Over Hill and Dale

In the second book of the series, Gervase Phinn continues to write about his experiences as a School Inspector in Yorkshire. The characters, places and schools are obviously repeated from the first book, and so are a few concepts and writing. Yet, it's a wonderful book about children, and people committed to the field of education and there's plenty of new stuff as well. The paint and bull incidents are especially funny. The exchanges between Sydney Clamp and David Pritchard are hilarious. Makes for a quick and light read.

I enjoyed this book from the first word. It moves along with a very upbeat approach to life, pointing out the lovely, the poignant, and the humorous as the author goes about his interesting job inspecting village schools. As a teacher, I can verify the truth of his experiences, and he tells them in an engaging manner. The book does compare with James Herriot. If you enjoy Jan Karon,or Miss Read, Gervase Phinn will be pleasant reading, too.

This book will be enjoyed by anyone who has a love of children. In particular anyone with any contact with the teaching profession will recognise immediately the situations recounted in great depth by the author.As an HMI inspector visiting countless schools, Mr Phinn's perfectly captured descriptions of the children, their teachers and the everyday school activities were a joy to read. His exquisite perceptions of the children put the reader into the classroom observing the joys, laughter and at times touching moments which managed to put a lump into my throat. I was there stifling my laughter as a young boy covers him with paint, I was embarrassed as a harrassed young teacher mistaking him for a care worker asks if he has seen the inspectors yet? and I was reaching for my handkerchief as a young blind child recounts a touching version of her understanding of sight.A thoroughly charming read, which you won't want to put down.