Purdy & Barker SERIES
The stories of Purdy & Barker are my tribute to the classic, philosophical fairy tale. The coexistence of two different personalities offers opportunities to reflect on life, gently bubbling and sometimes diving into deeper waters. And at the end of the day, it's nice to say, likePurdy & Barker: today was a good day.​​
Purdy & Barker
Timo Parvela’s winning collection of stories will enchant the entire family.
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Purdy is a cat and Barker is a dog. They live together on a sky-blue house on a hill. At the foot of the hill there’s a pond, and next to it a village that is home to their friends Chicken von Cluck, Cow Mooston, Horse Neighborly and others.
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“Do you think I’m perfect?” Purdy asks Barker one day, as they were mowing the lawn. Out of the corner of his eye, Barker glanced at his friend, who was waiting for an answer, tail quivering.
“I don’t think anyone’s totally perfect,” Barker said.
“But what about me?” Purdy insisted.
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The first book in the Purdy & Barker series contains 20 silly, serious stories.
Purdy & Barker and the Giant Snowball
Imagine if you woke up one day and found the biggest advent calendar in the world out in your yard.
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It would be like a gigantic snowball, and you’d find a wonderful surprise waiting in each window. Imagine if your best friend had built a calendar like that for you. And then it started to roll… off the edge of the yard, down the hill, through the village, and into the lake. Just imagine!
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Purdy, Barker and the Giant Snowball is a story full of surprises, friendship, greediness, selflessness, and the meaning of Christmas. It contains huge emotions and tiny tricks, as well as tiny emotions and one huge trick. And, of course, it ends with a miracle.
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Purdy and Barker continue to win over readers’ hearts in their second book! Like an advent calendar, the new book contains a story for every December morning, all the way up to Christmas. Each story is illustrated by a handsome, atmospheric full-spread image.
Purdy & Barker Build a House
A perky little rooster finally emerges from Chicken von Cluck’s egg, and the entire village rejoices. But the things aren’t going as well for the cat and the dog.
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As a result of a Christmas storm, Purdy’s and Barker’s house is sliding off the hill. Living in a titlted house is tough, because coffee cups won’t stay on the table and you have to nail the rugs to the floor. And so the friends decide to relocate the house back to its proper place at the top of the hill.
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It’s not as easy as it sounds, because the house is full of things that are hard to move and easy to break. Like, for instance, friendship, which is put to the test as Barker works his tail off while Purdy dreams up castles in the sky – made with a little marble, why not?
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The third Purdy & Barker book is all about a friendship between two creatures that is so strong that it moves an entire house.
Purdy & Barker’s Big Adventure
Purdy is bored with the daily grind and Barker’s stability. Purdy wants some excitement from life!
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‘I want a real adventure. The kind that starts from something teeny, from some event you barely notice but leads to one that’s a little bigger, which in turn leads to a strange coincidence that swells, unravels and in the end explodes into an adventure,’ Purdy explained.
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Purdy wants an adventure. But all Barker wants is a moment of peace so he can concentrate on building his miniature model of the village. And so the dog agrees to a fateful deal. Because Purdy promises that if Barker will dig a teeny tiny hole in the driveway, he will leave his friend in peace. How can such a huge adventure grow from such a tiny hole?
You’ll find out with Purdy & Barker’s Big Adventure, where the friends meet Bear Growler, go on a dragon hunt and save a maiden in distress. Just like you’re supposed to during big adventures.
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And at the end of the story, of course there’s a treasure. The biggest, the most beautiful one of all.
Purdy, Barker and Bear Growler
Friends Purdy and Barker have found a new companion. A tiny shrew with a big name has moved in with them.
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The shrew’s heart beats 800 times a minute, so it sounds like a tiny engine whose hum brings a new rhythm to the cat’s and dog’s everdyay life. The life of a shrew might be short, but it is also enviously intense.
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The new Purdy & Barker book is about life. It discusses growing and aging as a natural part of life’s cycle. As always, the book is full of warmth, the bumbling of the familiar characters, and lovable inanity.
Purdy & Barker’s Book of Stories
A collection of 16 delightfully humorous and touching stories.
