Scan barcode
amotisse's review
5.0
Quite amusing, with the writing style reflective of the age, full of colourful characters and a setting inspired by the Australian bush. I have always loved May Gibbs wonderful illustrations.
emilywager's review against another edition
4.0
still as good as when i read it for the first time. this has to be one of the best presents i received as a child - a book all the way from australia!
woduz's review against another edition
adventurous
'and whilst she slept, a wonderful wisdom grew in her'
that wisdom being; be kind to animals, nuture nature, and always try to help others
that wisdom being; be kind to animals, nuture nature, and always try to help others
cesspool_princess's review
4.0
Ok this book was SOOOO much fun, so entertaining, Laura and I read this one together and we would quote the slang back to eachother all the time. Also just the shit that happens in this book, fucking insane there were so many times my jaw dropped. The cast of characters is just outrageous and the illustrations are gorgeous. Worth noting however that this book is extremely racist against snakes, so just be aware. The sheer ground covered in this thing like the fact it is 3 or 4 books in 1 is both impressive and overwhelming. While the book was so entertaining and fun, it was simultaneously a slog. It took Laura and I soooooo long to finish this one which I think just because it is SOOOO long so that def detracts a point like there were times where it felt like a chore to sit down and read even though it is such a fun and whimsical book. It would be fun to read to children (if you responsibly explain that snakes are not, in fact, ontologically evil or universally despised). It felt like a fucking accomplishment to finish this lmao
Favorite Characters: Little Obelia, Ragged Blossom, Frilly and the Banksia Men
Favorite Phrases: "good root" "rag and scrag me!" "Isn't it gummy?" "juicy"
Favorite Characters: Little Obelia, Ragged Blossom, Frilly and the Banksia Men
Favorite Phrases: "good root" "rag and scrag me!" "Isn't it gummy?" "juicy"
600bars's review
4.0
This volume has 3 books in 1, the first published in 1918 and the last in 1934. Apparently these are classics in Australia. I didn’t know anything about it but was taken with the illustrations and had to read it. Kai and I read this together. We thought it would be quick because it’s a children's book, but it actually took 2 months to complete. The adventures are very wacky and some lines are hilarious. First of all I should mention that all the characters are “Gumnut babies”, as in they are a species of miniature babies that live among the wildlife in the bush. They aren’t actually babies– they are shown smoking pipes and raising children, this is just a species where the fully grown look like babies. Snugglepot and Cuddlepie are brothers that are totally indistinguishable from one another. They decide they want to seek out humans to see them for themselves. They are very cute little babies but tbh they cut a swath of destruction everywhere they go and they don’t seem to be remorseful. They aren’t cruel and they aren’t seeking out harm and chaos, but it certainly seems to follow them. At one point they cause the crushing of all the eggs in a bird’s nest, and their solution is to replace the eggs with some lizard eggs. This is not going to be ok when they hatch, and now some Lizard family has lost their babies. This exemplifies their typical pattern of trying to fix a problem and creating a worse problem in its wake. The problem is that they tend to drag others into it, and the two of them are almost never the ones who face the consequences.
They meet a Blossom during their travels (boys are Nuts, girls are Blossoms in this world). Her name is “Ragged Blossom” bc she’s poor. Kindof a disrespectful name, and she’s a more fully formed character than the titular two, and yet doesn’t get any glory in the title! Ragged Blossom joins their group and they become a trio.
There was a villain named Mrs Snake, who gets violently vanquished, only for a new Mrs Snake to be introduced several chapters later! This made the second Mrs Snake a decidedly unformidable foe. Aside from those two, the main villains are the Banksia men. These guys are like the Minions in that they don’t have their own evil project, they just serve whichever evil master they can find.
Half of the book takes place under the sea and there’s this whole subplot with the Fish Folk and this Messianic baby named Little Obelia. Ragged Blossom is Little Obelia’s mother figure, which is funny to see because she is just a tiny baby who takes care of an even tinier baby. Little Obelia has a Renesmee situation going on, because she grows abnormally fast until she’s like God of the Fish Folk even though she was a baby quite recently. Ragged Blossom’s desire to nurture a child is overwhelming, so when they all get back up to the Bush she, Snugglepot, and Cuddlepie go to the “baby store” and purchase ALL of the orphans. There’s some problems here with the fact that the babies can be bought so easily. And while I have endless faith in Ragged Blossom’s abilities as a caretaker, I think Snugglepot and Cuddlepie might be dead weight even if generally well-meaning. I would like to read a volume of the queer family structure they’ve created with the two brothers, Ragged Blossom as a matriarch who neither of the brothers appear to have a romantic interest in, and 15 or so adopted children. They also “buy” the nurse who works at the orphanage to help out. I’m a little concerned about that terminology.
The two best things about this book are the gorgeous illustrations and the extremely funny slang terms. I’m not sure if this is a) Australian slang b) the way people in Australia talked 100 years ago or c) made up by May Gibbs. There will be a serious violent death, and a character will somberly remark that the deceased is “Deadibones”. When something is good they say “Good root!”. The illustrations show such a lush and imaginative world. Gibbs put so much detail into every image. The edition we have had a mix of full color inserts and black and white drawings.
I would like to know more about the class structure of Gumnut society. It is clearly very stratified. Ragged Blossom is obviously poor. There’s a scene where she wants to go to the movies. The theater is owned by Lilly Pilly’s rich father, and Lilly Pilly herself gets lots of attention for being rich. Ragged Blossom cant’ afford a ticket, so she rappels down through a hole in the ceiling of the theater, Lady Gaga superbowl style, and asks Snugglepot if he will swap spots with her so she can see the film. Why wouldn’t they just buy her a ticket so she doesn’t have to do all that?
