Book excerpt: A charming novel for young readers by an award-winning writer, based on a young boy's summer in the countryside and the characters — real and imagined — that he meets. Dad has to go to work, so you go down to see Mr Bluenose; there's always something to do there. He tells you stories while you give him a hand to sort apples, feed the pigs, teach Horse how to push the wheelbarrow, and terrify boys who plan to raid the apple trees. On the way home, you look for empty bottles and sell them for boiled lollies to Mr Bryce at the store. He pays you more boiled lollies for telling him stories about how Mr Bluenose got his name, how he rode a whale to London, and was so seasick for so long in the crow's nest that he ran away from sea to Waharoa and planted his orchard. And then there's always Freddy Jones and the other kids to scare with stories about vampires, moreporks, and the White Woman of Waharoa who has a face as smooth as an egg... Think Spike Milligan meets Roald Dhhal, this is the captivating and amusing, rich and fun-filled story of a country summer, seen through a child's eye and created by a master story-teller.