Never, Not Ever!

Pascaline may be a bat, but like most five-year olds she knows exactly what she likes – and school is NOT on her list.

‘Never, not ever!’ she tells her parents when the big day arrives. The other animals may be going, but Pascaline refuses point blank to consider learning anything or making friends. In fact, her NO! is so loud that it makes her parents shrivel up. What fun! Pascaline can tuck them under her wing and take them somewhere surprising – Bat School, where Pascaline’s parents proceed to get in the way and cause mayhem. Maybe Pascaline would be happier without Mum and Dad clinging to her and getting in the way?

By the end of the day, Pascaline has had enough, but Mum and Dad are keen for more. Will Pascaline take them back to school tomorrow? ‘Never, not ever,’ she tells them, with a smile.

Parents and carers may shudder at the thought of being at the mercy of their offspring, albeit for a good cause, but Beatrice Alemagna’s take on role-reversal is particularly enjoyable and will provoke much satisfaction and hilarity. Mum and Dad have grown-up expectations about lunch, won’t go for a nap and weigh Pascaline down when she wants to take a break-time flight. Worst of all, there’s no-one to collect her when school finishes. As Alemagna shrewdly points out, your parents can’t be waiting outside with the others when they’re already clinging to you.