More evidence for the class struggles in the bush comes when the crew gets to Big Bad, the main metropolitan center for Gumnuts. Upon arrival, they come across a strike. The crowd has signs stating their demands, which are “More Birthdays” “More Sunshine” “We want more clothes” “Gum Work” “More seeny? (illegible). The Gumnuts don’t really wear clothes beyond a leaf loincloth for Nuts and a grass skirt for Blossoms. Ragged Blossom has a scene where she goes to a clothing shop and is deeply uncomfortable being there. Do they want clothes or are being deprived of them? I was under the impression that clothes were not necessary, but this demand made me rethink.
Another thing is their relationship to other creatures. Some are viewed as equal intelligence as Gumnuts, and some are subjugated like animals. Kangaroos are somehow miniaturized, and they are used as Taxis or for racing. Seahorses serve a similar function in the underwater world. Snakes are always evil, which is a bit unfair.
I’m dying at the top comments for the top review of this book, because the recommendations for it include Knausgaard and the Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake. One commenter, who also noticed the swath of destruction wrought by Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, discusses the “holocaust of everyday life”. Tbh I would have preferred less Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, and more Ragged Blossom and Little Obelia. Additionally, the villains were simply too evil and uncomplex, and having a second Mrs Snake was a bit silly. I like that it’s a kids book that doesn’t seem to exist purely to teach a moral lesson. It was great fun to read but I’m glad we are finally done!
They meet a Blossom during their travels (boys are Nuts, girls are Blossoms in this world). Her name is “Ragged Blossom” bc she’s poor. Kindof a disrespectful name, and she’s a more fully formed character than the titular two, and yet doesn’t get any glory in the title! Ragged Blossom joins their group and they become a trio.
There was a villain named Mrs Snake, who gets violently vanquished, only for a new Mrs Snake to be introduced several chapters later! This made the second Mrs Snake a decidedly unformidable foe. Aside from those two, the main villains are the Banksia men. These guys are like the Minions in that they don’t have their own evil project, they just serve whichever evil master they can find.
Half of the book takes place under the sea and there’s this whole subplot with the Fish Folk and this Messianic baby named Little Obelia. Ragged Blossom is Little Obelia’s mother figure, which is funny to see because she is just a tiny baby who takes care of an even tinier baby. Little Obelia has a Renesmee situation going on, because she grows abnormally fast until she’s like God of the Fish Folk even though she was a baby quite recently. Ragged Blossom’s desire to nurture a child is overwhelming, so when they all get back up to the Bush she, Snugglepot, and Cuddlepie go to the “baby store” and purchase ALL of the orphans. There’s some problems here with the fact that the babies can be bought so easily. And while I have endless faith in Ragged Blossom’s abilities as a caretaker, I think Snugglepot and Cuddlepie might be dead weight even if generally well-meaning. I would like to read a volume of the queer family structure they’ve created with the two brothers, Ragged Blossom as a matriarch who neither of the brothers appear to have a romantic interest in, and 15 or so adopted children. They also “buy” the nurse who works at the orphanage to help out. I’m a little concerned about that terminology.
The two best things about this book are the gorgeous illustrations and the extremely funny slang terms. I’m not sure if this is a) Australian slang b) the way people in Australia talked 100 years ago or c) made up by May Gibbs. There will be a serious violent death, and a character will somberly remark that the deceased is “Deadibones”. When something is good they say “Good root!”. The illustrations show such a lush and imaginative world. Gibbs put so much detail into every image. The edition we have had a mix of full color inserts and black and white drawings.
I would like to know more about the class structure of Gumnut society. It is clearly very stratified. Ragged Blossom is obviously poor. There’s a scene where she wants to go to the movies. The theater is owned by Lilly Pilly’s rich father, and Lilly Pilly herself gets lots of attention for being rich. Ragged Blossom cant’ afford a ticket, so she rappels down through a hole in the ceiling of the theater, Lady Gaga superbowl style, and asks Snugglepot if he will swap spots with her so she can see the film. Why wouldn’t they just buy her a ticket so she doesn’t have to do all that?
More evidence for the class struggles in the bush comes when the crew gets to Big Bad, the main metropolitan center for Gumnuts. Upon arrival, they come across a strike. The crowd has signs stating their demands, which are “More Birthdays” “More Sunshine” “We want more clothes” “Gum Work” “More seeny? (illegible). The Gumnuts don’t really wear clothes beyond a leaf loincloth for Nuts and a grass skirt for Blossoms. Ragged Blossom has a scene where she goes to a clothing shop and is deeply uncomfortable being there. Do they want clothes or are being deprived of them? I was under the impression that clothes were not necessary, but this demand made me rethink.
Another thing is their relationship to other creatures. Some are viewed as equal intelligence as Gumnuts, and some are subjugated like animals. Kangaroos are somehow miniaturized, and they are used as Taxis or for racing. Seahorses serve a similar function in the underwater world. Snakes are always evil, which is a bit unfair.
I’m dying at the top comments for the top review of this book, because the recommendations for it include Knausgaard and the Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake. One commenter, who also noticed the swath of destruction wrought by Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, discusses the “holocaust of everyday life”. Tbh I would have preferred less Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, and more Ragged Blossom and Little Obelia. Additionally, the villains were simply too evil and uncomplex, and having a second Mrs Snake was a bit silly. I like that it’s a kids book that doesn’t seem to exist purely to teach a moral lesson. It was great fun to read but I’m glad we are finally done!
belgatherial's review against another edition
3.0
C loved this book much more than I expected him to. Me? Not so much. It's just a touch too twee for my taste.
jellyfishleila's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
saint_eleanor's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-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
_elisebeth's review
5.0
My parents used to read this to my sister and I when we children. They would CONSTANTLY have to read it because we loved it so much.