Peak Dale Farm stories: A Calf Called Valentine
Peak Dale Farm stories: A Calf called Valentine is set in the Peak District. Anna’s mother is in hospital, and Anna is homesick at her grandparents’ farm. But she is given charge of the calf that is born on Valentine’s Day, and falls in love with him. Illustrated by Kim Lewis.
Sadly, A Calf Called Valentine is no longer available, although you may be able to find secondhand copies on Amazon or elsewhere.
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Think of a farm near an old stone bridge, with a river winding past. There are sheep on the hills and cows in the fields. There are chickens in the barns. There’s a field called a croft where more chicken sheds are kept. There’s a pony in the orchard and his name is Silver. There’s an old red tractor in the yard. The farmer is called William. His wife is called Jean and she’s warm and soft. They’re Grandpa Bill and Nanny Jean. And there’s Uncle Dusty with hair like a cloud. They all live together in Peak Dale Farm.
And it’s a long, long time since any children lived there.
When Anna comes to stay at Peakdale Farm, she is frightened of all the farm animals. All she wants is to be back home with her mum. And then one day, February 14th as it happens, a white calf is born, and Anna falls in love with him. They call him Valentine, and Anna is allowed to help to look after him. This isn’t easy! Valentine turns out to be a very naughty calf, causing the farmer a bit of a headache, but Anna is determined to teach him how to behave so they will agree to let him stay.
I live on a farm, though I’m not a farmer. My cottage is next to the farmhouse, and the farm goes on all around me. They mostly farm sheep, as it’s a hill farm, but they have some cattle, a lot of hens, and two horses. It can be very noisy at times! And one day, it’s true, a white calf was born in one of the barns just at the end of my garden.
It was Saint Valentine’s Day, and so the two farm girls called him Valentine. From the window of the little barn at the back of my house that I call my writing room, I used to watch Valentine growing up.
He liked to play with the lambs, and I’m convinced that he really thought he was one of them. He was pretty naughty too. He got inside the hen enclosure and trod on the eggs. He wandered into the camping field and invited himself into one of the tents. I think I loved him as much as Alice and Ellen did, and it wasn’t long before I decided that I just had to write a story about him and his antics.
This is the first story in the Peak Dale Farm series. See also Valentine’s Day.
Perhaps you could write a story based on an animal you know. Imagine all the funny things that might happen. Try to set the story in the place you know best.