Free The Secret Staircase (Brambly Hedge, #5) Assembled By Jill Barklem Accessible As Mobi

an English author and artist named Jill Barklem released four miniature picturebooks about a closeknit community of hedgerow mice, all living, working and celebrating together.
The four titles, one for each of the seasons sitelinkSpring Story, sitelinkSummer Story, sitelinkAutumn Story, and sitelinkWinter Story were an immediate hit, with their charmingly detailed illustrations and engaging characters and stories, and won a devoted coterie of fans.
Three years later, in, Barklem released this fifth title, in which Primrose Woodmouse and Wilfred Toadflax discover a secret and long forgotten "apartment" at the top of Old Oak Palace, while searching for a place to rehearse for the recital they are to give for the great Midwinter Ball.


How I wish I had discovered these books and especially The Secret Staircase! as a young girl! I would have adored them, and most likely would have read them over and over again.
How thrilling, to find a hidden staircase! How delightful the hidden apartment, with all its promise of secret play, would have seemed! How I would have loved the costumes that Primrose and Wilfred discover, the settings for their adventures, and the entire cozy world being depicted! The great baronial hall would have been a particular treat, I think.
Even encountering these Brambly Hedge books for the first time as an adult, I am still charmed.
Highly recommended to younger readers with a taste for animal fantasy, as well as to anyone who enjoyed the earlier books about this adorable murine community! Absolutely stunning detailed illustrations.
Such a cosy read! The best thing about Jill Barklem's books is the illustrations, You could spend hours poring over the immense detail of the little houses, the "apartment complexes" etc, In this particular story I did notice that the scale of the plants used to decorate for the "Midwinter" celebration is necessarily off a fieldmouse can hide in ivy, it would be enormous by comparison.
But that's Barklem's magic, she makes you believe it, see it and experience it,

I love that the mice never do anything without they take snacks!
Highly recommended for reading with a child you love, or the child within.

My daughter and I love the Brambly Hedge books, Think Beatrix Potters animal stories and illustrations but with greater detail and more intricate illustrations, Oh! The illustrations! I could read dozen of these books for those alone,

My daughter said this was her favorite of the books, at least recently, So I read it when she asked me to, The cutaways of the home in the tree was wonderful! And who hasnt dreamt of coming on a secret staircase leading to beautifully furnished rooms, abandoned long who but still containing treasures of a gilded age It was a quick and detailed adventure during midwinter with welldressed and wellmannered mice.
I've loved the other Brambly Hedge books that I've read so far, but this one struck two wrong notes with me:

One, the concept of a secret staircase and hidden rooms that no one knows about but are completely stocked as if someone had just stopped living there abruptly.
As an adult reader, I can't help but wonder what happened, Did they just lose the key generations ago But doors can be broken down, Did they shut it all up for a reason Without a backstory explaining it, I'm prone to assume something dark or depressing.
Nothing in the presentation of the pictures or wording was dark, so a young child would probably not be disturbed by any of that, but I was.


Two, the story ends with the young mice keeping their discovery secret from the older mice, Many of my favorite stories from my childhood involve some sort of secret place that the children discover and is kept hidden from the adults but in those eithersomething bad happens and the adults come find the children Mandy,the children end up telling the adults The Secret Garden, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, orthe events are fantastical more so than just anthropomorphized animals and so there is a degree of separation of reality from the story The Castle in the Attic, Five Children and It.
Is it just because I'm a parent now and scared by the potential danger of secrets Maybe, But there does seem to be something different in the way this secret place is handled, The illustrations are of course incredible and I want to spend more time staring at them than reading the story.
I didn't give it a higher rating because it doesn't explain what the suite of rooms is or solve the mystery but rather introduce a secret place to be hidden from

adults which I don't agree with.
Basically they find dress up clothes to go with reciting a poem but don't share their find with anyone.
I assume that this is where my love for staircases came from, A mildly impressionable child would not hesitate to revel in the fact that, unlike almost all other books I've known, the secret staircase remains a secret with the children.
For the story, think Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit stories with mice and without the sometimes surprising lapses into violence that forcibly remind you that Potter wrote in a different cultural context.
In Potter's world, Mr. MacGregor has a distressing habit of stalking through the pages taking potshots at the cast with his shotgun, That sort of thing doesn't happen in the Brambly Hedge,

So a charming story, but it was the illustrations with their incredibly rich detail that won my heart.
Small wonder each drawing took Jill Barklem three months to complete, Each book in the series is the product of two years' effort,

My favorites are the ones that dissect the trees where the mice make their homes, I could spend hours staring at all the little rooms the mice have carved out of the tree, complete with tiny furnishings, winding staircases, and halls.
The FourYearOld, on the other hand, would prefer to spend those hours staring at the illustration of the room at the top of the Secret Staircase, with its spider webs, columns, detailed tapestries, mice statues, and especially the little suit of mouse armor standing guard on the side.


