Christopher Nibble

Christopher Nibble #1

by Charlotte Middleton

Christopher Nibble loves munching dandelion leaves. And he's not alone. All the guinea pigs in Dandeville eat dandelion leaves for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But no-one seems to do anything when the dandelions begin to dwindle. They just carry on munching. In fact the guinea pigs of Dandeville are heading for eco-disaster . . .

But that's where Christopher Nibble steps in. He discovers the last dandelion growing outside his bedroom window and, rather than eat it, he does his horticultural research in the library and then nurtures the dandelion patiently until it has produced a perfect head of tiny seeds. Then he blows the seeds from a hill high over Dandeville so that each dandelion seedling takes root and grows into a new plant.

Charlotte Middleton has illustrated her witty, quirky story with charming collage illustrations and her guinea pigs are the most endearing, funky little characters you are ever likely to meet.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Environment, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 6, 2009

Reviews

[Wilde Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young guinea pig learns to cultivate dandelions.

I thought this was a sweet / charming short story with a strong central message about the need to conserve / look after nature (food supplies, etc.).

[Laura Hollywood · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet and charming story about a guinea pig called Christopher Nibble written by Charlotte Middleton. This wonderfully illustrative book touches on greed and how because all the guinea pigs love dandelions in Dandeville, they nearly eat them all! However, Christopher finds one dandelion outside his bedroom window and cares for this dandelion until, one day, it transforms with a beautiful white head. Christopher takes the dandelion to a hill and blows all the white seeds off and soon enough more dandelions start to grow. Quite a witty book with this wonderful collage effect illustration. A good read for KS1 children.

[Gina Venugopal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet tale about a guniea pig who loves eating dandelion leaves until one day, they are all gone! Christopher Nibbles saves the day by stumbling upon the last dandelion, which he resists eating in order to wait for it to flower. When it has grown, he goes to the top of the hill and blows the seeds down so new dandelions grow for everybody. A lovely illustration about helping others as well as nurturing and planting seeds that is suitable for Early Years/Year 1.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Until, finally, his dandelion had grown the most beautiful white head of tiny seeds.” | This morning’s #readaloud pick: Christopher Nibble by Charlotte Middleton. Here’s another book rec from a sweet friend of mine, , who picked up this picture book from a used bookshop in the UK, that is actually on a boat! It’s called Word on the Water and I’m definitely wishing I could teleport there right now. Swipe to see this beautiful bookshop (Photo Credit: Steve Lintott) ➡️

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Christopher Nibble is a cute story, with some collage embedded into the illustrations, about patience, environmental sustainability, and of course, the beauty of dandelions (which I mentioned my love for in an earlier book post).

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Elementary teachers - I automatically think of the potential here for a word choice assignment in your classroom 🌾

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just LOVE the Christopher Nibble books. I have two in my primary school library and I will get the rest. I love everything about them. I love the story, I love the illustrations, I love the humor. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these books! <3 I wish I could meet the author and tell her so.

[Dorthe Svendsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dandylion-book, i’m sold! Også er den jo helt pedagogisk riktig, for en kan lære noe om planter og deres spredning, samt at den kan trigge til gode holdningsmessige samtaler om det å ta vare på kloden og å ikke bedrive overforbruk.

[Dewi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buku unik yang mengajarkan tentang keberlanjutan pangan.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love guinea pigs so this one was great in my opinion. It sends the message of sustainability for the environment and to be patient.

[Jenna Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good message

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. Especially liked the way the modern world was represented. A lot of picture books seem to live in the past.

[Sharvi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book because food was involved. I also loved his pants.

[Faye Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

very engaging book gripping storyline kept me on the edge of my seat when is the next sequel?? Come on author

[Željko Filipin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A furry animal saves his favorite plant.

[Penny McGill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Animals wearing clothing, especially clothing that looks like it has been made out of a Liberty Print, is almost too precious for me. Christopher and all of his friends are very conscientious guinea pigs who work hard, ride their bicycles with their helmets on, do a great job working in the garden, care for the environment and just look incredibly cute while they do it. I dare you to try and not love this winning combination of story and images from Charlotte Middleton. Our family votes this entire series #1.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like guines pigs, and i like dandelions, so i was happy to find a book about both / was willing to overlook the fact that the main character had been stuck in a pair of shorts (after all he plays football and e.g. uses a computer), but the guinea pigs in dresses ...make me really scared to look inside e.g. "christopher's caterpillars"

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A winner in our house!!

[WroxallPoppy]

This book was brilliant at getting us all to remember the life cycle of a plant.
We learnt a new word CLOCHE!
We discussed what 'peckish' could mean - and it made us think about how chickens eat!

[Shahrun · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a crazy guinea pig lady, I found this book was too gorgeous for words! Love the illustrations!

[Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice book about pollination, could be used alongside science lessons.