7-year-old Mia tries to liberate her overworked mother from the clutches of an overpopulated metropolis. In her quest, she unlocks the hidden secrets that make the world turn.
When Matthew explores the 'spiral' in his grandmother's garden (a strange structure built by his late grandfather) he discovers an entrance into the magical world of 'the Shadows' where he meets his new Shadow friends, Yorrick and Alice, and begins his great adventure.
Following Smaug's attack on Laketown, Bilbo and the dwarves try to defend Erebor's mountain of treasure from others who claim it: the men of the ruined Laketown and the elves of Mirkwood.
Three boys and two girls go backpacking from the city to a paradisiacal island. There they rent motorcycles, travel around the prettiest and most remote spots, camp out in the woods, on a coastal cliff, get drunk and swim in the sea.
This story began with a blind, bull elephant called Pla-Ra. Paul Barton took his piano to ElephantsWorld, a Sanctuary on the banks of the River Kwai in Thailand and began playing to the elephants while they were eating.