Humorous Nature

Best-selling author Katherine Applegate returns for another hilarious life lesson with the antics of well-meaning Roscoe Riley. It seems everyone is winning trophies lately - except Roscoe. A dog trick contest could turn things around, but Roscoe's goofy dog can't learn any neat tricks. So he decides to trade the sweater his grandmother knitted him to borrow his neighbor's genius dog. Roscoe didn't much like the sweater before, but now that it's gone, he's starting to wonder if he made the right decision.

Sally May is planning to host a dance in her yard and launches a major Spring Cleaning Offensive! When a grumbling Slim is drafted to haul trash to the burn barrel, Hank decides it might be a good idea to keep an eye on him. He was right! Later, Miss Viola’s pickup breaks down in front of Slim’s house, and she needs Slim’s expert help as a mechanic. Will the bachelor cowboy take theopportunity to ask her to the dance or will the Head of Ranch Security have to take her to the dance? Miss Viola sings “Silly Old Maid.”

It's roundup time, and Hank the Cowdog is ready to strut his stuff. So what's Benny - a world-class cattle dog with the papers to prove it - doing at the ranch? As Head of Ranch Security, Hank knows it's his job to find out. But what Hank learns isn't easy to swallow. Benny has been brought in to take his place in the roundup!

Get ready for laughs when you listen to these excerpts from ten of Hank's stories. Performed in the style of an old-time radio show, complete with sound effects and a unique voice for each character! You will hear Hank as he bargains for a priceless corncob, learns about manners from Wallace the Buzzard, runs into Rip and Snort the coyote brothers, taunts a raging rottweiler, gets into trouble with Sally May the rancher's wife, and more!

Fall is an important time of year on a ranch, mostly because it means that winter is coming soon! And, on Hank’s ranch, that means that the cake house is about to be filled with bags of feed to get the cattle through the long frozen days ahead. Unfortunately, this particular feed-delivery is accompanied by a town mutt named Roy, who gets Hank into big trouble with some local yellow jacket wasps.

It's a dark day for Hank the Cowdog. First, Loper invites Hank's archenemy, Plato the Bird Dog, over for some quail hunting on the ranch. Then Beulah, the collie of Hank's dreams, snubs him in favor of watching Plato in action. But when Beulah finds herself caught in the clutches of a ruthless cannibal, Hank knows there's only one dog tough enough to save her...and it isn't a bird dog.

Does any child like to go shopping? Not Llama Llama! But Mama can't leave Llama at home, so off they go to Shop-O-Rama. Lots of aisles. Long lines. Mama is too busy to notice that Llama Llama is getting m-a-d! And before he knows it, he's having a full-out tantrum! Mama quickly calms him down, but she also realizes that they need to make shopping more fun for both of them. Parents and children are sure to recognize themselves in this fun-to-listen to follow-up to the popular Llama Llama Red Pajama.

Leroy Ninker is a small man with a big dream: he wants to be a cowboy, but for now he's just a thief. In fact, Leroy is robbing the Watsons' kitchen right this minute! As he drags the toaster across the counter ( screeeeeech) and drops it into his bag ( clannngggg), little does he know that a certain large pig who loves toast with a great deal of butter is stirring from sleep.

From rags to riches...When Pete the Barncat offers to trade good, juicy steak scraps for a couple of old corncobs, Hank the Cowdog smells a rat. Why would Pete want to trade - unless the cobs are worth a fortune? So, armed with his Incredible PricelessCorncobs, Hank sets out to plan his Early Retirement. But retirement and the life of luxury don't come as easily as Hank expects. It seems as though everyone is after his treasure - even his faithful sidekick, Drover!

Hank the Cowdog is in hot water with Sally May--again! But, before Hank has a chance to convince her how sorry he is, he learns the ranch is being targeted for a major invasion from his arch-enemies the coyotes. Does Hank have what it takes to save his reputation, protect the ranch, and make things right with Sally May? Hank sings about his dog food in "Eating Doesn't Have to Be Fun", and Hank stops in his tracks when he hears "The Coyote Chicken Chant".

Pete the Cat bites into a bad banana and decides that he never, ever wants to eat another banana again. But Pete really likes bananas! Will a rotten bite ruin Pete's love for this tasty fruit? Pete the Cat and the Bad Banana is a My First I Can Read book, which means it's perfect for shared reading and listening with a child.

When Pete's friends don't want to play the same games as he does, Pete has a great idea - he'll build a robot that will do whatever he tells it to. But when Robo-Pete gets a little out of control, Pete learns an important lesson about friendship.

Loper and Sally May have left Slim to manage the ranch while they go off to visit the relatives for the holidays. But just when it begins to look like another boring bachelor Christmas with Slim, a storm blows in and the electric fence separating a herd of steer from the highway shorts out. Now, it's up to Slim, Viola, and the ranch's Security Division to jump into action! Things take a surprising twist when Slim comes down with a burning fever in the middle of the operation, but nobody could have been ready for the surprise that transpires on the way to the hospital!

When a funny turn of events brings a parrot to the ranch, Hank is not worried. After all, what harm can one copycat bird do? So he decides to go about his business. The only problem is, Loper and Sally May don't seem to appreciate his heeding their requests to bark louder and dig up the flowers. What's really going on here? Hank's not sure, but he's determined to find out! Picknickers sing "Because Thy Loving Kindness," and Drover sings a little number called "There Once Was a Doggie".

For Paddington, one of the nicest things about being a bear and living with the Brown family is being able to share their lovely garden. And though he may not have “green fingers”, the fact that paws and marmalade are never far apart leads to some unexpectedly colourful results during National Garden Week!

Judy Moody is in a mood. A sleuthing, Nancy Drew kind of mood. So what’s a WBMS (world’s best mystery solver) to do? Go find a mystery, that’s what! And she doesn’t have to snoop for long: when Mr. Chips, a beloved crime-dog-in-training, goes missing, Judy Drewdy and her chums, agents Dills Pickle (Frank), Spuds Houdini (Rocky), and James Madagascar (Stink) find themselves smack-dab in the middle of a real-life, scare-your-pants-off whodunit. Was Mr. Chips stolen by dirty dognappers? And why are chocolate-chip cookies disappearing all over town?

Mr. Boorschmidt's Stupendous and Unexcelled Circus is back in town. This time one of its attractions is really out of this world. In the big ring are six Martians and their flying saucer! But Boorschmidt doesn't stop there. He wants something even more spectacular to offer the audience, so he asks Freddy for help. Freddy knows what to do. He organizes an amazing baseball team.

A robin with poor eyesight has mistaken Freddy the pig's tail for a worm. Putting aside the poem he is writing, Freddy decides to help the poor bird solve his problem. But the solution just seems to lead to bigger problems.

Trap Stilton is really trapped! He's caught in Count von Ratoff's castle and it's up to Geronimo to save him. Scamper alongside Geronimo on a journey through Transratania that is guaranteed to make your whiskers stand on end. Mice of all ages will enjoy this entertaining read.

The Just Chillin’ ice cream truck is coming today and Pete the Cat can't wait. He runs as fast as he can to find the truck. It's getting late, but his friends need his help. Will Pete take a little time out of his day to help his friends? Follow Pete the Cat as he learns that it's always cool to be kind.