Author, Oliver Sykes

 Illustrator, Ian Morris

We are Family: Six Kids and a Super-Dad’ humorously tells the remarkable everyday story of Oliver, his dad and his five siblings, and how they survived when his mum walked out one day.
From gloopy nettle soup to third-hand bath water and a birthday cake full of baked beans, the book uses rhyming verse to bring his challenging, but happy, nineties and noughties upbringing to life.
In 1997, when Oliver was just eight years old, his mum walked out never to return. His dad, Chris, quit his job at the local factory, to pick up the reins in their packed-to-the-rafters three-bedroom council house.
Learning on the job, and sometimes making hilarious mistakes along the way, his dad developed his own brand of tough but nurturing parenting. One of the poems, called Press-Ups, details his standard punishment for any misbehaviour: ”Get down and give me ten”.
His dad’s wartime-style cooking also takes a gentle bashing in the book, including memories of poached rabbit stew with the shot still in it; slimy, smelly foraged nettle soup; and a birthday cake padded out with unorthodox ingredients, including baked beans, turnips tops and spam.
Oliver’s dad’s Romany heritage meant that turning to poaching, fishing and foraging to support the family when times were tough was second nature.
Other childhood memories brought to life in the book include fishing for supper at nearby Combs Reservoir, and fitting in breakfast, household chores, homework and paper-rounds before school.
Oliver’s dad didn’t always get it right, like any parent, but his children knew where they stood with him and always felt safe and cared for, which is the most important thing. Life was tough and there wasn’t much money, but there was always lots of love and laughter.