Brambly Hedge is a series of illustrated books for children written by Jill Barklem

Jill Barklem

Jill Barklem is a British writer and illustrator of children's books. Her most famous work is the Brambly Hedge series, published from 1980.- Biography :...

.The Brambly Hedge series is based around a community of self-sufficient mice who live together in the tranquil surroundings of the English countryside. The books are written and illustrated by Jill Barklem

Jill Barklem

Jill Barklem is a British writer and illustrator of children's books. Her most famous work is the Brambly Hedge series, published from 1980.- Biography :...

, with the first book being published in 1980. The first four books follow a seasonal pattern of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. The latter four books follow the adventures of The Secret Staircase, The High Hills, Sea Story and Poppy’s Babies.

Books in the Brambly Hedge series

• Spring Story (1980)
• Summer Story (1980)
• Autumn Story (1980)
• Winter Story (1980)
• The Secret Staircase (1983)
• The High Hills (1986)
• Sea Story (1990)
• Poppy's Babies (1994)
• "A Year In Brambly Hedge" (2010)

Merchandise

Since the 1980s the characters of Brambly Hedge began to appear on merchandise ranging from china to chocolate, stationary to pewter miniatures. Companies such as Royal Doulton, Hantel, Crummles and Border Fine Arts have all produced collectible pieces licensed from Brambly Hedge. This merchandise is in demand by Brambly Hedge collectors all around the world and some pieces are worth a substantial amount of money.

Adaptations

All eight books have been adapted into television specials, the first four by Cosgrove Hall Films

Cosgrove Hall Films

Cosgrove Hall Films was a British animation studio based in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester, that once was a major producer of children's television programmes. Cosgrove Hall's programmes are still seen in over eighty countries...

 (1996) and the remainder by Hot Animation

Hot Animation

HOT Animation is a British stop motion animation studio based in Broadheath, Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. It was established in 1998 by Jackie Cockle, Brian Little and Joe Dembinski....

 (1998–99). Winter Story was first broadcast on Christmas Day 1996 on BBC1. The series features the voices of Neil Morrissey

Neil Morrissey

Neil Anthony Morrissey is an English actor, media personality and businessman. He is best known for his role as Tony in Men Behaving Badly....

, June Whitfield

June Whitfield

June Rosemary Whitfield, CBE is an English actress, well known in the United Kingdom since the 1950s for roles in radio and television comedy series....

, Jim Broadbent

Jim Broadbent

James "Jim" Broadbent is an English theatre, film, and television actor. He is known for his roles in Iris, Moulin Rouge!, Topsy-Turvy, Hot Fuzz, and Bridget Jones' Diary...

, Charlotte Coleman

Charlotte Coleman

Charlotte Ninon Coleman was an English actress best known for playing Scarlett in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral , Jess in the television drama Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, and her childhood roles of Sue in Worzel Gummidge and the character Marmalade Atkins...

 and Robert Lindsay

Robert Lindsay (actor)

Robert Lindsay is an English actor who is best known for his television work, especially his roles of Wolfie Smith in Citizen Smith, Michael Murray in G.B.H., Captain Sir Edward Pellew in Hornblower and Ben Harper in My Family which has been on television screens since 2000.-Early life:Lindsay was...

.

In 2008, HiT Entertainment and Reader's Digest Video created a DVD series based on the books called The Enchanted World of Brambly Hedge

The Enchanted World of Brambly Hedge

The Enchanted World of Brambly Hedge is a stop-motion animated series based on the Brambly Hedge books by Jill Barklem. The show was produced by Reader's Digest Video and Hit Entertainment; in the United States, episodes began airing on the Starz premium channel in...

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