If you’ve ever wished for a book that makes your child actually want to read – without wizards, dystopian worlds, or yet another screen – then meet Hettie. She’s a smart, funny girl growing up in the Lincolnshire Fens, and her adventures are exactly the kind of storytelling families have been missing.
Local author and retired teacher Mick Price has written two delightful children’s books: Hettie and Friends in the Fens (for ages 8–11) and Hettie in the Fens: Some Further Stories (for ages 11–14). They follow Hettie through everyday life – holidays on the Norfolk Broads, ghost sightings in creepy hotels, UFO hunts near American airbases, converting her house into an eco?home, and a money?saving plan that ends up with a letter from Nigel Garage (yes, really). Each short chapter is perfect for a 15?minute bedtime read, and the stories build on each other, so characters and jokes develop as you go.
What makes Hettie different?
Sprinkled through every chapter are little green boxes called “Thought Facts”. They explain things like how the Fens were formed (hint: they used to be under the sea), why Brussels sprouts grow on stalks, what Pythagoras’ theorem is, how climate change works, and even what “Net Zero” actually means. Children absorb real knowledge without feeling like they’re in a lesson. As a retired teacher, Mick Price knows exactly how to make learning fun.
Parents will love the satire
Hettie’s dad, Boris, works at a supermarket called Poundsqueezer. The family watches GBNews, argues about Reform UK and a certain “Nigel Garage”, and worries about energy bills. There are jokes about politicians who never answer a straight question, and a brilliant running gag about square potatoes being exported to Donald Trump. None of it is heavy?handed – it’s just clever, warm, and often laugh?out?loud funny. The books are refreshingly free of preachiness, but they don’t shy away from real?world issues.
Meet the characters
There’s Uncle Rex, a family friend who can’t boil an egg (and once blew up a poacher). There’s Libby, Hettie’s best mate, and Alfie, her business partner in the potato scheme. There are grandparents Carol and Bob, who manage to flood the kitchen, trip the electrics, and leave bloody footprints on a new carpet – all in one evening. Children will recognise their own chaotic families in these pages.
Perfect for Fenland families – and anyone who loves a good adventure
The books are set firmly in Holbeach, Wisbech, King’s Lynn, and the surrounding countryside, but any child who enjoys technology, science, ghosts, politics, or simply asking “why?” will fall for Hettie. Ideal for Year 6 up to secondary Year 9/10.
Both books are available on Amazon (just search “Hettie in the Fens”) and in most libraries. So go on – treat your kids (or yourself) to a good old?fashioned read. Put down the phones, curl up, and get lost in the Fens with Hettie. You’ll love it. We promise.
Monica Costa founded London Mums in September 2006 after her son Diego’s birth together with a group of mothers who felt the need of meeting up regularly to share the challenges and joys of motherhood in metropolitan and multicultural London. London Mums is the FREE and independent peer support group for mums and mumpreneurs based in London https://www.londonmumsmagazine.com and you can connect on Twitter @londonmums
