Trying to remember the name of a children's picture book

[muttmeister]

When I was teaching back in the 1970s there was a wonderful set of picture books for little kids - maybe a little advanced for preschool but right to be read to about first graders. It was a about a group of animals who lived in cute houses in trees a la The Wind in the Willows or Winnie the Pooh. The pictures were beautiful and in soft pastel colors - maybe watercolor, I can't remember for sure. I think they may have originated in England. I know there was a book for each of the four seasons. At one point there was some brand of fine china that made figurines and maybe kids dinner ware. I was thinking the series was something like Blackberry Bramble or Thicket or something like that but I've tried doing internet searches and obviously I'm not remembering quite right. Does anybody have a clue? I remember them as beautiful, gentle books that I'd like to get for my grandkids but senility seems to have struck and I can't come up with the right title. Help?

 

[CAmom]

Sounds somewhat like the Beatrix Potter series (dinnerware and all sorts of other spin-off products) except for the seasons, and you probably wouldn't have forgotten those.

 

[DaisyFace]

I agree! It sounds a lot like Beatrix Potter's stories...

There are a lot of them....I can't remember specifically whether she wrote books about the seasons. I know there were Frog and Toad, (by Arnold Lobel) stories about the seasons (Frog and Toad All Year) and there may have been Winnie the Pooh stories about the seasons, as well.

 

[muttmeister]

Nope, not Beatrix Potter; I think they were much newer than that. They were of that genre though.

 

[Marguerite]

I'm sure you mean "Brambly Hedge". One of the advantages of living in Australia, is we're in touch with our British roots as well as our newer connections with other parts of the world. We get a lot of British TV (especially for kids - it's mostly Aussie or British, not as much US-based other than Henson stuff); we get a lot of US TV series as well as British; we have a TV network for foreign language programs; and we are officially part of Asia.

The Brambly Hedge TV series (I'm sure we had one) was lovely. If it wasn't Brambly Hedge, then it was something very similar. That was the name that sprang to mind and I Googled it, got hits that indicated I've hit the nail for you.

http://www.harpercollins.com.au/books/9780007207756/The_Brambly_Hedge_Collection/index.aspx

I hope you find it.

Marg

 

[muttmeister]

Marguerite, thanks, that's it. I ordered the books; for those of you who are interested the author is Jill Barklem.
Thanks again.