Maeve Binchy

All he was trying to do was to involve the community at the right level, to make them see that their children were their hope and their future.

soulful and looked as if they understood the sadness of the world.

explained one of the children helpfully.

It didn’t look terribly hopeful.

She hung back and let her hair fall over her face.

The first sign of the schoolhouse was the huge ancient beech tree, a copper beech that shaded the playground.

Mrs Kennedy’s eyes were

Mrs Kennedy’s eyes were soulful and looked as if they understood the sadness of the world.