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Barker is a cat and Purdy is a dog. They live together in a sky-blue house on a hill and… wait a minute, something’s gone wrong. Now that I think about it, Purdy is the cat and Barker is the dog. Silly me!
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In these incredibly humorous stories we meet a visiting dog called Vuhkobowitz, who Purdy considers strange and alien — until the pair discover that they have more in common than initially meets the eye.
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But what happens when the inhabitants of the sky-blue house start doing a spring clean? They method of recycling is fairly unorthodox, but as long as everyone’s happy that’s the main thing, right?
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Purdy & Barker’s Book of Stories is jam-packed full of fun, humour, and adventures from our dynamic duo.
Purdy & Barker’s Little Book of Friendship
A giftbook containing a lovely collection of philosophical musings from the Purdy & Barker series.​
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What’s the point of going through life’s good and bad moments, reading books, watching movies or listening to music if we can’t do any of those things with friends?
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This charming book is all about friendships, however unlikely they may seem.
Purdy & Barker’s Snout Book
Read the latest updates from the life of the village animals!
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What happened when the young baroness Chicken von Cluck fell in love with a fox? What happened when Donkey Brayton tired of his own voice? Did Cow Moomulch’s hammer land in exactly the wrong spot? How did Purdy and Barker end up living in the sky-blue house at the top of the hill?
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Purdy and Barker’s Snout Book contains funny, touching, exciting, and strange stories about the residents of this tiny town. We also hear a wilder-than-wild story about how Purdy and Barker’s unlikely friendship came about.
Purdy & Barker’s Travel Book
A delightful travel diary about a cat and dog’s holiday in Italy!
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When we’re on holiday, we often reveal a totally different side of ourselves.
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Purdy always threatens to go south in the autumn, but this time the trip really does happen! And then there’s all the business about whether he locked the door, did he leave the lights on, and what about the chimney flue… Turns out it’s not that easy to leave home behind!
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Once they reach ochre-yellow, scorching-hot Italy, both Purdy and Barker reveal new traits: Ever-practical Barker is the one who finds it easy to get used to the locals, and he copes well with setbacks. Could it even be fun to become a farmer in the green fields of Tuscany?
Purdy & Barker Have a Good Day
A good day contains new inventions, some minor mix-ups, a celebration, and so much more in the lives of Purdy and Barker.
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Before the sun sets, Purdy and Barker manage to fit a lot of adventures into their spring day.
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When Barker wakes up in the sky-blue house, he finds that he’s got company: a spring fly. The hidden world of a fly is a great revelation.
When Purdy wakes up, he immediately gets to work on his brand new invention. But what happened to Barker’s braces? Surely Purdy hasn’t found a better use for them? And where did the bicyclye’s brake cable go? In the evening the villagers gather for Cow Mooston’s birthday, but whose job was it to host the party?
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Purdy and Barker have a good day that’s filled with learned wisdom and crazy adventures. Everyone, both children and adults alike, will be able to identify with the duo.
The Best of Purdy & Barker
A selection of carefully chosen stories from the eight Purdy & Barker books.
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These stories will take readers on a journey that spans all four seasons. The Best of Purdy & Barker is a celebration of friendship – the kind that’s built on compromise, acceptance, help, understanding and love.
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Purdy is a cat and Barker is a dog. They live together in a sky-blue house on the top of a hill. At the foot of the hill there’s a pond, and next to it there’s a village that’s home to their many friends. Barker is very practical and he loves to potter in the garden. The artistic Purdy dreams big: she wants to fly south with the birds, win a singing competition and become a Supercat. At times their relationship is trying, but that won’t hold them back from being best friends.
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Parvela knows how to write engagingly for young readers who read little or avoid books. There is nothing superfluous, and the plot never stalls for a moment.
Kevin Steinberger
Magpies Magazine, Australia
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Readers with fond memories of Frog and Toad and those who like Winnie-the-Pooh will love meeting this new pair of friends.
School Library Journal
USA
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One of the best books I have read this year and possiblyone of the best books ever. — You will kick yourself if you miss this one.