Customer Reviews

Sea Story (Brambly Hedge)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a gentle story with wonderful use of the English language and lots of opportunites for discussion with children. Vocabulary words, tides, levers, methods of travel, salt and its necessity and harvesting, manners, feelings, family and friends. The illustrations are cozy and delightful and detailed enough to spend time looking for things with a child so inclined.

This book is destined to become a favorite in our house. The word charming doesn't even begin to describe it. This is the perfect read-aloud for young ones. The story is interesting and full without being frightening in any way. it has been a problem for us to find read-aloud's that would hold our daughter's attention and not scare her. I intend to read the others in this series, as well. By the way, our daughter is 2 and enjoys this book, but I can see it having a very long life - there's much to explore in the story and the wonderful illustrations. Very similar to Beatrix Potter, but much more gentle.

Jill Barklem's Brambly Hedge Mice are on a sea adventure this time. Traditonal British rural customs are depicted with inviting illustrations and you can enjoy a mouse eye's view of Dusty's charming boat, The Periwinkle, as they sail off in search of salt. When they meet up with their cousins, the Sea Mice, who moved from the Green Fields to the Dunes long ago, they enjoy a lively cultural exchange that you are sure to enjoy along with them. Treat yourself to a game of dominoes and a candied violet or two and immerse yourself in this enchanting little world. This book reminds me of both Beatrix Potter and "The Wind in the Willows" but I like the illustrations even more than Potter's. There are such lovely and clever details rendered in soft pastels. Sail away with this fun book but don't miss out on the others by Ms. Barklem!

I love books written and illustrated by Jill Barklem. The mice in her stories are so sweet, and she gives them cute names. In this story, the youngest mouse is called "Baby Shrimp!" The mice build a boat and go sailing in search of salt. They have lots of fun adventures and get to visit with their faraway relatives, who collect salt from the ocean near their home. This is a nice story, with lots of beautiful pictures of life in Brambly Hedge...

The Brambly Hedge books are a wonderful series characterized by exceptional artwork. The mice in the colony live under a hedgerow, sustaining a very human-like 18th-Century society, which is rendered exquisitely in miniature detail. Artistically, Jill Barklem might justifiably be called a modern-day Beatrix Potter.

In this episode, the hedgerow colony has run out of salt, so Dusty, Poppy, Wilfred, and Primrose embark on a river journey to the seaside to meet the Saltapple mice. There they enjoy a pleasant stay, eating seaweed for dinner and exploring the labyrinthine home of the seaside mice. When a storm rises, they help Mr. Saltapple cover his seawater-drying pan, and in the morning they farewell the Salters with an invitation to come visit Brambly Hedge.

As in all the Brambly Hedge books, this simple story is carried by the masterful artwork. The characters are likable and hardworking, and communal life is very convivial. A wonderful reading excursion, aesthetically satisfying and supportive of the value of community.