Spring Story (Brambly Hedge Series)

by Jill Barklem

Overview

One in the Brambly Hedge series, reissued with new cover designs. This is the story of the little mice of Brambly Hedge.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780007461547
Publisher:	HarperCollins Children's Books
Publication date:	02/28/2013
Series:	Brambly Hedge Series
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 1.25(h) x 9.00(d)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Jill Barklem was born in Epping and led a quiet childhood enjoying being close to nature. On leaving school, she studied illustration at St Martin’s in London. The inspiration for Brambly Hedge appeared during Jill’s daily train journey between Epping and London: shutting herself off from the outside world, she became obsessed with the way of life of a band of hedgerow mice, later to be developed as the world of Brambly Hedge. Jill still lives in Epping, Essex.

Editorial Reviews

One spring morning, a little mouse named Wilfred Toadflax wakes up earlier than anyone else in Brambly Hedge. It's his birthday, and before long, he's bouncing on his parents' bed and squealing with delight over his new presents. When the neighbors begin planning a surprise birthday picnic for Wilfred, it's a wonderful opportunity for us to take a peek at life in Brambly Hedge. This is a rich, beautifully constructed world where mice eat sugared violets, drink elderflower tea, and play hide-and-go-seek among the primroses. Their homes are tree trunks, honeycombed with tiny rooms and passageways. Jill Barklem spent five years researching rural customs and hedgerow habitats before writing her "Brambly Hedge" series, and her effort shows through in this book's abundant details. Each painting is crammed full of these delicious details--colorful patchwork quilts adorn the beds, lopsided picture frames hang on the walls, and all kinds of jams, tarts, and pies grace the picnic blankets. The author's creativity really shines through to the characters of the mice themselves. In just a few words, she can sketch out a full, compelling character. For instance, we meet one mouse while he is absentmindedly looking for his trousers. Twenty years after it was first published in Great Britain, we in the U.S. finally have the real treat of encountering this charming book. 2000 (orig. 1980), Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster, Ages 3 to 6, $9.95. Reviewer: Emily Schuster

Children's Literature - Children's Literature

…the most researched-crammed fantasy ever set before small children…” Sunday Times Magazine

From the Publisher