The Playgroup [Paperback]

As someone who works in a school, I love reading books set in the environment because I find it fun to see how accurately an author has portrayed the job and situation for being in a school, so when I heard about Janey Fraser's novel The Playgroup, I knew it would be one I would want to read! I think the cover is great, and really portrays what the book is about, and I think it looks cute too! In case you weren't aware, Janey Fraser is the real name of Sophie King, under which name she has published several (rather excellent) novels so if you enjoy this, then do check out Sophie King's novels too. I found the book to be very realistic, and found I could relate to a lot of the scenarios too which was fantastic, and while it has its laugh out loud moments, the main crux of the story is very serious and made for a fantastic read.

Gemma Merryfield is pleased to finally be able to be in charge of her beloved Puddleducks nursery group, and is loving her job. Yes, the children can sometimes be challenging, and the parents even more so. But when a new teacher, Joe, takes over the reception class at the primary school linked to the nursery, the pair quickly clash and Gemma can't understand why he seems to have a problem with her. Couple that with the serious illness of one her small charges, and Gemma's life is quickly becoming more and more stressful, and running the nursery isn't quite as simple as she had hoped! I have to say I LOVE the character of Gemma. She was very believable and sounds like such a great nursery teacher, and Fraser writes her as someone who is great with the children too. I really liked reading about her, and wanted her to be happy. She's got a secret that we don't learn about until quite a way through the book, and I really liked that because I was constantly wondering what it was that was holding Gemma back so much.

There are quite a few characters in the book, and at first it is a little daunting to try and remember who is who. However, most of these aren't vital to the book, and as it progresses, it becomes clear who the main players are. One of these is Joe, the new primary school teacher who used to be a banker. This is getting more and more common, people coming into teaching later in life and from varying professions, and I liked that Fraser covered this, and the struggles that Joe goes through as well. He wasn't instantly likeable, and there is again a bit of a mystery about him too, and we're led up the garden path a bit before all is revealed. Another main character is Nancy, the American neurotic mother of Danny, one of Gemma's students. I have to say she really did wind me up, talk about obsessive and over the top, but as her story with Danny went on, I sympathised with her and found her to be a bit more tolerable! A lot of the children are brilliantly written, the other parents must have been inspired by people Fraser has met in real life because they seem so utterly real, it's brilliant and funny to read.

Regarding the actual story of the playgroup itself, I think Fraser has clearly done a lot of research not only into a playgroup and the staff and children, but the EYFS curriculum too as a lot is mentioned that was right, and from the perspective of someone who is in that environment all the time, it was very realistic and factual. She balances this nicely with the games and fun the children have, and then with the story of the serious illness of one child, and how important community and friendship can be at these hard times. The story has a lot going on but I found it a joy to read, and loved the twists and turns along the way, and often I was surprised with what was happening, and it was very unpredictable which was great. I didn't want to finish the book because that meant leaving these great characters behind, and I really did love them because I was absorbed by the book. What might start of a light-hearted read soon turns into something deeper and more serious, and was all the better for it. The book was a wonderful read from start to finish, and is a brilliantly crafted and realistic tale of what really goes on in a nursery/playgroup! I can't wait for Janey Fraser's second offering, The Au Pair, which is due out this July!

I have to be honest in the first few chapters i found the book to be really hectic, it seemed to be jam packed with characters and was a little hard to follow as it flitted from one person to another but knowing from my own experience when i take my daughter to her playgroup, this is exactly what nursery and playgroup life is like. Lots of hustle and bustle and children doing their own little things and this translated in the page i could totally imagine how chaotic it could be.
In the book we follow Gemma Merryfield as she takes over being in charge of puddleducks playgroup. I found the character of Gemma lovely to read you could really see that she is passionate about her job and really cares about the children within the group. I loved the little nursery songs inbeteween the chapters and found these where a lovely touch (me and my 3 yr old daughter have been singing the toothbrush one) Gemma's every move however is under scrutiny from Joe Balls who is the new head at the neighbouring school to puddleducks. Joe and Gemma dont get off to the greatest of starts and he has a very different view about how the playgroup should be run. I did at times find the character of Joe quite irritating but i have to admit that as the book flowed i started to get drawn in by his character. There is definately more to Joe Balls than meets the eye.
I don't want to give away any spoilers to this book so its quite difficult for me to review because there is so much i want to say but cant. I did like how the parents own stories were written, It flitted from each character's stories with enough detail that it was almost like reading several different books in one. I particuarly like reading about Nancy's character and found myself always wondering how things would pan out for her.
The is a lovely gentle paced book and anyone thats ever taken thier child to a playgroup or knows what messy play is will definatly enjoy this book.

Janey Fraser is just one of the pen names used by journalist Jane Bidder who has also written books under another pen name, Sophie King. I wonder does she ever get confused as to which name she should use when answering the phone...

The main characters in the book are Gemma, who is temporarily running Puddleducks playgroup whilst Miriam is on maternity leave, and Joe Balls, an ex corporate banker who has just been appointed as the new head of the reception class at nearby Corrybank primary school. At first they cannot see eye to eye, Joe doesn't believe the children are being taught enough, especially a lack of maths, and thinks that there is too much emphasis being put on play and fun rather than education whereas Gemma believes that play can be educational.

But certain events that happen force them to work together and see the good qualities that each of them has to offer.

I loved reading about the interactions of the children with each other and the little traits that some of them had, particularly the behavioural issues with Billy, so it's obvious that she has done a lot of research into this or knows a child with similar problems as I could recall memories of someone I knew just from the types of actions she was describing.

And then there's the parents; neurotic American mum, Nancy, who at first I didn't reaIly like but about half way through I book I began to understand why she was the way she acted and actually grew to like her; celebrity mum Dilly Dalung who has chosen to send her daughter to a public playgroup instead of a private one which causes security issues at the playgroup; a stay at home dad who I would have loved to be my dad; mum's Brigid and Annie, who originally met Nancy at anti-natal classes, who take Nancy under their wing to help her see that sending her son to playgroup is a good thing.

Although there are quite a few characters within the book that I did sometimes need to think about which parent belonged to which child, after a while it became second nature so didn't disrupt the storyline at all.

I also enjoyed reading the labels that she gave to some of the parents' characteristics and I'm sure those of you with kids at school can probably relate to the various types mentioned throughout the book such as Fussy Mum, Late Mum, Always Working Mum, Pushy Mum, Casual Mum etc. Arrow Publishing came up with a fun quiz, what type of mum are you, to correspond with the release of this book which I featured in my sneak peeks post.

If I didn't have to go to the dreaded thing called work and had the time, I think this is one book that I could have easily ploughed through in one sitting as it was so easy to read and completely lose track of time. I hope her next book, The Au Pair, which is due out later this year is as good a read as this one was.