Present for Paul

by Bernard Ashley, David Mitchell (illustrator)

Pleasure wants to buy her baby brother a present but when she lets go of her dad's hand in the busy market, suddenly she can't see him anywhere. Where has her dad gone? Pleasure's baby brother is teething and he just cries and cried all day. Pleasure wants to buy him a present to make him happy and she gets her chance when she goes to the market with her dad. Pleasure loves going to the market with all the brightly coloured stalls. While her dad is buying fish, Pleasure spots a toy stall and she lets go of Dad's hand for just one minute...Suddenly she can't see her dad at all, he has completely disappeared and Pleasure is surrounded by stangers hurrying here and there. But it isn't long before she sees her dad through the crowd and he helps her buy the best ever present for Paul.

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1996

About the author

Bernard Ashley lives in Charlton, south east London, only a street or so from where he was born. He was educated at the Roan School, Blackheath and Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School, Rochester. After National Service in the RAF Bernard trained to teach at Trent Park College of Education, specializing in Drama. He followed this with an Advanced Diploma at the Cambridge Institute and has been awarded honorary Doctorates in Education by the University of Greenwich and in letters by the University of Leicester. During his career as a teacher he worked in Kent, Hertfordshire, Newham and Greenwich, with thirty years of headships in the last three.

He is now writing full time. His first novel, The Trouble with Donovan Croft (recently re-issued by OUP), was published in 1974 and won the 'Other' Award, an alternative to the Carnegie Medal (for which he has been shortlisted three times). Nineteen further novels have followed, gaining him a reputation as a 'gritty' writer in sympathy with the under dog. In Margaret Meek's view he gets inside children's heads, who say that this is what it's like for them.

Of Tiger Without Teeth Philip Pullman wrote in The Guardian:
'A commonplace setting, an everyday situation, ordinary characters. Bernard Ashley's great gift is to turn what seems to be low-key realism into something much stronger and more resonant. It has something to do with empathy, compassion, an undimmed thirst for decency and justice. In a way, Ashley is doing what ‘Play for Today’ used to do when TV was a medium that connected honestly with its own time, and what so few artists do now: using realism in the service of moral concern.'

Johnnie's Blitz (Barn Owl), drew on his wartime experiences as a child in and around London; while Little Soldier (Orchard) sums up his writing: a pacy plot with an emotional turning point, a theme that concerns him, and characters that grip as real people. It was shortlisted for the 'Guardian' young fiction prize and for the Carnegie Medal. His latest novel is Flashpoint - a thriller, the third of the Ben Maddox stories.

Bernard’s picture books include Double the Love (Carol Thompson illustrating) from Orchard, Growing Good (Bloomsbury), Cleversticks, and A Present for Paul (Harper Collins). Tamarind published The Bush, illustrated by Lynne Willey. His popular stories for young readers include Dinner Ladies Don't Count (Puffin), Justin and the Demon Drop Kick, and I'm Trying to Tell You (both Happy Cat).

Television work has included Running Scared (from which he wrote the novel), The Country Boy (BBC) and his adaptation of his own Dodgem which won the Royal Television Society award as the best children's entertainment of its year.

Stage plays are The Old Woman Who Lived in A Cola Can (Edinburgh Festival and tour), The Secret of Theodore Brown (Unicorn Theatre for Children in the West End), and Little Soldier (published by Heinemann).

A strong family man, Bernard is married to Iris Ashley, a former London headteacher, and they have three sons. Their eldest, Chris, also a headteacher, co-wrote with Bernard the TV series Three Seven Eleven (Granada), and his latest "Wasim" books were published in 2007 by Frances Lincoln. David is a London headteacher and an expert on children's reading; and Jonathan is an actor, writer and director whose writing for theatre includes Stiffs; and who was writer and voice director in Los Angeles and London on Primal and Ghosthunter for Playstation 2.

Bernard and Iris have four grandchildren, Paul, Carl, Rosie and Luke.

Reviews

[Tonty Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasure has concerns about her baby brother, Paul and decided to accompany her Dad to the market so that she could buy a present for Paul. In the market, she saw ‘the children’s stall’ which captured her attention and as soon as her Dad let go of her hands to make payment she was all alone. She looked around, pushed through the crowd and cloths but there was not any sign of her Dad. Pleasure felt frightened and the people around her began to notice that she had lost her way and more people came crowding. Suddenly Pleasure turned around and ran as fast as she could and just in a little while she saw her Dad again.

I like this story because it teaches children to stay close to their parents when they are out and about. The pictures can also be used to help support EAL children to develop their reading skills therefore, it is a useful book to have in a class bookshelves for independent reading. It can also be read to a class and for guided reading in KS1.

[Joelene Lucyinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amidst all the hustle and bustle of the local market, Pleasure and her father are out doing the weekly shopping. As the doting older sister to her younger brother Paul, she decides to treat him with a new toy, however finds that the trip quickly descends into an unpredictable day out as she loses her father in the crowd.

Bernard Ashley writes a subtle, yet moving story as it's made apparent just how much Pleasure cares for both her younger brother and her father. Themes such as love and family take to the fore as every intention throughout appears to be guided by these underlying themes. The name pleasure signifies that the protagonist, as well as her family is of West African descent, therefore creating a story that is relatable to our culturally diverse population.

The narrative serves as a morality tale, making it clear how important it is to listen to parents/carers/guardians/responsible adults and those of authority. The everyday is documented in this story, from visiting the fishmongers to visiting the fruit stall, the market is alive and thriving in this narrative.

This would make a great resource for Key Stage 1 and 2, whereby the focus could be on the history of markets both nationally and internationally. This resource could be used in Literacy lessons for Key Stage 1 and 2, whereby pupils can compile shopping lists and focus on their spelling.