Thomas and the Lily Pond - a children's book- by Jane Whiteoak + Martin the Christmas Mouse- a children's book - by Jane Whiteoak

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008LG0T0G
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AHHAPTW

Thomas was a perfectly happy hard working turtle. He got along well with everyone in the forest. He carried sticks on his back, up a steep path from the river in order help others to build their homes.
All was well, until one day a huge, green slickly dressed frog, arrived and proceeded to find his way to the lily pond, exactly the same place, where Thomas, lived. The frog had come from the city and thought that he'd find some new people that he could manipulate, through flattery. He complimented the birds, Binnie and Corinna,  on their gorgeous plumage,  Spike the Skunk on his strength and powerful '"perfume"and  Rupert the rabbit for his great long ears.
Everyone, received a kind word from his silver tongue, however Bruno had ulterior motives, for his lavish words of praise .Everyone is complimented, except for one....  Thomas. The frog berates and humiliates the poor turtle, so much that eventually the others join in. Thomas, has lost all of his friends and they are now infatuated with this frog, named Bruno. Now, that he had their full attention, Bruno made great plans, in which they would accomplish a midnight food heist in a nearby neighbourhood.  They do so, not without peril however and a fortunate lucky escape, in which Spike is called upon to use his special spray!  Thomas had not been included in this folly, nor did he want to be, he had hidden behind some bushes, so the others would not see the big tears, in his eyes. The huge frog did not participate either, he had taken over the lily pond, Thomas' home and was resting in a huge lily pad chair, as the others did all the work for him.
After they arrived back to the forest and had a mighty feast, the animals fell asleep on the river bank, as they had stuffed themselves to capacity.
While they were sleeping, the sky turned a multitude of different colours and a huge storm erupted, with such ferocious winds, that they are blown into the river and the lily pond! They were in extreme danger due to the swirling, rough waters and strong current. Only one, is left on shore....they desperately needed to be rescued.  Eventually, they all learned the meaning of true friendship, loyalty and trust, when they found themselves in very dire circumstances. They  just had to be saved...but...who was capable of this gigantic task?

Martin, was a little mouse that lived in a tiny mouse house, inside an even bigger home. he helped his parents and sister maria decorate for Christmas by putting up parsley and pine cones along their fireplace mantle.Mr. Kingsley was the owner of the big home and Martin roamed very freely throughout both residences. He loved to follow the kind man from room to room, and watch him decorate his place for Christmas. The problem was, Mr. Kingsley could not see as well as he used to and he often he could not find his glasses. martin, would leap up onto the table and push them towards the older man, so he could reach them. Then, Mr. Kingsley wondered if he'd place one or two slices of bread on his plate for his lunch. Martin was there again, shoving the huge bread slice onto the plate.When Mr. Kingsley was putting up his decorations he couldn't find one of the sparky angels in the decoration box. Down jumped Martin and found it, hauling it up so that the gentle man could discover it. Mr. Kingsley had no idea that Martin was even there!  Later in the day, the little mouse helped evade a disaster as the man tied up his boot laces incorrectly and could have taken a very nasty fall!. As, Christmas Eve was upon them, the grandchildren arrived and  sang Christmas Carols around the piano. They had cookies for Santa Claus and sugar cubes for the reindeer, set next to the fireplace. Then, they they had hung up their stockings, before going to bed. Martin was just as excited as the others, but his mother had explained to him that Santa Claus, only visited the children of the world. He, happily ran back into his house and crawled into his tiny bed.  As Christmas morning dawned, Martin,the helpful little mouse and his entire family were in for a huge surprise!