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The Brambly Hedge Treasury
The Brambly Hedge Treasury Containing The Secret Staicase and The High Hills
80 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1991
41 people want to read
About the author
Jill Barklem
124 books275 followersJill Barklem (1951-November 15, 2017) was a British writer and illustrator of children's books. Her most famous work is the Brambly Hedge series.
After an accident when she was thirteen, Jill was unable to take part in PE or games at school and instead developed her talent for drawing and art. On leaving school, she studied illustration at St Martin's in London. She became a full-time illustrator. She spent five years on research before she started to write her first stories about the mice of Brambly Hedge.
After an accident when she was thirteen, Jill was unable to take part in PE or games at school and instead developed her talent for drawing and art. On leaving school, she studied illustration at St Martin's in London. She became a full-time illustrator. She spent five years on research before she started to write her first stories about the mice of Brambly Hedge.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 30, 2023
Delightful! Just read for the first time with my 6 year old daughter. We both loved it. Sweet, charming stories and beautiful illustrations.
July 20, 2018
I recently found all my old Brambly Hedge books and decided to re-read them. I am happy to report that the stores are just as good and the illustrations are just as gorgeous as I remembered them being. I think these are stories young and old alike can enjoy and the beautiful pictures will definitely be of interest to all ages.
January 24, 2009
This book is similar to Peter Rabbit tales: an old fashioned British countryside where small woodland creatures live. It is not quite my style, or my son's style, but I am sure there are some people out there who would like it. The drawings are cute.
January 30, 2024
“Brambly Hedge runs along the edge of a cornfield. There’s a hornbeam tree, four crabapple trees; a large tree stump overgrown with moss and ivy, some elderberry bushes, a splendid oak tree, and a clump of hawthorn. Brambles and honeysuckle, foxgloves, ferns and wild roses grow alongside in a tangle of leaves and stems.”
If you, or small children you know, enjoy the Peter Rabbit stories of Beatrix Potter, Alison Uttley’s “Little Grey Rabbit” stories, or Kenneth Grahame’s unforgettable classic “The Wind in the Willows”, then you might enjoy the “Brambly Hedge” books by Jill Barklem. These too are anthropomorphic tales set in the English countryside featuring small, fully dressed woodland creatures. But Jill Barklem narrowed her focus right down, and just wrote books about mice, who live in the roots and trunks of trees and hedgerows surrounding one field, in a small area of countryside.
Jill Barklem loved the countryside around Epping in Essex, where she grew up. After school she studied at the famous St. Martin’s School of Art in London, and for five years while she commuted on the tube train, she read about traditional English customs, flora and fauna and other related topics which would eventually be portrayed in her stories. Towards the City from Epping, the trains are horrendously overcrowded, so Jill Barklem chose to daydream, and transport herself in her imagination to an oldfashioned peaceful place, with plenty of space, and a friendly community of … mice! The tube train terminates at Epping however, so this part of the return journey is quiet, and yes, you can even get a seat!
As Gillian Gaze, she had written a handful of picture books for Lion publishing and later contributed illustrations for children’s Bibles. She was not satisfied with her work on these however and wanted to draw from nature. Jill Barklem illustrated the “Haffertee Hamster” books by Janet and John Perkins, and continued to be inspired by her observations of nature and the countryside. In 1977 she married David Barklem, an antiques dealer. Her new husband then urged her to use her knowledge and skills as preparation for a series of books, and “Brambly Hedge” was born.
The first four stories were “Spring Story”, “Summer Story”, “Autumn Story”, and “Winter Story”. All were initially published in 1980, in a miniature format and style similar to the books of Beatrix Potter. Since then there have been many new editions and reprints, in various sizes.
“Brambly Hedge is on the other side of the stream, across the field. If you can find it, and if you look very hard among the tangled roots and stems, you may even see a wisp of smoke from a small chimney, or through an open door, a steep flight of stairs deep within the trunk of a tree.
For this is the home of the mice of Brambly Hedge.”
“Brambly Hedge” is a charming little world on a small scale. There are Mr. and Mrs. Toadflax and their children, but also their friends and family, who all live in the roots and trunks of trees and hedgerows. Jill Barklem went on to write 6 more “Brambly Hedge” books, the final one being in 2010. She made sure that every recipe for the tasty food enjoyed by the mice at picnics and feasts could actually be made from foraged ingredients. And even the strange contraptions and mechanical implements she created within Brambly Hedge were given the same treatment. She made miniature working models of all the machinery in the mouse mill and dairy.
