Books with author Val Hughes

Barny, or Barnaby Maksimillian III to give him his full name, is cat royalty - a pure bred Russian Blue national champion. He lives a well-fed quiet and pampered life with his family Lord & Lady Marchbanks and their children. When he and their daughter Jemima are ‘Catnapped’ it soon becomes clear that Barny has to be brave and attempt a rescue mission. His quest is filled with danger, new faces, new places and many exciting adventures. Follow his journey and find out whether Barny gets home in time to save Jemima. Fiction for younger readers aged 6+

Solomon is a large black cat. He lives in a second floor London apartment with his owners Rachel and Tom. Unable to go out on his own he spends hours each day looking out from his sunny seat on the windowsill, dreaming of running through the grass in the park across the road. Desperate he plans an escape to realise his dreams. Little does he know that this is the start of a much bigger adventure involving trees, queens, underground trains and feral cats not to mention a fight for his life.

Bertie Bones, archaeologist, receives a secretive and mysterious phone-call from Salvador Gonzales a TV executive who has him travelling to Mexico, then across deserts and deep into the Sierra Madre mountains. Meeting some old friends and making some new Bertie gets caught up in a secretive and undercover expedition to search for the long lost gold of the Aztec emperor Montezuma. Things do not go exactly as planned though and Bertie finds himself in danger, helped only by an unexpected stowaway….

This delightful collection of three board books is perfect for toddlers acquiring language skills. Each page features a full-color photo of a familiar animal followed by a two-word text that includes the animal’s name and a verb to describe what the animal is doing, e.g. Penguin splishing/ Horse splashing. At the end of each book, a young child is shown having a bath, having a nap, or playing. The rhythmic cadence of the text, the rich vocabulary, and the vivid photos are ideal for sharing with a toddler.

In Play Time, each page features a full-color photo of a familiar animal followed by a two-word text that includes the animal’s name and a verb to describe what the animal is doing, e.g. Cat pouncing/ Dolphins somersaulting. At the end of the book, a young children are shown playing. The rhythmic cadence of the text, the rich vocabulary, and the vivid photos are ideal for sharing with a toddler.