I was very lucky to meet Gervase Phinn at an education conference, he was giving a talk and then chatting to people after. He read some of his own work and was very entertaining. Since meeting him I then went on to read a number of his books which I really enjoyed.

He has a fantastic imagination and really brings the story to life. ( )

I enjoyed this more than the first in the series. Gervase is now well-established as a school inspector, the anecdotes flow well, and there's a good sense of getting to know the main characters well. Pleasant light reading. ( )

I was vaguely aware of Gervase Phinn through radio appearances, though his books had not crossed my path until recently. I haven't read the first book but this didn't spoil the enjoyment of this, his second work.

Continuing his work as an inspector in the Yorkshire Dales, the children provide a great deal of light relief from the hard task of dealing with the occasional failing school and pressures of the office. Mr Phinn brings the stories to life with a skilled touch, you are there with him admiring hares boxing in a field or giggling at one of his many anecdotes.

I enjoyed this much more than I initially imagined and will look out for more of his work in future. ( )

Hilarious and a bit sentimental ( )

This is more of the same from Gervase Phinn - the second year of his job as a school inspector in the Yorkshire Dales. Once again, we meet a cast of wonderful characters, including the three other inspectors - Harold, David and Sidney; Connie, the rather draconian caretaker of the Staff Development Centre; and, of course, Miss Christine Bentley, the beautiful young headmistress that Phinn is gradually falling in love with.

The writing is eloquent and at times beautiful, as Phinn describes the awesome sights of the Yorkshire Dales that he encountours in the course of his school inspections. There is also a wonderful sense of his deep and abiding respect for the institution of teaching, and the part that teachers have to pay in the formative years of children.

The children here are the stars of the show - blunt, yet innocent Yorkshire children who are more accustomed to seeing rabbits being shot as pests than as the main characters in stories by Beatrix Potter! There are little anecdotes about each school visit, including some lovely tales of nativity plays.

The other side of the Yorkshire Dales is also explored here - the inner city schools and in some places the dire lack of basic education for children who are not expected to amount to more than factory workers and labourers.

Altogether, a delightful book. ( )