Little Grey Men (Oxford Children's Modern Classics) [Paperback]

B B (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2004 | Series: Oxford Children's Modern Classics

The last four gnomes in Britain live by a Warwickshire brook. But when one of them decides to go and explore and doesn't return, it's up to the remaining three to build a boat and set out to find him. This is the story of the gnome's epic journey in search of Cloudberry and is set against the background of the English countryside, beginning in spring, continuing through summer, and concluding in autumn, when the first frosts are starting to arrive. BLFirst published in 1942, this book is still fondly remembered and well-loved by readers everywhere BLThis edition includes the original black and white illustrations by the author

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The late BB's real name was Denys Watkins-Pitchford, 1905-1990.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Oxford Childrens; New edition edition (January 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192719467
• ISBN-13: 978-0192719461
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,159,121 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hidden treasure, November 27, 2007

By 

K. Norlander "kate0311" (MN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Little Grey Men Pb (Paperback)

This book deserves to be better known. In many ways, it reminds me of The Wind in the Willows -- perhaps because it takes place in England, perhaps because the adventure takes place on a small-animal scale (the main characters are gnomes), perhaps because Pan appears in the book, or perhaps because it is so beautifully written. The story is an original version of the "quest," filled with beauty and peril, good and evil. Like all truly good children's literature, the book will enchant adults as well. It's really too bad this is so obscure; our library didn't have a single copy. I'll be purchasing a few and giving them away.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Whimsy, and an almost unattainable artistic flair, April 18, 2006

By 

Francis Whitesell (New York, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Little Grey Men (Oxford Children's Modern Classics) (Paperback)

This book, rightly called a "Story for the young at heart", should not be undervalued for its child-like theme, and its faerietale content. Author "BB" uses imagery almost obselete to the fiction community at large to great effect, capturing a world that is lost both to most modern writers, and to the readers who follow their works. "BB"'s inspirational use of a familiar tone found msot commonly in stories written by a parents for their children, along with his use of literary techniques no longer taught or practiced create between them a story that is entirely readable by children and adults alike. Besides being an excellent piece of entertainment, it has to it a whimsy and almost unattainable artistic flair that I can, as an involved writer of fiction, recommend as educational. Consider the reading of "The Little Grey Men" a course in the understanding of the development of casual literature and entertainment at large, and at the same time allow yourself to slip beyond analysis of technique, and emmerse yourself in a world of fantasy, and forgotten times.
I fully recommend this title to any reader or writer of fiction: adults and children alike.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get on the reading train and never get off, April 30, 2009

By 

A. King (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Little Grey Men (Oxford Children's Modern Classics) (Paperback)

The little grey men was one of the first books I read as a child.
It started me on a path and a ride I have never left.

TLGM is a classic tale which as another reviewer has commented, deserves a lot more plaudits and recognition than it has received over the years.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants their children to have a great start in the literary world and allow them the appreciation of the written word as opposed to sitting like a zombie in front of a TV watching cartoons.

You will have no regrets purchasing this title, I give TLGM five stars.