Books published by publisher Pokey Hat

*Winner of the Great War Dundee Children’s Book Prize* When your teacher’s a spy, who can you trust? Dundee, 1915. When twelve-year-old Nancy suspects one of her teachers is a German spy, she ropes in the reluctant Jamie Balfour to help her uncover the scheme. Midshipman Harry Melville is aboard HMS Argyll in the stormy North Sea, unaware of both hidden rocks and German plots that threaten the ship. Nancy and Jamie discover HMS Argyll is in deadly danger and they are drawn into a web of espionage, secrets, and betrayal, where no-one is as they seem and no-one can be trusted.

Discover Scotland’s real-life Animal Superstars! Read about 25 braw birds and beasties and find out how these incredible creatures made their mark on Scottish history.Meet these animal heroes through their inspiring true-life tales:• Towser: the tortoiseshell cat that holds the Guinness World Record for catching the most mice ever;• Socks: the moonwalking Shetland pony and media sensation;• Winkie: a pigeon honoured for bravery during WW2;• Kylie: a bilingual dolphin that taught herself to ‘speak’ porpoise and many more!Filled with fun facts and amazing adventures, Scotland’s Animal Superstars is ideal for curious minds and animal lovers everywhere!A portion of the royalties from the sale of this book will be donated to the Scottish SPCA.

SANTA’S GONE. IT’S TIME TO FIX CHRISTMAS. Meet Elma the Elf: a chatterbox, an inventor and a pain in theChristmas pudding! Elma is about to start her dream job at Santa’s ToyFactory. But all is not well in the Arctic Circle… Santa is missing and there’s only one mangy reindeer left — Comet! Can Elma save Christmas with Comet’s help? Where is Santa? How will the presents be delivered in time? Who’s the sinister fellow (with weird hair) sabotaging her plans? And just how cold does it have to be to freeze bogies? Find out in this tinsel-tastic Advent adventure! Put the magic back into Christmas with Elma the Elf and her mission to save Santa and his reindeer. With 24 chapters, it’s perfect for parents andchildren to share during Advent to countdown to the big day!

SANTA’S GONE. IT’S TIME TO FIX CHRISTMAS.Meet Elma the Elf: a chatterbox, an inventor and a pain in theChristmas pudding! Elma is about to start her dream job at Santa’s ToyFactory. But all is not well in the Arctic Circle… Santa is missing andthere’s only one mangy reindeer left — Comet!Can Elma save Christmas with Comet’s help? Where is Santa? How willthe presents be delivered in time? Who’s the sinister fellow (with weirdhair) sabotaging her plans? And just how cold does it have to be tofreeze bogies?Find out in this tinsel-tastic Advent adventure!Put the magic back into Christmas with Elma the Elf and her mission tosave Santa and his reindeer. With 24 chapters, it’s perfect for parents andchildren to share during Advent to countdown to the big day!

The worlds of rich and poor collide in this gripping Victorian adventure as Jim and Jessie unravel the past and its pattern of secrets… Paisley 1876. 12-year-old Jim has escaped from the Poorhouse and now he must save his little brother from the same fate. His only hope lies in a mysterious family heirloom—a Paisley patterned shawl that has five guineas sewn into its hem—the price of freedom. Jim must find the shawl and break into the big house to steal it back. But the girl with the dark hair is always watching... ‘A tapestry of kinship, loss and compassion with poignant resonances for today.’ Robert J. Harris

Down by the coast, black water swirls and hides its secrets...Dumfries, 1792. Henry may only be thirteen, but he has already begun his training in the Excise, combatting smuggling like his father does. But when a large smuggling schooner is stranded nearby, the stakes are high—even with reinforcements, and the newly recruited officer, a poet called Robert Burns. Musket fire, obstructive locals, quicksand and cannonballs—it is a mission of survival. As it turns out: Henry has a crucial part to play... ‘A glittering, real-life adventure swirling with secrets, suspense and nail-biting action.’ Ally Sherrick

AN ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTERAN UNDERSEA ADVENTURETom and Beth are not happy when they move to North Berwick in Scotland and find themselves facing a rainy, windswept beach, a house that’s falling to pieces and a school full of strangers. But when an oil tanker crashes into the Bass Rock, the small seaside town is shaken to its core and Tom and Beth suddenly find themselves in a race to rescue the local sea life and save their new community from environmental catastrophe...Tom and Beth must save the Firth of Forth from environmental disaster in this timely underwater adventure with community activism at its heart.