Brambly Hedge facts for kids

Brambly Hedge is a series of lovely children's books. They are all about a community of friendly mice. These mice live exciting adventures in the peaceful English countryside. Jill Barklem wrote and illustrated all the books. The first ones came out in 1980. The first four books follow the seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Later books tell more stories like The Secret Staircase and Sea Story.

Discover the Brambly Hedge Books

• Spring Story (1980) – Wilfred enjoys a fun picnic and gets a special birthday surprise!
• Summer Story (1980) – The mice celebrate a big wedding. Everyone helps get ready for the happy day.
• Autumn Story (1980) – Little Primrose gets lost and finds herself in a new, unknown place.
• Winter Story (1980) – A huge snowstorm brings enough snow for an amazing ice ball game!
• The Secret Staircase (1983) – The young mice go to the attic. They practice for a special performance there.
• The High Hills (1986) – Wilfred is determined to find treasure. He searches in the hills above Brambly Hedge.
• Sea Story (1990) – Dusty, Poppy, Primrose, and Wilfred go on an adventure down the stream. They want to get salt from the sea mice.
• Poppy's Babies (1994) – A wonderful surprise comes to Poppy. It happens on the day her babies are named.

Book Collections

• A Year In Brambly Hedge (2010)
• The Complete Brambly Hedge (2011)

Stories by Other Authors

• Stories from Brambly Hedge: Wilfred to the Rescue (2005), written by Alan MacDonald
• Stories from Brambly Hedge: Primrose in Charge (2006), written by Alan MacDonald

Brambly Hedge Collectibles and Gifts

Since the 1980s, you could find Brambly Hedge characters on many different items. These included china plates, chocolates, stationery, and small metal figures. Companies like Royal Doulton made special collectible pieces. Other companies like Hantel and Border Fine Arts also created licensed items.

Brambly Hedge on Screen: TV Specials

All eight books were turned into TV specials. These shows used a special animation style called stop motion. In stop motion, objects are moved tiny bits at a time. A camera takes a picture after each small move. When the pictures are played fast, the objects look like they are moving on their own!

HIT Entertainment produced these specials. The first four, called Seasons, were animated by Cosgrove Hall Films. The next four, called Classics, were made by HOT Animation.

"Winter Story" first aired on Christmas Day 1996 on BBC1 in the UK. The specials later came to the U.S. on the Starz TV channel. The series had many talented voice actors. Neil Morrissey voiced Wilfred and Dusty. June Whitfield was Mrs Apple. Jim Broadbent voiced Basil and Old Vole. Charlotte Coleman was Primrose and Poppy. Robert Lindsay was the narrator. The series also aired on CBeebies from 2002 to 2005.

In 2008, a DVD collection of the specials was released. It was called The Enchanted World of Brambly Hedge.

Episode List

The Seasons

• Winter Story (December 25, 1996)
• Spring Story (March 31, 1997)
• Summer Story (June 11, 1997)
• Autumn Story (September 8, 1997)

Classics

• The Secret Staircase (December 26, 1998)
• The High Hills (April 2, 1999)
• Sea Story (December 29, 1999)
• Poppy's Babies (January 3, 2000)