Customer Reviews

The Little Grey Men: A Story for the Young in Heart (Julie Andrews Collection)

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I loved the details and the descriptions in this book. The author makes everything seem so real and beautiful. It is as if I were there. It gave me a tingly feeling.

The Little Grey Men tells the tale of three gnome brothers who left their tree house in search of a more adventurous brother who left two years before. Dodder, Baldmoney and Sneezewort travelled up and down the Folly river gleaning adventures as if they were escaping lions in the African veldt or fighting malnutrition while marooned on a desert island, a la Robinson Crusoe. Will they ever find Cloudberry?

BB paints the scenery of the Warwickshire countryside in such detail that one feels his love of this tiny patch of the world so powerfully. He ascribes this love to the gnomes, "being halfway between animals and our unhappy selves, they appreciated the world far more than a great many mortals. To them the whole year was lovely, ... and not an hour passed by but they found something to admire and relish."

As in every good quest, the gnomes make new friends, battle formidable enemies (yes! more than one!), survive natural catastrophes and finally come home to a roaring fire and a good Elderberry wine.

It is a good tale to follow as you walk along the banks of an English river, but it is just as good in the bedroom of your high-rise apartment.

I first read this book in 1949 (at age 12) when it was the monthly selection of the Junior Literary Guild. I'm 72 and I've just finished reading it for the 5th time. (I've never read a book more than twice except this one). Because of my age, I've just sent my copy on to a family with young children. It may be the best children's book ever written. It has wonderfully descriptive writing, lessons to be learned from life (Think about the "Bambi" movie), and a splendid ending. It really needs to be read to children because of the dated (1940's) wording and because it was written in England and so many words and phrases may need to be explained because they may not be familiar to American readers.

Just a "Grand" book.

This is a lovely little book. However, Julie Andrews is not the author, as another commenter noted. She loved the book as a girl, and wanted to make it available again via her Harper Collins imprint (and actually wrote the introduction). Although the cover cryptically lists the author as "BB", the man listed as the illustrator actually wrote the story as well as doing the woodcuts in the text. Reminds me a little of Watership Down....

This is a wonderful book. One can read this book over and over again and never become tired of it. Julie Andrews is a wonderful author, she just transports you into the story, very well written and a most enjoyable story for all ages.

I first read this book as an early teenager, with my head still wrapped up with fairies and the magical world. It so stood out in my memory that I decided to buy it as an adult, many years removed from the initial reading. What I can say is that it immediately sunk me back into that world, the language is as beautiful and engaging as when I first read it. It is a joy to read for any age I think, for the young one who will want to go make friends of the gnomes, or the adult that needs a little reminder of the magic still within their imagination. Beautiful, captivating and heart-warming. I highly strongly recommend this book!

Kim M-M