For Louis, Zach and Stella x R.Q. For Granny Jean A.F. First published in 2017 by Nosy Crow Ltd The Crow’s Nest, 10a Lant Street London SE1 1QR www.nosycrow.com ISBN 978 0 85763 828 1 (HB) ISBN 978 0 85763 829 8 (PB) Nosy Crow and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Nosy Crow Ltd. Text copyright © Ruth Quayle 2017 Illustrations copyright © Alison Friend 2017 The right of Ruth Quayle to be identified as the author and of Alison Friend to be identified as the illustrator of this work has been asserted. All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of Nosy Crow Ltd. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Printed in China by Imago. Papers used by Nosy Crow are made from wood grown in sustainable forests. 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 (HB) 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 (PB)
Mr and Mrs Burrow had an awful lot of children. There was Anna and Adelaide, Betsy and Bill, Caspar and Clive, and, of course, there was little Dottie, too.
Most of the time they muddled along quite nicely, but last Friday an invitation arrived and, well, things got a bit tricky.
“Oooh!” said Mrs Burrow. “A party!” Then she looked at her children. “Oh dear,” she said. “We can’t possibly go.” “We can,” said Mr Burrow. “We’ll get a babysitter.”
But nobody called. Nobody knocked. Nobody queued up outside. Well, nobody except . . .
. . . Bear. Bear did not have a smart suit. He did not have shiny shoes. And he was a bit . . . dreamy.
“That Bear can’t babysit,” gulped Mrs Burrow. But they were going to be late for the party.
So they flung on their best clothes, and Mrs Burrow crossed her fingers and waved goodbye.