There is something hidden, something darker and something challenging behind that placid veneer of calmness we so often see in everyday life. We asked for something a little darker for our latest short story competition. The entrants certainly supplied that. In this anthology we've collected the strongest. Each of the stories makes you think.

Short stories about wild animals written and illustrated by children aged 9-16. These are the short-listed stories from the Paws Animal Writing Competition for children 2012/2013, judged by Daniel Blythe, Gill Lewis and Kate Humble. The stories really capture the essence of the wild animal and all royalties will be donated to the animal charity, The Born Free Foundation

Short stories about wild animals written and illustrated by children aged 9-16.

These are the short-listed stories from the PAWS Children's Animal Writing Competition 2011, judged by Virginia McKenna OBE and children's writers Lauren St. John and Alan Gibbons.

The stories really capture the essence of the wild animal and all royalties will be donated to the animal charity, The Born Free Foundation.

The US President, John F Kennedy, is assassinated as his motorcade hits town, watched by crowds of spectators and the world's media. Watching too from the grassy knoll nearby is a young mother who, in the confusion, lets go of her daughter's hand. When she turns around the little girl has vanished. Fifty years later, when everyone remembers what they were doing at that moment in history, she is still missing. Who will remember her? Local hack Gary Blanchet, inspired by the mother's story, joins forces with former police psychic Lydia Collins to seek answers. Risking ridicule for their controversial theories and with a classroom shooting close to home to deal with, they re-examine the evidence from that day, study footage and look at the official report for details of witnesses in the JFK case. But this time they're not looking for a man in a crowd with a gun; they are looking for little Eleanor Boone. Gone, while no one was watching? Maybe someone was.