Take a dash of Heartbeat, add a sprinkling of All Creatures Great And Small, throw in a liberal dash of Please Sir! and you have Mister Teacher.
Set in the 1970s, this sequel to the hugely successful Teacher, Teacher! chronicles the life of Jack Sheffield as headmaster on Ragley-on-the-Forest Church of England school in North Yorkshire.
It will have you crying tears of laughter and sadness, with larger-than-life characters like Vera, the school secretary, who dreams of taking charge of the local WI. Sheffield paints a vivid picture of a lively school.
A joy to read - and perfect for a Sunday night TV series!

A charming memoir

It will have you crying tears of laughter and sadness. A joy to read.

Another riotous year in the life of Ragley-on the-Forest village school.

It's 1978, and Jack Sheffield begins his second year as headmaster of a small village primary school in North Yorkshire. There are three letters on his desk - one makes him smile, one makes him sad and one is destined to change his life forever. This is from nine-year-old Sebastian, suffering from leukaemia in the local hospital, who writes a heartbreaking letter addressed to 'Mister Teacher'. Jack tries to help, and so begins a journey through the seasons of Yorkshire life in which the school is the natural centre of the community. There's a colourful cast of characters who accompany Jack through the ups and downs of the school year including Vera, the school secretary who worships Margaret Thatcher and whose greatest ambition is to become President of the Women's Institute; Ruby, the 20-stone caretaker who sings like Julie Andrews; and Dorothy, the coffee shop assistant who is desperate to be Wonder Woman. Most of all, there is the lovely Beth Henderson, a teacher from a nearby school, who with her sister Laura presents Jack with an unexpected dilemma ...

It's 1978, and Jack Sheffield begins his second year as headmaster of a small village primary school in North Yorkshire. There are three letters on his desk - one makes him smile, one makes him sad and one is destined to change his life forever. This is from nine-year-old Sebastian, suffering from leukaemia in the local hospital, who writes a heartbreaking letter addressed to 'Mister Teacher'. Jack tries to help, and so begins a journey through the seasons of Yorkshire life in which the school is the natural centre of the community. There's a colourful cast of characters who accompany Jack through the ups and downs of the school year including Vera, the school secretary who worships Margaret Thatcher and whose greatest ambition is to become President of the Women's Institute; Ruby, the 20-stone caretaker who sings like Julie Andrews; and Dorothy, the coffee shop assistant who is desperate to be Wonder Woman. Most of all, there is the lovely Beth Henderson, a teacher from a nearby school, who with her sister Laura presents Jack with an unexpected dilemma ...

It's 1978, and Jack Sheffield is beginning his second year as headmaster of a small village primary school in North Yorkshire. There are three letters on his desk ? one makes him smile, one makes him sad and one is destined to change his life for ever. This is from nine-year-old Sebastian, suffering from leukaemia in the local hospital, who writes a heartbreaking letter addressed to 'Mister Teacher'. So begins a journey through the seasons of Yorkshire life in which the school is the natural centre of the community.

Vera, the school secretary who worships Margaret Thatcher and whose greatest ambition is to become President of the Women's Institute; Ruby, the twenty-stone caretaker who sings like Julie Andrews; Dorothy, the coffee shop assistant who is desperate to be Wonder Woman; all these , and many more colourful characters, accompany Jack through the ups and downs of the school year. Most of all, there is the lovely Beth Henderson, a teacher from a nearby school, who with her sister Laura presents Jack with an unexpected dilemma.

Jack Sheffield was born in 1945 and grew up in the tough environment of Gipton Estate, in North East Leeds. After a job as a 'pitch boy', repairing roofs, he became a Corona Pop Man before going to St John's College, York, and training to be a teacher. In the late 70s and 80s, he was a headteacher of two schools in North Yorkshire before becoming Senior Lecturer in primary education at Bretton Hall near Wakefield. It was at this time he began to record his many amusing stories of village life. He lives in York and Hampshire. Visit his website at www.jacksheffield.com.

2008-08-10 Teacher, Teacher/Mr. Teacher

Being born and bred in God's Own Country, and proud of it, I was sceptical of Mr. Sheffield's blurb. After Page 1 of "Teacher, Teacher", however, I was well and truely hooked. Yorkshire humour has to be the hardest thing in the world to transpose to paper, but Mr. Sheffield manages it effortlessly. The characters live and breathe, and, more importantly, I cared about them. I was transported back to my own brief years in "Infant & Junior School", and with the hindsight of maturity, recognised both myself and some of my teachers. I could not wait to read "Mr. Teacher",and devoured it within a day. Mr. Sheffield does not disappoint with his sequal, except for the very last page..... he makes us wait for his decision about Beth!!!! I have pre-ordered #3 and just wish it was out for Christmas. Mr. Sheffield (I cannot call him Jack, he's a Teacher) made me laugh until I cried. I also cried until I laughed.
Unique, poignant and ultimately real, I urge everyone to read,buy, beg, steal or borrow these books. Pure b****y genius.