"Happy Mouse Mansion"
These books are now almost as popular with adults as with children, mostly for the beautifully busy and detailed artwork and the complete world in miniature that Jill Barklem has created. They have been translated into 13 languages and have sold more than 7 million copies.
As with “Peter Rabbit”, and all the furry and feathered folk of Beatrix Potter, the drawings lend themselves to merchandising. When the first 4 books in the Brambly Hedge series were first published, one large bookstore had a display depicting a kitchen scene from “Winter Story”. The set was 18ft x 6ft and had taken the design team from Collins’ publishing three months to create. The prestigious “Royal Doulton” china features her designs, there are posters, colouring and sticker books, collectables from “Border Fine Arts”, and even Brambly Hedge chocolates! All the titles have been adapted for television; “Winter Story” was first broadcast in the UK on Christmas Day in 1996 and in the US in 1997.
The Brambly Hedge Treasury is an oversize book, so the illustrations are particularly eyecatching. It has an introduction which consists of extra illustrations and text. One complicated watercolour has a numbered diagram of all 10 characters or families in the series alongside, which are shown in the large pictures. You do have to look quite closely though! The publishers say that this series is suitable for ages 3 - 6, but they were very popular in the school which the author’s children, Lizzie and Peter attended, (and where I was the deputy head teacher for a time) and that was for children between 7 and 11 years of age! This was due in a large part to the illustrations, which are like little puzzles, and authentic in their detail. The next double page spread is another numbered watercolour of the field and its environs, again with a key.
The hornbeam tree is where the Toadflax family live, and there are other locations such as Crabapple cottage, Elderberry lodge, Old Oak Palace (where Lord and Lady Woodmouse and their daughter Primrose live), Hawthorn Rise, home of old Mrs. Eyebright, the Dairy Stump, Old Vole’s Hole and so on.
Then there is a section about the history of the families who live in Brambly Hedge, followed by two full length stories (both of which had been previously published separately) “The Secret Staircase” (1983) and “The High Hills” (1986).
"Crabapple Cottage, the home of Mr. and Mrs. Apple"
It is a visually stunning book, with the Autumnal hues of many beautiful, closely focused and detailed drawings. Jill Barklem’s illustrations top both Beatrix Potter’s and Ernest H. Shepard’s (the original illustrator of “The Wind in the Willows”) in my view. However, I do not find the stories match the quality, and are strangely unmemorable. They are nowhere as engaging as their classic predecessors’ tales.
However I was saddened to hear that this local author had died at the early age of 66. She has left a lasting legacy in the world she created, and the botanically correct and painterly Artwork is loved by millions around the world. These designs well deserve to be lifted from my default, hence I will rate this book at 4 stars.
If you, or small children you know, enjoy the Peter Rabbit stories of Beatrix Potter, Alison Uttley’s “Little Grey Rabbit” stories, or Kenneth Grahame’s unforgettable classic “The Wind in the Willows”, then you might enjoy the “Brambly Hedge” books by Jill Barklem. These too are anthropomorphic tales set in the English countryside featuring small, fully dressed woodland creatures. But Jill Barklem narrowed her focus right down, and just wrote books about mice, who live in the roots and trunks of trees and hedgerows surrounding one field, in a small area of countryside.
Jill Barklem loved the countryside around Epping in Essex, where she grew up. After school she studied at the famous St. Martin’s School of Art in London, and for five years while she commuted on the tube train, she read about traditional English customs, flora and fauna and other related topics which would eventually be portrayed in her stories. Towards the City from Epping, the trains are horrendously overcrowded, so Jill Barklem chose to daydream, and transport herself in her imagination to an oldfashioned peaceful place, with plenty of space, and a friendly community of … mice! The tube train terminates at Epping however, so this part of the return journey is quiet, and yes, you can even get a seat!
As Gillian Gaze, she had written a handful of picture books for Lion publishing and later contributed illustrations for children’s Bibles. She was not satisfied with her work on these however and wanted to draw from nature. Jill Barklem illustrated the “Haffertee Hamster” books by Janet and John Perkins, and continued to be inspired by her observations of nature and the countryside. In 1977 she married David Barklem, an antiques dealer. Her new husband then urged her to use her knowledge and skills as preparation for a series of books, and “Brambly Hedge” was born.
