"For Sam, a widower recently returned to London, Jack is Christmas Street's unofficial welcoming committee. For Sam's young son, Teddy, the small, scruffy mutt is a confidante, Teddy's much-needed and so far only friend. Bill, the street's oldest, grumpiest resident, remembers when everyone knew and looked out for each other. Now, people live side by side for years, scarcely interacting. Jack-- an abandoned dog-- is changing that. He is an unlikely...

"For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life is pretty great. He's the caretaker of the best baby skunk in the world--even Janie, his older sister, is warming up to Thor. When Janie gets a part in the school play and can't watch Bat after school, it means some pretty big changes. Someone else has to take care of the skunk kit in the afternoons, Janie is having sleepovers with her new friends, and Bat wants everything to go back to normal. He just...

"It is September 1940-a year into the war-and as German bombs fall on Britain, fears grow of an impending invasion. Enemy fighter planes blacken the sky around the Epping Forest home of Susan Shepherd and her grandfather, Bertie. After losing her parents to influenza as a child, Susan found comfort in raising homing pigeons with Bertie. All her birds are extraordinary to Susan-loyal, intelligent, beautiful-but none more so than Duchess. Hatched from...

Stella used to be a bomb-sniffing dog, but after a terrible accident, she goes to live on a small family farm to recover from her fear of loud noises. As a puppy, Stella was trained to use her powerful beagle nose to sniff out dangerous chemicals and help her handler keep people safe. During a routine security inspection, Stella misses the scent of an explosive. The sound of the blast is loud and scary. Unable to go back to work because of her anxiety,...