Lil S: “Dad”
Me: “Yes?”
Lil S: “You can touch my belly button and mummy can touch my bellybutton and me can touch my bellybutton but [Big S] is not allowed.”

Average Rating: 4.8 out of 5 based on 179 user reviews.

I am sitting at my desk typing out chapter revisions. Above my head the girls are drifting in sleep’s orbit; two small moons in whose gravity I find my self contentedly anchored.

Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 based on 251 user reviews.

We are queuing in the bag drop line at Gatwick and I am trying to explain the security arrangements to the girls. “So” I say “they’ll be looking through your pockets. Any guns or knives? Ha ha!”

Lil S looks up and says “Me got dis!!!” In her hand is a double-bladed pencil sharpener. It is about the only object she owns that might set off a security alert. HOW did she know?

Average Rating: 4.8 out of 5 based on 278 user reviews.