Pilfrey Was Here!
Easter morning, and everything in Hollowbrook has been swapped. Who could it be?
The cheekiest cuckoo in Hollowbrook
Pilfrey was here!
He wears a pink bonnet and two odd socks. He swaps things. Lots of things. And it was never, ever him.
Meet Pilfrey
Pilfrey is a cuckoo who never had a nest of his own, so he borrows other people's things. Eggs, wellies, flowerpots, sprouts. He calls it a fair swap
. It never is.
When the village notices, he crosses his toes and says Wasn't me!
Swippety-swap, now who could it be?
Cuck-OO! Cuck-OO! It wasn't ME!
Find the Grey Egg
Pilfrey has hidden his speckled grey egg in six pictures from the book. Can you find them all?
Play nowThe books
Funny picture books for ages 3–7. Every page hides a grey egg to find.
Pilfrey's First Christmas
Pilfrey turns back from flying south, because he has never seen Christmas.
Coming soonPilfrey's Valentine Mix-Up
Valentine cards, the wrong doors, and one very busy cuckoo.
Coming soonPilfrey's Mother's Day
Pilfrey goes looking for the little bird who raised him.
Real Cuckoo Facts
- Cuckoos fly all the way from Africa. They arrive in Britain in April, just in time for Easter.
- A cuckoo mum never builds a nest. She lays her egg in another bird's nest, like a dunnock's or a reed warbler's.
- Only the boy cuckoo says “cuck-oo”. The girl cuckoo makes a bubbly, giggly call.
- Young cuckoos fly to Africa on their own. Nobody shows them the way, and they still find it.
For grown-ups
About the books
The Pilfrey books are written by Tilda Larkin and set in Hollowbrook, a small English village. Each story has a repeating chant to read aloud, a running “Wasn't me!” joke, a hidden grey egg in every picture, and Real Cuckoo Facts at the back.
The books are available as paperbacks on Amazon. Ages 3–7.
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