Sherry Hoogenhout
Seven books in one - over a 100 pages in full colour. This lovely preschooler's adventure diary (Monday to Sunday) departs daily from a safe familiar environment. It follows little rituals - with the everyday repitition that little people love at bedtime....However, from there, excitement abounds!
...... it's OLD but it's NEW
Francois-Paul finds out what to do if you get lost in a busy shopping centre;
He paints and decorates a huge cardboard box "house" in the garden;
He goes to a farm to choose a new soft warm puppy;
He socialises and plays games at Eva's house with his playgroup, Playpoppets;
He meets his daddy at the busy, buzzing airport;
He goes out for dinner with his parents to have sushi;
He encounters wonderful animals at the zoo......
AGAIN and AGAIN
And the magic? Well, the magic is that every night one reads an adventure, departing and returning to the familiar......and when the week is done, you start again!
Little ones can't get enough of this cleverly conceived book.The more they hear it, the more they want to hear it - it's almost like a series to them.
The book offers excellent value - 7 books in 1.
WELCOME to our WORLD
And there's more. The good news is that the follow-up diary, for when Francois-Paul goes to school, relating a whole new set of adventures, is on its way.
Grow up together with your friend, Francois-Paul, as the years pass! You simply cannot afford to miss out on this amazing new series.
the NICEST part.........?
And the very nicest part? Well, the very nicest part is that a little brown bird watches over Francois-Paul throughout it all....and maby over you, I don't know, look carefully out your window, or listen closely and hear him call....
Sherry Hoogenhout is the author of this very warm, enchanting, quality book. It was written in celebration of Francois-Paul's birth, on 26 November 2004, when Sherry was 52.
Like so many of her generation nowadays, this Baby Boomer has pushed the boundaries, providing inspiration for all.
She holds a Masters degree in Education. She majored in English, Philosophy, Classical Cultures and Politics for her two BA degrees at the University of Stellenbosch.
Her email address is sherryh8@gmail.com
Saturday
Of Rats and Snails and Puppy Dogs’ Tails
Francois-Paul lay asleep in his bed. His big bed. He was a big boy now. He did not sleep in a cot anymore. He slept in a real grown-up bed.
Outside Francois-Paul’s bedroom window sat a little brown bird, high up in the oak tree. The little bird opened his eyes and fluffed up his feathers.
“Cheep, cheep, cheep, cheep,” said the little brown bird in a sleepy little voice. “Cheep, cheep! Cheep, cheep! Wake up, Francois-Paul!”
Francois-Paul opened his eyes. It was still quite dark. He listened to the little brown bird saying “Cheep, cheep, cheep.” He sat up in bed and looked out the window at the little brown bird.
The little brown bird shook his feathers and said, “Cheep, cheep, cheep! I’m going to find something to eat, eat, eat!” And off he flew.
Francois-Paul took Teddy under his arm and slid off his bed.
“I’m going to find my Mummy.”
He padded barefoot through into Mummy’s room, next door. Mummy was fast asleep.
“Mummy?” he said.
Mummy opened her eyes. She smiled sleepily at him.
“Come on,” she said. He climbed in Mummy and Dad’s bed and cuddled up to Mummy. She was soft and warm.
“Mummy, I want a bottle,” said Francois-Paul.
“But Francois-Paul, you don’t use a bottle any more, remember? You’re a big boy now.”
Francois-Paul remembered, but he really, really missed his bottle …
They lay there for a little while and then Mummy said, “Let’s go down to the kitchen. Dad and I’ll have a cup of nice coffee. You’ll have a glass of nice milk. Let me take a look at that nappy first.”
Francois-Paul still slept in a nappy, even if he was a big boy. Soon he would not need one any more, Mummy said. Dad went off for a jog. He liked jogging and he was very good at it. “Soon you’ll go jogging with me, Big Boy!”
Down in the kitchen Mummy took away the dirty newspapers and put clean ones down for the puppy.
“We must think of a name for our new puppy,” said Mummy.
She got the coffee and the milk and they went to sit in the sitting room, in front of the TV. They watched a bit of Sky news and a bit of Teletubbies. “Everyone must have their turn,” said Mummy.
Francois-Paul liked sitting there, under a special little blanket, with his mummy and his soft, sleepy new puppy, as it slowly grew lighter outside.
Dad came back from his jog and went to have a shower. Soon he came down for breakfast. Outside, on the kitchen windowsill, sat the hungry little brown bird.
Hop, hop, hop he went, towards some breadcrumbs Mummy had left there for him. Peck, peck, peck he went, as he ate the breadcrumbs.
Inside the kitchen, Mummy was making breakfast. Francois-Paul loved hard-boiled egg and fish and toast with Bovril, but he hated grapefruit – even with sugar!
Mummy and Dad and Francois-Paul had their breakfast. The puppy had milk and mince.
Yum!
