May Gibbs (1877–1969)

Ok this book is one that definitely has a bunch of mixed thoughts for me. My oldest niece (who is 14) sent it to me without reading it since the reading material itself seemed questionable while too strange for her own tastes.

My first thoughts were like "ok". And then my second thought was, "I don't know about this. It could possibly be ok, maybe." And I couldn't help but look through the pictures of the book itself. They were quaint, cute and very detailed while doing a wonderful job into adding to the story itself.

And the reading of the book was simple, easy to understand and foreign. Mary Gibbs did a great job in combining her characters, which will remind you they could have been in one of those old music/singing cartoons of bulbous-nosed men that have long since passed, with the Australian background. If you aren't Australian it is foreign but not so foreign that you can't relate to it.

The reading is so weird you find yourself caught up after starting to read it to see where it may go. Even though it doesn't have much of a storyline (yes the Gumbabies and their friends seem naturally stupid while never learning from past experiences) it will pull at you to see the world that was made for the stories themselves.

I would recommend this book especially to those who like to try something new and exotic but also to those who may be interested in fairytales. The only thing is that I would ask parents to read it first, especially in this culture where everything is suspect, for there is natural nudity, killing, attacking, running away and some other suspect acts. Altogether it isn't something that you will be reading copies of anytime soon.… (more)

This bind-up edition - part of Angus & Robertson's Australian Children's Classics series - contains three adventures that were originally published separately: Snugglepot and Cuddlepie in 1918, Little Ragged Blossom in 1920, and Little Obelia in 1934.

The first story follows the adventures of the eponymous Snuggelpot and Cuddlepie, two gumnut babies who set out to see one of the "bad" human beings. Making a friend of Mr. Lizard and an enemy of Mrs. Snake along the way, they eventually find themselves in Big Bad City (yep, that's right - NYC has nothing on that BBC), where the "nuts" and their friends must confront evil Mrs. Snake and her allies, the wicked Banskia men.

The villainous Banskia men are back in the second story, and up to no good - their scheming eventually lands Snugglepot and his friend Ragged Blossom at the bottom of the sea. Here they live for some time, taken in by the kind Ann Chovy, while Cuddlepie and Mr. Lizard struggle to discover what has become of them...

Evil never dies, gentle reader, and as you might suspect, not all of the bad Banskia men were "deadibones" after the adventures contained in Little Ragged Blossom. In this final chapter of the gumnut saga, Snugglepot, Cuddlepie and Little Ragged Blossom are lured back to the sea, but with the help of Little Obelia, the radiant princess of the sea, all turns out well...

I will confess that I had very low expectations going into this book... I am not a fan, generally speaking, of Victorian fairytale-fare, but decided to read this anyway, as part of a project on children's fantasy that I am currently working on. It also appealed to me because it was Australian, and I have long felt that the children's literature scene in the United States is too insular, British imports being a notable exception. This trend might be reversing itself post-Harry Potter, but it's too soon to say for sure...

The gumnut babies are like little "bush fairies," cutesy cherub-like creatures whose virtues are as predictable as their adventures are bland. The wicked Banskia men - who are villains because... well... apparently that's just what they are - make for some uninspiring foes. In short, I have a hard time imagining myself getting caught up in these stories, even when I was a very young child.

The only bright note to this volume, and the reason I awarded two stars instead of one, is the positive message it imparts about respecting the environment and being kind to animals. As Cuddlepie says when he sees a human rescue poor Mr. Possum from a leg-hold trap: "I wish that all Humans were kind to Bush creatures like that"(48). This is a message that can probably be found however, in a children's book that can boast of other virtues...

Copiously illustrated by the author.… (more)