Jill Barklem (1951–2017)

The second of Jill Barklem's four seasonal titles set in Brambly Hedge, a tight-knit community of field mice living in idyllic rural retreat, Summer Story follows the tale of Poppy Eyebright and Dusty Dogwood - proprietors of the hedge's Dairy Stump and Flour Mill, respectively - through their courtship and midsummer marriage. The mice of Brambly Hedge are always up for a community celebration, and the murine nuptials of Poppy and Dusty - held aboard a birch-bark raft, afloat on the local show more stream - is the perfect excuse!

I adore the Brambly Hedge books, which combine winsome stories set in a small, enclosed world that is perfectly realized, with delightful illustrations - both interior and exterior - that will provide young readers with hours of viewing pleasure. The intricate interiors of the houses and community buildings of the hedge - they are presented in a sort of cross-section, with each room visible - are endlessly fascinating, while the residents themselves are cute (without being "cutesy"). Barklem did quite a bit of research, before writing and illustrating this series, and it really shows! The focus on food, in many of the stories, puts me in mind of some of Brian Jacques's murine fantasies (which have a similar preoccupation), making me think that these are the perfect selection for readers who are still too young for books like Redwall. show less

As a child, I deeply loved all things miniature and British - so when I discovered Jill Barklem's exquisite little books about the mice of Brambly Hedge I was smitten. Fast forward lo these many years (we won't say how many) and I still have my miniature set-ups, my collections of tiny books including Jill Barklem, and my utter delight that HarperCollins is republishing these classic stories.

Now, just so you are aware, they are also republishing the original books (they're about the size of show more Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit books for a size comparison) but if you're looking for a great holiday gift for a miniature and/or book lover, why not get this gorgeous collection? It comes in a nice, sturdy slipcase and includes the eight classic stories in a single volume.

The first set of four are seasonal - Spring Story, Summer Story, Autumn Story, and Winter Story. They show the mice enjoying the excitement of each season from harvest to winter balls, weddings to picnics. The second set - The Secret Staircase, The High Hills, Sea Story, and Poppy's Babies adds to the adventures of the mice showing them traveling to the seaside to get salt, setting up a new home for a tired mother, and discovering secrets in the Old Oak Palace.

The Brambly Hedge stories are a pastoral world, with the mice busily collecting, storing, and sharing food in their intricate stumps and tree homes. There's a quasi-feudal feel to it, with the presence of Lord and Lady Woodmouse, but on the whole the mice are an egalitarian lot with everyone pitching in to help each other out. The most present characters are the ever-curious Wilfrid Toadflax and his best friend, Primrose Woodmouse. Together they have many adventures in and around the meadow.

A large part of the charm of this series is Barklem's intricate illustrations showing shelves stacked with tiny dishes, food, and other household equipment. Then there's the fields, stream, and trees with exquisite drawings of flowers, grasses, berries, and mushrooms. The mice themselves are dressed in old-fashioned style, buttoned into trousers, petticoats, and adorned with shady straw hats (suitably adjusted for ears and tails of course).

Verdict: The complete collection is a great buy for library shelves, if you have little listeners who love tiny things (and who doesn't?) and I look forward to introducing our patrons to this beloved series. Consider either the complete collection or selections of the individual books for the miniature loving children in your life; you can even pair them with some little mouse dolls or tiny foods for imaginative play.

ISBN: 9780008282820; This edition published October 2018 by HarperCollins; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library (I have purchased my own copies of the individual books as well as a few for the library) show less

In 1980, an English author and artist named Jill Barklem released four miniature picture-books about a close-knit community of hedgerow mice, all living, working and celebrating together. The four titles, one for each of the seasons - Spring Story, Summer Story, Autumn Story, and Winter Story - were an immediate hit, with their charmingly detailed illustrations and engaging characters and stories, and won a devoted coterie of fans. Three years later, in 1983, Barklem released this fifth show more title, in which Primrose Woodmouse and Wilfred Toadflax discover a secret and long forgotten "apartment" at the top of Old Oak Palace, while searching for a place to rehearse for the recital they are to give for the great Midwinter Ball.

How I wish I had discovered these books - and especially The Secret Staircase! - as a young girl! I would have adored them, and most likely would have read them over and over again. How thrilling, to find a hidden staircase! How delightful the hidden apartment, with all its promise of secret play, would have seemed! How I would have loved the costumes that Primrose and Wilfred discover, the settings for their adventures, and the entire cozy world being depicted! The great baronial hall would have been a particular treat, I think. Even encountering these Brambly Hedge books for the first time as an adult, I am still charmed. Highly recommended to younger readers with a taste for animal fantasy, as well as to anyone who enjoyed the earlier books about this adorable murine community! show less

One of four miniature picture-books published together in 1980, each focusing on a different season in the life of a small community of rural mice - the residents of Brambly Hedge, lying "on the other side of the stream, across the field... amongst the tangled roots and stems" - Jill Barklem's Autumn Story is the tale of Primrose, daughter of Lord and Lady Woodmouse, who becomes lost in the forest after she wanders away from her father one busy harvest day. Her adventures picking show more wildflowers, and then exploring a vole colony, are paralleled by the frantic search undertaken (for her) by her elders...

Like the other entries in this series - Spring Story, Summer Story and Winter Story - I was completely charmed by Barklem's fully realized murine world in Autumn Story, not to mention her intensely detail-oriented illustrations. The interior scenes here would have had me endlessly poring over them, as a girl, while the stories and characters would have kept me amused and involved. Sweet without being cloying, these Brambly Hedge books are the perfect selection for the child who enjoys animal fantasy, and is somewhere between the early picture-book stage, and independent chapter-book reading. Just delightful! show less