The Playgroup by Janey Fraser: Opening Sentences

Opening sentences of a book can give a taste of the writer's style, a sense of the story. Here are the beginning sentences for The Playgroup, a novel about a daycare, the Puddleducks Playgroup, by British author, Janey Fraser.

'Mrs. Merryfield. Mrs. Merryfield. Went to More-ishus. And it rained.'
Hi, Gemma! Nice tan! Listen, I'm pretty sure Molly is dry now but just in case she's not, there's a spare pair of pants in her sandwich box. That's the one with a picture of a giraffe on it - sorry I didn't have time to label it.'
'Morning, Miss Merryfield. Had a good break? Darren, have you said good morning to your playgroup leader?'
'Gemma, I'm so sorry. But we just had Beth checked again and it turns out she's allergic to wheat as well as salt, sugar, any kind of additives and - get this- any food that's yellow.Weird, isn't it? So can you make sure she doesn't have any biscuits at breaktime?'

Title: The Playgroup by Janey Fraser
Published February 2, 2012

It's the start of a new term at Puddleducks Playgroup. For Gemma Merryfield it'll be her first year in charge. Watching the new arrivals, she can already tell who the troublemakers will be, and not all of them are children!

What Gemma doesn't realise, thought, is that former banker Joe Balls, now head of Reception at the neighbouring school, will be watching her very move. As far as he's concerned, Puddleducks puts too much emphasis on fun and games, and not enough on numbers.

But when one of the children falls dangerously ill and another disappears, Gemma and Joe have to set aside their differences and work together. (publisher's description).

A good book for those with kids in daycare?

This book is a complimentary review copy.