The Complete Brambly Hedge: The gorgeously illustrated children’s classics delighting kids and parents for over 40 years!

Product Information

The first four seasonal books were produced in audio form; one hour narrated by John Moffatt. Audiobooks and CDs are marketed under the titles The Brambly Hedge Collection (2005) and A Year in Brambly Hedge (2014).

After graduating she became an illustrator for children's bibles and a series of collections of prayers and graces. Under her maiden name she illustrated the Haffertee Hamster books by Janet and John Perkins. Sea Story (1990) – Dusty Dogwood, Poppy Eyebright, Primrose Woodmouse and Wilfred Toadflax sail down river to retrieve salt from the sea mice.Poppy's Babies Dusty and Poppy, who were married in the Summer Story have just had their first bundle of joy - or should I say bundles? Poppy is absolutely in love with her trio of babies but with Dusty's dusty mill constantly bringing messes into the house and loud noises, Poppy just cannot live in that spot anymore. Midwinter's Day is coming. Primrose and Wilfred are assigned to recite the Midwinter Poem, and they discover a secret staircase concealed in the attic and many old rooms within. They finally stumble down a secret tunnel making it in time for the Midwinter celebrations, but they keep the old rooms a secret.

The illustrations are beautiful, detailed and heart warming and the story lines sweet, imaginative and fanciful. There are ongoing themes of friendship, community spirit and sharing throughout the whole timeless collection. They carefully make the most amazing courses and joyfully eat fantastic meals. It's wonderful and I was in love. I don’t think I’d realized how much I imprinted on the visual style and artistic themes until I saw them again as an adult. The rich yet soft colors! The light and shadow! The natural themes! The ornate and intricate detail-filled pictures! The cutaway views of houses built into trees and stumps! The food!

Mythology and symbolism

The books, whose first titles were published in 1980, are written and illustrated by Barklem. The first four books follow the seasonal pattern of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Her later four books follow the mice's various adventures and activities. Poppy and Dusty have seen other so often. Dusty wishes to propose to Poppy. Wilfred and Primrose try to bring the couple together. Finally comes the day of the wedding. Unfortunately, Wilfred's blunder causes the wedding raft to drift down the stream, away from the bride, but Wilfred eventually manages to catch the raft and the wedding is saved. Autumn Story "Now keep close to me and don't get lost."Autumn is the time for excitement and adventure with the leaves changing colors, fall harvests and more. But then Primrose goes missing - and Lord and Lady Woodmouse don't know what to do. They simply must find their daughter before too late! Outings for the Mice of Brambly Hedge (1999) is a joint publication version of Spring Story and The High Hills. It was the most beautiful morning. The spring sunshine crept into every cottage along Brambly Hedge, and the little windows in the trees were opened wide."

We very much hope that visitors to Epping Forest can retrace Mum’s steps through the forest at High Beech, and hopefully find inspiration from the landscape through the seasons, just as she did all those years ago.” I learned about these books through Snapdragons, a blog about the domestic adventures of a new mom. The author of the blog had grown up reading these stories and was very excited about the prospect of sharing them with her own child. I'd never heard of them, but as I'm always on the look out for new books to read with The Four-Year-Old, I spent a week or two hunting them down.Summer Story "Poppy Eyebright, do you love Dusty Dogwood and will you love him and care for him for ever and ever?"Young Poppy and Dusty fall in love over the course of the summer and soon the whole village begins to prepare for a wedding! Barklem spent five years on research before she started to write her stories about the mice of Brambly Hedge. Her interest in natural history and traditional rural customs and crafts has spilled over into these chronicles of hedgerow life. She lived with her husband and children near Epping Forest in England. Brambly Hedge is a series of illustrated children's books by Jill Barklem, recounting the adventures of a community of mice who live together in the tranquil surroundings of the English countryside. The writer described Brambly Hedge as a loving and caring society. The tales involve conflict resolution within nature or exploration, and/or the adventures of working together to achieve a common goal. There are no unkind characters or predators. The High Hills (1986) – Wilfred is determined to find some treasure in the hills above Brambly Hedge. Jill married David Barklem, an antiques dealer, in 1977. The couple went on to have a son and daughter. [6]

In 1994, however, she had an operation to remove a brain tumour, and although the procedure was successful, she subsequently had a number of health issues, including declining eyesight that effectively brought her charming world to a premature end.Jill Barklem was born as Gillian Gaze in Epping on 23 May 1951. [1] She was the daughter of John and Ivy Gaze who ran a family-owned department store in the town. [2] Educated at Loughton High School, after an accident when she was thirteen resulting in a detached retina, she was unable to take part in PE or games at school and instead developed her talent for drawing and art. On leaving school, she studied illustration at St Martin's in London. [1] Illustrator [ edit ] Jill was born in Epping, the daughter of John and Ivy Gaze, who ran Pynes Stores, a family-owned department store in the town. At Loughton high school she suffered a detached retina that allowed her to skip all sports and concentrate on art and botany. After St Martin’s, she wrote a handful of picture books for Lion publishing and later contributed illustrations to some of their religious books. In neither was she able to include her visions of the English countryside, and always felt these books were less than her best. The Mice of Brambly Hedge Celebrate (1998) is a joint publication version of Winter Story and Secret Staircase. Primrose In Charge (2006) "In the spirit of Jill Barklem" Alan MacDonald (Author), Lizzie Sanders, botanical artist [7] (Illustrator) [8] Spring Story (1980) – Wilfred Toadflax enjoys a picnic and a surprise for his birthday at Bluebell Bank.