Publishing date:6th November 2008

Heartwarming stories about the wonderfully funny things that children say, from Gervase Phinn’s bestselling Dales books.

 Following on from the terrific success of A Wayne in a Manger, Gervase Phinn has collected together his favourite stories about children from his bestselling Dales books, and he has also included some poems from his popular Puffin poetry books.
In this humorously illustrated book, the stories have one thing in common – the wonderfully funny (and usually innocent) things that children say. What makes Naomi’s granny wobble? What’s the secret ingredient in Richard’s jam tarts? What is Billy’s unconventional method for making babies?
Whether they are stories about children who cannot read very well but know the names of all the breeds of sheep, or children who are more privileged (coming to school in a Wolls-Woyce), they are simply delightful.
This heartwarming book will not only enchant you, it will make you look at life through a child’s eyes – and
that’s quite a special thing.

Praise for Gervase Phinn

‘Gervase Phinn is a natural storyteller . . . he has a marvellous ear for one-liners and a constant flow of anecdotes about the things children say’
Yorkshire Post
‘hilarious, touching, heartwarming’
Daily Mail
‘Gervase Phinn writes warmly, and with great wit, about the children and adults he meets in Yorkshire schools. An enchanting montage of experiences. Colourful, funny and honest’
Sunday Express
‘An enchanting collection of anecdotes’
Woman’s Own
‘A natural storyteller, he combines the timing of a professional comedian with the palpable warmth and the ability to deliver a message that is much more than just a series of jokes’
The Times Educational Supplement

Gervase Phinn is a teacher, freelance lecturer, author, poet, school inspector, educational consultant and visiting professor of education – but none of these is more important to him than his family.
For fourteen years he taught in a range of schools, then acted as General Adviser for Language Development in Rotherham before moving on to North Yorkshire, where he spent ten years as a school inspector, time that has provided so much source material for his books. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an honorary Fellow of St John’s College, York.
Gervase Phinn lives with his family near Doncaster.