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katykelly's review against another edition
4.0
Nostalgic, rural/woodland fantasy.
I'd never heard of this, it was suggested I try it as an aficionado of children's literature. Children today will still find a lot to enjoy here, there are shades of Hobbit-like arboreal fantasy, quests and adventures, with small people the heroes in a big world of dangers.
The last gnomes in Britain - Sneezewort, Baldmoney, and Dodder - live harmoniously by Folly Brook, where they have lived for many hundreds of years. One Spring they awaken from their winter slumbers and resolve to go searching for the missing brother, Cloudberry, who went exploring two years previously and never returned.
From building the boat that will see them on their way, to the friends they'll meet, adventures they'll have, it's an outdoors tale full of trees, animals, natural dangers and even deadly peril. The gnomes are resourceful, brave and have enough personality to set them apart from each other.
I enjoyed discovering a new author/title I'd never encountered before, and though the structure/plot was a familiar one, liked the protagonists and their quest, it's one I'd consider reading aloud at bedtimes to a KS1/2 listener as well.
Plenty of quaint and classic-feeling exploits here for ages 7-12.
I'd never heard of this, it was suggested I try it as an aficionado of children's literature. Children today will still find a lot to enjoy here, there are shades of Hobbit-like arboreal fantasy, quests and adventures, with small people the heroes in a big world of dangers.
The last gnomes in Britain - Sneezewort, Baldmoney, and Dodder - live harmoniously by Folly Brook, where they have lived for many hundreds of years. One Spring they awaken from their winter slumbers and resolve to go searching for the missing brother, Cloudberry, who went exploring two years previously and never returned.
From building the boat that will see them on their way, to the friends they'll meet, adventures they'll have, it's an outdoors tale full of trees, animals, natural dangers and even deadly peril. The gnomes are resourceful, brave and have enough personality to set them apart from each other.
I enjoyed discovering a new author/title I'd never encountered before, and though the structure/plot was a familiar one, liked the protagonists and their quest, it's one I'd consider reading aloud at bedtimes to a KS1/2 listener as well.
Plenty of quaint and classic-feeling exploits here for ages 7-12.
annathema's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely delightful. Full of natural history and sweet folklore.
bigbeardedbookseller's review against another edition
3.0
The Little Grey Men was recommended to me by one of my customers as I run. the children's section of our shop.
It was fine, it was also dated and a bit slow, but the story was sweet and at times compelling.
The gnomes adventures were a bit pedestrian compared to current children's writing but it is a nice little story.
It was fine, it was also dated and a bit slow, but the story was sweet and at times compelling.
The gnomes adventures were a bit pedestrian compared to current children's writing but it is a nice little story.
foggy_rosamund's review against another edition
3.0
Denys James Watkins-Pitchford (BB) was an art teacher at Rugby, boys' public school in England, as well as an amateur naturalist, hunter and fisherman. The Little Grey Men, published in 1942, is very much of its time: it is full of nostalgia for a vanishing natural world, as well as precise, complex imagery of nature and animals, but like The Wind in the Willows, it's populated by male creatures who live in affable harmony, smoking, fishing, boating, and living wild on the riverside. Full of a sweet sadness: the gnomes in the book are the last of the "little people" in all of England, and feel this loneliness keenly. One of the brothers, Cloudberry, leaves, in the hope of finding more gnomes, and does not return. The other three gnomes decide to find him. The action of this book is not what makes it interesting: it's the imagery of nature, which clearly comes from long and careful observation of wild animals, as well as the magical world of the gnomes. There are many imperialist references in this, and it's not a world in which women exist at all, so in many ways it feels dated, but there's a lot of beauty too. I see flaws in this, but it's worth reading.
ticklemouse's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mandi26's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
maeclegg's review
The writing style and descriptions of nature were beautiful but not invested in the plot
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