title: HECK! Here's the Heron!: Book 1 (Grandma's Garden Collection)
author:  Lucy Sands 
description: This is a book that all young children will enjoy. The author has used humorous and imaginative language, and the bold, colourful illustrations make it a joy to read. It's a real page turner too! Looking forward to the next book in the trilogy. --Waterstones UK<br /><br />This book is an absolutely fantastic read for young children. It is a clever story centred around a garden pond in an English garden. My children love the mean Heron who frequently visits looking for his next meal, and often join in with the wonderful rhyming verse. The illustrations are so vibrant and tell the story brilliantly. It's great to have a book for young readers that touches on the importance of teamwork and of standing up for one another. If this is the first of three I cannot wait to see the rest - neither can my kids! It is a firm favourite in our household! A must buy!! --Waterstones UK<br /><br />Beautifully illustrated and colourful. The story captures your imagination bringing an element of suspense anticipating the arrival of the naughty Heron. Also like the size of the book. Would definitely recommend. --Amazon UK
zlib_text: SHEILA FINCH - Out of the mouths
  
  THE OLD MAN WAS WADING, net in hand, tending his fish ponds, when the visitor
  arrived. He hadn't heard the approach of an aircar. Tattered curls of autumnal
  mist caught in the low boughs of oak and alder; patches of night darkness
  still lingered on the estuary beyond the fish ponds; the rich, dark smell of
  river mud rose like a favorite perfume to his nose. He transferred the net to
  his left hand and shaded his eyes with the right, bending forward from the
  waist. "Heron," his students had once called him, affectionately mocking his
  awkward height. The name had stuck.
  
  "Good morning." A small, brown, middle-.aged woman stood on the opposite bank.
  
  There was something clipped and suppressed in her speech; he understood from
  it that she didn't like him.
  
  By his leg, a fish jumped, a gleam of dull gold above gray glass. He watched
  the ripples spreading, aware the woman watched him.
  
  "Do you know who I am?"
  
  He sensed the itch of irritation that ran through