Bedtime Stories from Fern Hollow — John Patience

This title combines what was originally the fourth series of four stories from the 16 titles in the 1980s classic Tales from Fern Hollow series. These gently humorous stories are written and illustrated by English author/illustrator, John Patience, with 64 pages of detailed, colourful and cheerful illustrations depicting the animal characters of the village of Fern Hollow, tucked away somewhere in the countryside of Edwardian England.

As the inhabitants of Fern Hollow go about their daily lives, there are small adventures to enjoy and little mishaps to overcome. Everyone lends a helping hand and there's always a happy ending - and usually a feast for everyone to share in celebration.

Characters in this collection include: Spike Willowbank, Sigmund Swamp; Pippa and Patch Bouncer; Miss Crisp; Brock Gruffy; Snitch and Snatch the wicked weasels.

• The Floating Restaurant When Brock Gruffy inherits an old boat he decides to turn it into a floating restaurant. After the restaurant's opening night a sudden storm springs up and the boat is swept away.
• The Mysterious Fortune Tellers The morning of the village fête was bright and clear and everyone was bubbling over with excitement. In the far corner of the field a small crowd had gathered around the tent of a couple of fortune-tellers, but were the fortune-tellers what they appeared to be?
• Castaways on Heron Island Miss Crisp takes her class on a school trip to Heron Island. All the children are well-behaved except for Pippa and Patch. The two naughty rabbits get lost in the spooky wood. Fortunately, Old Man Heron is around to help them out.
• Spike and the Cowboy Band Spike Willowbank is a very good violin player, and when a cowboy band arrives in Fern Hollow to play at the music festival Spike is filled with excitement. Will Spike get his chance to play in the cowboy band?

The map on the endpapers helped children find their way around the village and went on to appear in every single title in the Fern Hollow series. Children really loved the map and enjoyed pointing out where all their favourite Fern Hollow Characters lived and all the stories took place. Naturally, we have retained the map in this new collection.

These stories of animal folk have an enduring charm. A generation of people who had the Fern Hollow stories read to them as children have now grown up and are buying the books to read with their own children. Parents who read the books with their children back in the 1980s and 1990s are now enjoying them all over again with their grandchildren. Four hardback collections incorporate all 16 of the original storybook titles and The Seasons in Fern Hollow (the forerunner to the Tales from Fern Hollow series) is now available again in a 40th Anniversary hardback edition