B is for ‘BB’ and his extraordinary little grey men

ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND HIS TIMES

Who are the little grey men? Just hang with me for a moment while I share the life of the man who created them.

B.B. was the pen name of author and illustrator, Denys Watkins-Pitchford. He was born in England in 1905. Since he was in poor health as a child, he was homeschooled, while his twin brother attended the local school. B.B. is known throughout England as the man who saw a gnome when he was only four. Thirty two years later he wrote the first of his stories about the little grey men. But that is not all he did. Beyond writing, B.B. was a fantastic naturalist and sportsman. You may wonder what the pen name, B.B., stands for. Well, the answer is lead shot, the ammunition used in his favorite hunting rifle.

WHAT HE WROTE

In all, “B.B.” wrote 60 books and illustrated an additional 30. These range from stories for young and old children to stories of the countryside he loved.

The Little Grey Men was the first story in a series of books about the world of the gnomes. It is best to let B.B. give you a description of the story in his own words:

“This is a story about the last gnomes in Britain.  They are honest-to-goodness gnomes, none of your baby, fairy-book tinsel stuff, and they live by hunting and fishing, like the animals and birds, which is only proper and right. —- You may not believe in the Little People, but that is because most fairy books portray miniature men and women with ridiculous tinsel wings, doing all sorts of impossible things with flowers and cobwebs.  That sort of make-believe is all right for some people, but it won’t do for you and me. ——–In telling this story I must ask the reader’s indulgence for one flight of fancy.  I have found it necessary to allow my gnomes and animals the power of speech.  As this book is for young people no doubt they will forgive me, for it makes the story easier to follow.  In other respects it does not often go beyond the realms of possibility.”

THE LITTLE GREY MEN SERIES

• The Little Grey Men (1941)
• Down the Bright Stream (1948)
• The Forest of Boland Light Railway (1955)
• The Wizard of Boland (1959)

WHY I LOVE HIS BOOKS

I grew up with The Little Grey Men and the other books in the series. I still love them. There is so much unique joy and adventure in this world that B.B. created.

The gnomes are wonderful and their world, with its amazing technological innovations, is such a lovely place to imagine you could visit. Each character brings such full three dimensional character to the world in the forest, whether human, gnome, or dragon (yes, there is one of those but don’t worry he doesn’t eat people or gnomes, only leaves). There are good characters and their are those that are downright bad, but not to worry. The bad characters always are punished. Just as they should be.

These books are perfect for ages eight and up, but really I love to read them still. If you have younger children, the books about Monty Woodpig, the bachelor hedgehog, are amazing too!

So give B.B. a try in your homeschool!

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AND NOW, THE LINK PARTY!

FIRST, MY WONDERFUL CO-HOSTS:

AMANDA HOPKINS AT HOPKINS HOMESCHOOL

CHRISTINE HOWARD AT LIFE’S SPECIAL NECESSITIES

DAWN PELUSO AT SCHOOLIN’ SWAG

JENNIFER KING AT A PEACE OF MIND

KIMBERLEY LINKLETTER AT VINTAGE BLUE SUITCASE

KRISTEN HEIDER AT A MOM’S QUEST TO TEACH

LORI HOOTEN AT AT HOME: WHERE LIFE HAPPENS

WENDY ROSS AT LIFE ON CHICKADEE LANE

YVONNE BILLIAN AT THE LIFE WE BUILD

NOW, THE RULES (DON’T WORRY, THEY ARE REALLY SIMPLE):

1. Write a blog post and then hop over to the linkup and add your post!
2. Grab a blog button for your post.

3. Take some time to read the other great posts if you have the time and spread some encouragement and appreciation with a comment or two!

Together we can help each other increase our traffic, read some interesting tips and ideas, and spread some good cheer that will help us start off our weekend!

FINALLY, THE POSTS!

Inlinkz Link Party

I HOPE TO SEE YOUR POST NEXT WEEK AS TACKLE THIS FUN CHALLENGE WITH THE LETTER. . . C!