A review by gigua
Un anno a Boscodirovo by Jill Barklem

5.0

The Four Seasons of Brambly Hedge was one of my favorite books when I was little. Those little mice were the cutest thing ever, their adventures were always dreamy and the illustrations were phenomenal.

the-cutest

The story follows the life of a few families through a whole year. It is divided into different seasons, so we have 4 parts: Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer. My favorites were Autumn and Spring, yes I must admit I am a Spring baby through and through.
The four stories were originally published separately, but here's an introduction of the author about the origins and developments of the stories.

[a:Jill Barklem|72033|Jill Barklem|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1376900819p2/72033.jpg] packs so many tiny and wonderful details in each beautifully illustrated page, every child (count me in too) will get lost in the pictures over and over again. I never fail to be inspired by the sweet little stories and delightful artwork. It really is beautiful.

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As I said above, we follow the activities of the Brambly Hedge community of field mice through the seasons. Small and big events happen, someone gets lost, there's a wedding, they create a winter ball with ice skating. And a great deal of food is involved.
If you didn't know, I am a big (like, real big) lover of food.

i-love-food

They carefully make the most amazing courses and joyfully eat fantastic meals. It's wonderful and I was in love. I don’t think I’d realized how much I imprinted on the visual style and artistic themes until I saw them again as an adult. The rich yet soft colors! The light and shadow! The natural themes! The ornate and intricate detail-filled pictures! The cutaway views of houses built into trees and stumps! The food!

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Take a look at these illustrations.. It's dreamy, isn't it? This book had the power to make me wander with my imagination with those little mice. I was one of them and their adventures and life happenings were truly the best.

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brambly-hedge

I HIGHLY recommend you to read this short and sweet book, even the separated stories are great, but together they're perfect. I assure you you won't regret it. It is also a perfect children's gift, but I am sure the adults would love a throw back from the past.
Read it okay? Pretty please?

please