The story of a smelly gnome with only one friend has been brought to life by a South Derbyshire author.
Cherril Prentice has released her latest book for children, Dirty Dilbert the Smelly Gnome, a tale about a gnome who has more than a bit of an odour problem. It comes on the back of her last hit, Philomena the Fairy.
The mother-of-two, who splits her time between Swadlincote and the Isle of Wight, has published rhyming tales to keep young children entertained and she has had good reviews from youngsters in fits of laughter so far.
Dirty Dilbert the Smelly Gnome tells the story of Dilbert who, as the title suggests, has a hygiene issue. He only has one friend, Horace, who cannot smell anything.
The two gnomes got on quite well but that all changed when Horace became upset at selfish Dilbert’s attitude and the fact he did not care about anyone’s feelings or sense of smell.
Dilbert was just a dirty, smelly gnome until he had an unexpected wash.
Cherril said: “The idea of Dilbert just came to me. A friend of mine read Philomena and she came round one day and threw a jotter at me.
“She gave me a pen and said to get writing. I didn’t want a fairy one as I’ve done that.
“I thought I would write about a little gnome who is a bit naughty.
“That’s where it came from and I carried it on from there. It has taken a while to get it published.
“It’s weird to see something I’ve written in print. I’m also giving some copies away to schools.
“My daughter-in-law is a teacher so I’m going to give some copies to her to give to the kids when they finish school.”
The children who have already had the book read to them have given it rave reviews, with the gnome picking his nose proving a particular hit.
Cherril said: “The feedback from the children is the best feedback. It is for young children and it rhymes which kids love.
“It’s just a little book for little kids and I enjoyed writing it.”
Cherril is a grandmother of three and enjoys amateur dramatics and singing. She spent her working life as a secretary and is now enjoying her retirement.
For a few years she enjoyed writing short rhymes and that inspired her first book about Philomena.
Dirty Dilbert the Smelly Gnome, priced £7.99, is available here. Philomena the Fairy is also available from book retailers including Amazon, Waterstones and The Book Depository.
