The Gnats of Knotty Pine [Hardcover]

Bill Peet (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

The animals of Knotty Pine won't listen to the gnats' suggestion for keeping the hunters away, but learn to appreciate the tiny bugs when they're able to make the hunters "buzz off."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Cartoon-like illustrations suitably capture the sardonic spirit of the text." Children's Book Review Service

About the Author

Bill Peet was the author of 34 books published by Houghton Mifflin. One of these, BILL PEET: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY, was named a 1989 Caldecott Honor Book. All of Bill Peet’s books published by Houghton Mifflin Company, including his first book for children published in 1959, HUBERT'S HAIR-RAISING ADVENTURE, remain actively in print today.

In both his career as an author and illustrator of children’s books and in his work as sketch artist and continuity illustrator at Walt Disney, Bill Peet created a menagerie of memorable characters. As he himself noted, "I write about animals because I love to draw them. Most of my animal characters have human personalities, and some are much like the people I know."

At Walt Disney, where Bill Peet worked for 27 years, he was a key participant in the production of classic films such as Fantasia, Sleeping Beauty, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and 101 Dalmatians for which he was not only an artist, but the screenwriter as well.

Bill Peet’s signature style enabled him to create fast-paced stories of fantastical adventure delivered with warmth and laugh-out-loud hilarity. His unfailing humor did not, however, prevent him from addressing such poignant issues as kindness toward others and respect for the environment. Through the exploits of his characters, Peet offered his audience a chance to see themselves and their world through new eyes.

"At some point," Bill Peet once said, "it occurred to me that drawing was something I couldn’t possibly give up, and somehow it must be turned into a profession." He went on to not only fulfill his dream but to introduce generations of young readers to his delightful vision of humor, friendship and compassion.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; FEP Cut Out First Edition edition (September 24, 1975)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039521405X
• ISBN-13: 978-0395214053
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,064,767 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bill Peet was the author of 34 books published by Houghton Mifflin. One of these, BILL PEET: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY, was named a 1989 Caldecott Honor Book. All of Bill Peet's books published by Houghton Mifflin Company, including his first book for children published in 1959, HUBERT'S HAIR-RAISING ADVENTURE, remain actively in print today.
In both his career as an author and illustrator of children's books and in his work as sketch artist and continuity illustrator at Walt Disney, Bill Peet created a menagerie of memorable characters. As he himself noted, "I write about animals because I love to draw them. Most of my animal characters have human personalities, and some are much like the people I know."

At Walt Disney, where Bill Peet worked for 27 years, he was a key participant in the production of classic films such as Fantasia, Sleeping Beauty, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and 101 Dalmatians for which he was not only an artist, but the screenwriter as well.

Bill Peet's signature style enabled him to create fast-paced stories of fantastical adventure delivered with warmth and laugh-out-loud hilarity. His unfailing humor did not, however, prevent him from addressing such poignant issues as kindness toward others and respect for the environment. Through the exploits of his characters, Peet offered his audience a chance to see themselves and their world through new eyes.

"At some point," Bill Peet once said, "it occurred to me that drawing was something I couldn't possibly give up, and somehow it must be turned into a profession." He went on to not only fulfill his dream but to introduce generations of young readers to his delightful vision of humor, friendship and compassion.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for children, May 14, 2005

By 

PM "Peter" (NEW YORK, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gnats of Knotty Pine (Hardcover)

I am shocked at the nasty reviews of this book. Bill Peet is known for his environmentally friendly books and they're hardly "disguised", thinly or otherwise. Those who are looking for something else should seek out other authors (there are certainly a near limitless number of children's authors). I read this book when I was wee old and loved it as I loved his others (farewell to shady glade, whump world, etc.). I think Farewell to Shady Glade is the best, but this book is fun too. Do not overlook this book for fear of its "biased" view on hunting. The fact is, these hunters come to hunt the animals. In this book the animals have been anthropomorphosized (like many children's stories) and do not want to be killed. Let's face it, hunting, which is anyone's right within its legal bounds, is killing animals. Instead of passing judgement, be honest: some humans kill animals while hunting, for better or for worse. I'm sure most children, like myself now (and 20+ years ago as a child), eat dead animals, aka meat, and so can learn to appreciate how humans impact and interact with the world. I suppose the offended readers of this book would have preferred the animals to knowingly sacrifice some of themselves for the hunters' sport?! I don't know one child that would have read that plot line and not scratched their head. This book is a simple story about how knats, rejected by the animals for their annoying swarming, save the day, preventing the hunters from holding their hunt, by, ironically, swarming around the hunters. In the end the knats become the best friends of the animals because of how they helped the animals. That's it!

10 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book helped me understand hunters and animals., October 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Gnats of Knotty Pine (Turtleback)

This was a really good book. I really enojoyed how heroic the Gnats were to protect the animals, even though the moose blew them away with his nose. It also gave me a sense of excitememnt when the hunters ran away from my hero the squirl.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stop reading BETWEEN the lines, October 26, 2007

By 

Benjamin L. Brown "Jimben34" (Wisscasset, Maine United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Gnats of Knotty Pine (Paperback)

This is cute and fun book. Some adults simply cannot comprehend that a four year old is not going to have this story read to them and then the first thing that pops into their head is "oh wow, a squirrel just pointed a gun at a man so i guess i can do it too, now where can i get a gun". Come on for goodness sake. They simply love the animals and the humor of the story. Now for the second thing. Some people or maybe hunters i should say are offended by Bill Peets portrayal of hunters. Well i have something to say to you. IT'S A KIDS BOOK. If your that easily offended i would hate to have a grown-up conversation with you for fear of my life. And just so you know I am a hunter also, so i certainly do not have a negetive oppinion about hunters. My point is that this is a good book as long as you can fight the urge to read between the lines and assume there are messages there that aren't. Read it to your kids, let them enjoy their innocence while it's there.