, it’s just a living . . . He hopes. Praise for The Monkey's Raincoat “Outstanding characters, tight plot, and scintillating prose style. . . . This fast-paced story speeds Elvis Cole to a chilling, heart-stopping ending.”—Mystery Scene “Is Bob Crais good? Put it this way: if they're taking you out to put you against the firing squad wall, and you want to enjoy your last moments on earth, pass on the last cigarette and ask for an Elvis Cole novel.”—Harlan Ellison “Far and away the most satisfying private eye novel in years. Grab this one—it's a winner!”—Lawrence Block “The best private eye novel of the year . . . lots of action; bright, crisp dialogue; and sharply drawn characters.”—The Denver Post “Robert B. Parker has some competition on his hands. . . . Elvis Cole is an appealing character and Crais's style is fresh and funny.”—Sue Grafton “In Crais, a new star has appeared on the private eye scene—a dazzling first novel.”—Tony Hillerman




The Mystery of Meerkat Hill


Book Description

Precious wants to be a detective when she grows up. She is always practicing at being a detective by asking questions and finding out about other people’s lives. There are two new students in her class, a girl called Teb and a boy called Pontsho. She learns that they are brother and sister, and—even more exciting—that Pontsho has a clever pet meerkat named Kosi. One day, Teb and Pontsho’s family’s cow disappears. Precious helps them look for clues to find the cow. But getting the cow back home will require some quick thinking and help from an unexpected source.




Monkey's Great Adventures - Afloat in Venice


Book Description

Monkey can't wait to use his new camera in Venice... but along the way he discovers something more precious than sight-seeing! Monkey, an endearing soft toy finds himself in all sorts of scrapes in which he learns all manner of things about himself and the world around him. Imaginative, nostalgic and quirky, the 'Monkey's Great Adventures' series by Tina Wilson, with bespoke hand knitted toys, is beautifully photographed in locations all around the world. In the first book, 'Afloat in Venice', Monkey finds himself entranced by a "magical floating city that seems to grow straight out of the sea." This work includes original music composed by the multi-award winning and highly acclaimed, Matt Ottley, with two versions narrated by the author ensuring the story can be enjoyed by the visually impaired, or anyone with or without the book. Heartwarming and unique this series brilliantly captures the innocence of childhood and will be enjoyed by all ages.