The story started its life in the real world, when the author was taking lunch one day with her two young friends, Clara and Alice, in a restaurant at the Zoo. Clara and Alice were rather shocked by the bad behaviour of some children of around their age (5 and 6), who were eating at a nearby table. Perhaps inspired by the setting of the zoo, it was soon agreed that the most appropriate beings to teach these ruffians some good table manners would be a group of animals. Once the characters had been cast - a giraffe, a cow, a polar bear, an octopus and a snail - the story took on a life of its own. This witty and charming book is illuminated with some very attractive, funny drawings