This book, the fifth in the Fairacre series is a story pulled together by the school year and a group of anecdotes that several of the characters tell to Miss Read as they reminisce and teach her more about the area she calls home.
Miss Read, the village school mistress has been doing the same thing now for several years and while she still enjoys her job and the children, she wonders if it is time to move on and get out of her rut. The thought of another teacher taking her place is what makes her accept the fact that desperately miserable winters are not enough to chase her away.
Miss Read creates an idyllic world where even a stranger at one's door is more of an adventure than a threat of home invasion. Her description of the bucolic surrounding sent me to google on several occasions to find out what feverfew, cowslip and thrushes look like. These pleasures in the smallest of plants and animals that inhabit a country lane, all of which have individuality is lovely.Sadly when I take a walk in a rural setting I can put a name to nothing but the most common of plants like yarrow, Queen Anne's lace and dandelions.
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