The first four stories were “Spring Story”, “Summer Story”, “Autumn Story”, and “Winter Story”. All were initially published in 1980, in a miniature format and style similar to the books of Beatrix Potter. Since then there have been many new editions and reprints, in various sizes.
“Brambly Hedge is on the other side of the stream, across the field. If you can find it, and if you look very hard among the tangled roots and stems, you may even see a wisp of smoke from a small chimney, or through an open door, a steep flight of stairs deep within the trunk of a tree.
For this is the home of the mice of Brambly Hedge.”
“Brambly Hedge” is a charming little world on a small scale. There are Mr. and Mrs. Toadflax and their children, but also their friends and family, who all live in the roots and trunks of trees and hedgerows. Jill Barklem went on to write 6 more “Brambly Hedge” books, the final one being in 2010. She made sure that every recipe for the tasty food enjoyed by the mice at picnics and feasts could actually be made from foraged ingredients. And even the strange contraptions and mechanical implements she created within Brambly Hedge were given the same treatment. She made miniature working models of all the machinery in the mouse mill and dairy.
"Happy Mouse Mansion"
These books are now almost as popular with adults as with children, mostly for the beautifully busy and detailed artwork and the complete world in miniature that Jill Barklem has created. They have been translated into 13 languages and have sold more than 7 million copies.
As with “Peter Rabbit”, and all the furry and feathered folk of Beatrix Potter, the drawings lend themselves to merchandising. When the first 4 books in the Brambly Hedge series were first published, one large bookstore had a display depicting a kitchen scene from “Winter Story”. The set was 18ft x 6ft and had taken the design team from Collins’ publishing three months to create. The prestigious “Royal Doulton” china features her designs, there are posters, colouring and sticker books, collectables from “Border Fine Arts”, and even Brambly Hedge chocolates! All the titles have been adapted for television; “Winter Story” was first broadcast in the UK on Christmas Day in 1996 and in the US in 1997.
The Brambly Hedge Treasury is an oversize book, so the illustrations are particularly eyecatching. It has an introduction which consists of extra illustrations and text. One complicated watercolour has a numbered diagram of all 10 characters or families in the series alongside, which are shown in the large pictures. You do have to look quite closely though! The publishers say that this series is suitable for ages 3 - 6, but they were very popular in the school which the author’s children, Lizzie and Peter attended, (and where I was the deputy head teacher for a time) and that was for children between 7 and 11 years of age! This was due in a large part to the illustrations, which are like little puzzles, and authentic in their detail. The next double page spread is another numbered watercolour of the field and its environs, again with a key.
The hornbeam tree is where the Toadflax family live, and there are other locations such as Crabapple cottage, Elderberry lodge, Old Oak Palace (where Lord and Lady Woodmouse and their daughter Primrose live), Hawthorn Rise, home of old Mrs. Eyebright, the Dairy Stump, Old Vole’s Hole and so on.
Then there is a section about the history of the families who live in Brambly Hedge, followed by two full length stories (both of which had been previously published separately) “The Secret Staircase” (1983) and “The High Hills” (1986).
"Crabapple Cottage, the home of Mr. and Mrs. Apple"
It is a visually stunning book, with the Autumnal hues of many beautiful, closely focused and detailed drawings. Jill Barklem’s illustrations top both Beatrix Potter’s and Ernest H. Shepard’s (the original illustrator of “The Wind in the Willows”) in my view. However, I do not find the stories match the quality, and are strangely unmemorable. They are nowhere as engaging as their classic predecessors’ tales.
However I was saddened to hear that this local author had died at the early age of 66. She has left a lasting legacy in the world she created, and the botanically correct and painterly Artwork is loved by millions around the world. These designs well deserve to be lifted from my default, hence I will rate this book at 4 stars.
August 2, 2011
Cute.
October 2, 2015
Sorry, I know these stories are usually well reviewed, but they just don't seem to hold my kids' attention.
November 1, 2015
A lovely book, to read and marvel at the beautiful artwork
March 13, 2026
I had a lot of fun reading these stories! I especially loved the drawings.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews