In this title:

Brock is not normally an adventurous sort of badger but when he finds a hot air balloon he just has to try it out. Flying high in the sky is fun at first but there is trouble ahead, trouble and lots of it!

Brock Gruffy bustled around his little shop, puffing on his pipe like an old steam engine. He was trying to tidy the place up, but it was in such a terrible clutter that it was an almost impossible task. Brock was soon distracted from the job when he came across an enormous cardboard box which he couldn't remember having seen before.

"What's this?" he muttered, adjusting his spectacles to read the label.

"HOT AIR BALLOON"

"How exciting!"

This hardback brings back one of the stories from original series one of the 17 titles in the 1980s classic Tales from Fern Hollow series. This gentle story, written and illustrated by John Patience, has eight detailed, colourful and cheerful double-page spreads 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.

The map on the endpapers helps children find their way around the village and appeared in every single title in the Fern Hollow series. Children really love the map and enjoy pointing out where all their favourite Fern Hollow Characters live and all the stories take place.

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, nieces and nephews. Parents who read the books with their children back in the 1980s are now enjoying them all over again with their grandchildren. Talewater Press plan to republish all the original titles in hardback.

The charming Fern Hollow stories have remained popular since they were first published in 1980.