Published by Usborne

Fire Pony by Rodman Philbrick

Roy and Joe are on the run and desperate for a fresh start. When they arrive at the Bar None Joe impresses the foreman with his amazing gift of taming the ‘untameable’ horse Showdown. The two brothers are hired and little brother Roy is offered the chance of a lifetime – if he can break in a wild pony he’ll get to race her and keep her. Life couldn’t be better. But Roy hasn’t forgotten that Joe’s dark side forced them to flee from the last ranch and that it could flare up again if Joe gets angry and loses control.

A topnotch adventure set in the American West – a must read for all horse lovers.

Published by Corgi

Kitty by William Corlett

Kitty is a stray puppy who loves adventures but is too scared to cross the motorway. She meets Bailey a streetwise stray and the two of them embark on an exciting and dangerous journey through Spain until they find the safety of the magic garden. This is a story of love, longing and adventure.
 

Published by MacMillan

Hoot by Carl Hiassen

Roy has reluctantly moved to Florida but at least the bullies in Florida are similar to those back home – horrible. Then again, if it hadn’t been for bully Dana Matherson mashing Roy’s face against the bus window on the way to school he may never have seen the strange boy running barefoot away from the bus. Roy decides to follow the strange boy and becomes entangled in a mission to stop a new pancake restaurant opening in town involving potty-trained alligators, vicious snakes, cute burrowing owls and a very dodgy pancake PR man.
 

Varjak Paw by S F Said

Varjak Paw is a Mesopotamian Blue kitten who lives with his family in an isolated house. His grandfather senses danger to the family and instructs Varjak in the Way - a secret martial art for cats. But before he can finish his training, they are both attacked and Varjak flees to the city with dangerous dogs and vicious cat gangs. Can he use the Way to survive and solve the mysterious Vanishings? A beautifully illustrated story of a cat's struggle to survive and protect his family.

Sequel; The Outlaw Varjak Paw

Into the Wild by Erin Hunter

A young cat named Rusty living with his housefolk next to the woods suddenly discovers the wildcats that live there. They offer him a place in their Clan – and Rusty becomes a member of ThunderClan. Together with his friends, Greypaw and Ravenpaw, Rusty becomes Firepaw and starts a new life full of adventure trying to unmask a traitor and save his friend. Remember – ‘Fire alone will save our Clan.’

Sequel : Fire and Ice; Rising Storm; A Dangerous Path; The Darkest Hour

Wringer by Jerry Spinelli

Every year the American town of Waymar celebrates Family Fest, climaxing with pigeon day when 5,000 pigeons are released to be shot by the marksmen of the local community as a fund raiser. Palmer is very aware of the local tradition which requires him to become a wringer at the age of ten. He desperately wants to be accepted by the gang at school, but has to work through the moral difficulties involved. Dorothy and Palmer befriend a pigeon over the winter, and the story has a thrilling climax, where Palmer learns to stand up for what he believes in.

Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel

Shade is the runt of the newborns in the Silverwing bat colony. While flying south for the migration to Hibernaculum, a storm blows him off course and he loses contact with his mother and the rest of the colony. All alone, he fortunately meets Marina, a Brightwing bat with a curious band around her forearm, and together they set off south to try and rejoin his colony. This starts an epic journey fraught with danger. Will Shade manage to reach Hibernaculum?