Cirrus@Austlit

'Charming, funny and absurdly good - find out where it all began in the prequel to The Adventures of Nanny Piggins.

'PREPARE YOURSELF FOR THE GREATEST STORY ABOUT A FARMYARD ANIMAL EVER TOLD.

'When Mother Piggins leaves the family sty for a job on a yacht, the Piggins piglets are faced with two options- fend for themselves . . . or become bacon sandwiches.

'Luckily, Sarah Piggins is no ordinary piglet.

'An amazing lemon meringue pie makes Sarah the most sought-after baker in the region, and their future is looking up. But when her no-good siblings sell all the cakes to visit the local circus without her, Sarah is forced to use all her agility and cunning to punish them. Her spectacular feat captures the eye of the world's most despicable ringmaster, and Sarah's fate - and that of the circus crew - is changed forever . . .

'Discover the side-splitting story that inspired a phenomenon with the prequel to The Adventures of Nanny Piggins. Hear Nanny Piggins' stories, and more, on the hit podcast with over 5 million downloads Bedtime Stories with R.A. Spratt.'  (Publication summary)

'Nanny Piggins, the world's most glamorous flying pig, runs away from the circus and goes to live with the Greens as their nanny. The Green children, Derrick, Samantha and Michael, fall in love with her instantly. Who could not fall in love with a Nanny whose only job qualifications are her astonishing ability to be fired out of a cannon and her amazing ability to make chocolate cake, sometimes both at the same time?

'They then have some wonderful adventures together. I won't spoil them for you by listing them all but they do include catching a serial doorknob thief, hiding a 10-foot dancing bear in the basement and being lost at sea en route to China.' (Publisher's blurb)

'When Mr Green announces his diabolical plan - he has decided to get married - his children (Derrick, Samantha and Michael) are horrified.

'Especially when they discover his real motive - he wants to get married so he can sack their beloved nanny, Nanny Piggins.

'Obviously their father has to be stopped, and Nanny Piggins is just the pig to do it. Because you should never ever cross a flying pig. And so, in the process of ruining Mr Green's matrimonial prospects, Nanny Piggins and the children have many exciting adventures - including being blasted across Dead Man's Gorge with an armadillo, breaking into a maximum-security prison in search of Chinese food and fighting a Gypsy Queen over a pit of fire.'  (Publication summary)

'With a runaway lion loose in the neighbourhood, Derrick, Samantha and Michael feel scared. Nanny Piggins feels like a slice of cake. And Boris feels like that lion looks strangely familiar.

'In this third action-packed book of adventures, Nanny Piggins tames a lion and a lion tamer. She revolutionises the sport of ski jumping, introduces hot-pink leotards to the local Neighbourhood Watch, demonstrates trapeze skills on a moving bus, plays badminton with a wok and teaches Shakespeare a thing or two about how to write a play. All while thwarting Mr Green's attempt to send her favourite children to Nicaragua (she does find it wearisome having to put him in his place constantly). And yet, somehow, she still finds time to bake lots and lots of cake.' (From the pubblisher's website.)

'Nanny Piggins gets in trouble with the law after some illicit tight rope walking, and is sentenced to 5000 hours community service. But she isn't the type of pig to take her punishment lying down, not when there are old people to rescue, pirates to impersonate and a great big bus to borrow.'