Dad helped Francois-Paul to change. They took off his nice warm pajamas and put on his old grey jeans and an old Bob the Builder T-shirt with long sleeves.
When the t-shirt was over his head, Dad said, “But where is Francois-Paul? Francois-Paul?! Where are you?”
Francois-Paul chuckled and chuckled. He loved it when Dad played this game.
“Oh! There you are!” he cried, as he pulled the T-shirt down to his neck.
Mummy opened the kitchen door. Francois-Paul ran into the garden. Mummy followed him with two small garden spades, a basket, secateurs, a tray of seedlings, a small plastic bucket and a pair of gardening gloves. The little brown bird sat up in a tree and watched them.
Mummy put on her gloves, knelt down on the edge of the lawn and started to dig in the edge of the flowerbed.
“Can you please come and help me, Francois-Paul?” said Mummy.
The little brown bird wished he could help them too. She gave Francois-Paul a small spade.
Mummy and Francois-Paul made some holes in the ground for the little seedlings. They carefully lifted them out of the plastic seedling tray and gently planted each one in its own hole. They softly pushed soil over the roots and then made sure that they were firmly planted and wouldn’t fall over. “Well done!” said Mummy. “Now you can go and watch some rugby with Dad while I make tea.”
“Yaaay!” said Francois-Paul.
Mummy made tea while they watched rugby and the little brown bird sat outside up in a tree and watched the new puppy playing with Dad’s slipper on the lawn. The puppy got tired of the slipper and trotted over to the flowerbed.
“Sniff, sniff, sniff,” went the puppy.
“No, tweet, no!” went the little brown bird.
“Dig, dig, diggety dig!” went the puppy.
“No, no, no!” cried Mummy. She had just come out to find the puppy. Somehow Mummy always knew when something naughty was being done. Mummy took the puppy into the house. She told Dad and Francois-Paul what had happened.
“I think we should call him Digger,” said Dad.
“I think that’s a good name,” said Mummy.
“Yaaay!” said Francois-Paul, and Digger made a wee wee on the carpet!
“Oh dear,” said Mummy. “I’ll clean up the wee wee if you and Daddy go and get some Macdonald’s.”
“Yaaay!” said Francois-Paul.
After lunch Francois-Paul was very tired. He went for his afternoon nap. Digger was also very tired. He also went for his afternoon nap. Dad said he thought it was a very good time for him and Mummy to have an afternoon nap. Mummy smiled. They also went for an afternoon nap.
Francois-Paul went to sleep in his grown-up bed. He did not sleep in a cot any more. He was a big boy now. Big boys can garden and play rugby and they have their own dogs. (His Teddy was a big teddy, not a baby teddy any more.)
After his nap, Francois-Paul and Dad kicked the ball on the lawn and Mummy fixed the flowerbed so Digger couldn’t get in there any more. They laughed and played and ran and Digger barked and ran and the ball knocked him over.
The little brown bird sat high up in a tree and watched them all.
“Tweet tweet! What fun to kick a ball!” said the little brown bird.
Soon it was time for Francois-Paul’s bath.
He had a dinosaur and a small blue and green ball and plastic spoons and animal soaps in the bath with him.
“Wishy washy, wishy washy, weeeee!’ he sang.
Mummy poured a jug of water over his head to wash off the shampoo. He didn’t like that part! And he did not like to get out of the bath either! When Mummy pulled out the plug he tried to stop her. But there was no stopping Mummy.
She picked him up out of the bath in a warm fluffy towel. He squirmed and cried “No, no, no!”
But Francois-Paul laughed and laughed when Mummy blew pppphhrrrrrpp on his tummy as she dried him and put on his nice warm pajamas.
He played on the kitchen floor with his ball, while Mummy prepared dinner. They had nice lamb chops with pineapple and carrot for salad. Mummy built a face for him on his plate. The chops were ears, the eyes were pineapple, there was a lettuce nose and mouth and lots of orange carrot for hair.
“Mummy, boys made of?”
She said: “Rats and snails and puppy dogs tails – that’s what little boys are made of!”
Francois-Paul said: “And girls?”
Mummy laughed: “Sugar and spice and all things nice – that’s what little girls are made of!” Francois-Paul loved it when Mummy laughed.
Dad tucked him up in his grown-up bed and sang him some songs. Dad laughed: “I’m a champion singer!” But he wasn’t!
Dad kissed him eight times on the forehead. One * two * three * four * five * six * seven * eight *
“Goodnight Dad, God bless.”
“Goodnight Francois-Paul, God bless, sleep tight.”
Francois-Paul hugged his Teddy and thought about Digger and rugby … and he drifted to sleep.
Outside his bedroom window the little bird ruffled his feathers and blinked sleepily as he pulled one small foot up to his tummy. Soon he was asleep too.
Twinkle, twinkle, twinkle, the stars sparkled up in the sky.
And a small cloud floated slowly past the smiling Moon …