For a longer review of this series, visit my blog Caterpickles, com or see my review of the Complete Brambly Hedge here on Goodreads, Probably my favourite children book of all time, Wilfred and Primrose need to practise their recitation for the midwinter celebration, but wherever they go, they are in the way or else distracted by other things.
In the attic, they find an old key and then, when swishing a curtain, an old door, The key exactly fits the door and they discover a secret staircase to a longlost suite of rooms,

As usual, delicately illustrated with homely charm, Another charming book in the Brambly Hedge series, with the illustrations that make this series such a treat to read.
It was Midwinter's Eve and the mice of Brambly Hedge were very busy, That evening, after dark, they would all be gathering round a blazing fire for the traditional midwinter celebrations, A grand entertainment was planned, and Primrose and Wilfred had chosen to recite a poem, They went up to the attics to rehearse in peace and quiet, but there were so many things to look at and places to explore, it was hard to concentrate.
And when they stumbled upon a dusty staircase, all thoughts of practicing were put aside, . . I don't know how I missed this author when our kids were little but I'm glad to have stumbled upon it.
Now I want to read the first four books, about the four seasons, Jill's gorgeous illustrations remind me of Beatrice Potter's and Tasha Tudor's, The story is lovely too, A good book to read on a cold winter's night, So lovely! Looking back on it, I think this story was my favourite of the Brambly Hedge stories, I blame this story for my love of poking about in old attics, As always, you find yourself lost in the illustrations, It makes you long for that joy of discovery in an old house, of finding the ultimate place to hide away on a rainy afternoon.
Beautifully illustrated and with a story that seems straight out of a childhood dream, this book makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
The artwork is so detailed, it is nearly impossible to take it all in on the first view, A book one can return to with delight, Brambly Hedge books are very nice, but out of print, I got them from the library then tracked down some of them used, They are lovely stories about a community of mice who always seem to end up having some sort of celebration revolving around lovely food that they have all helped gather.
Most of the books also center around the whole community helping one of them through some sort of crisis or difficulty.
In this regard, it very much is a picture of what the Church should be for one another,.If I could live anywhere, I think I might choose Old Oak Palace, Okay like Spoilers for this children's book, . . but I gotta know Did the rest of that rich mouse family really not know about that whole other giant wing of rooms, essentially it's own house, inside of their house Who used to live there Why was it abandoned and locked up Rich people am I right! I have so many questions.
This is a real head scratcher folks! Second book from this set ofof which I had, A pair of young mice, Primrose and Wilfred, find a secret staircase in the attic of the Great Hall.
If only mice really had these grand houses! They find a treasure trove and just the right accessories for their Midwinter presentation.
Recommendation on Beyond the Pages BookTube Channel Primrose and Wilfred had decided to recite a poem for the Midwinter's celebration.
The problem was that they needed someplace to practice, Primrose's mother, Lady Woodmouse, suggested they use the attic to practice, Exploring the attic turned out to be unexpected and just so much fun,

The book is rated for children ages, but should say ages, This is a beautifully written and illustrated childrens story, the Midwinter celebration has the atmosphere of a Christmas Yule log and decorations.
This is easy to read as a bed time story and the rooms at the top of the staircase are wonderfully described.
What a find, for the mice of the story and for the reader wanting a way to connect to their kids.
I love the poem the mice kids recited, beautiful, this brought me so much peace I recently found all my old Brambly Hedge books and decided to reread them.
I am happy to report that the stores are just as good and the illustrations are just as gorgeous as I remembered them being.
I think these are stories young and old alike can enjoy and the beautiful pictures will definitely be of interest to all ages.
As a child, I LOVED stories about secret attics and staircases and was disappointed never to have found any such treasures.
So you can imagine the delight of reading about Primrose and Wilfred's great discovery, Jill Barklem's art is especially exquisite in this book, I forgot how charming this little tale is, But what is truly captivating are the intricate illustrations, even an adult can get lost in them and fill with childlike wonder just looking at them.
A true classic from my childhood, so happy to have found it again, Im still waiting for the Spring Brambly Hedge book, so I read this one, I did not enjoy it as much as the Summer, Autumn, and Winter books, The illustrations werent quite as intricate or beautiful, and these books are all about the illustrations, The stories dont do that much for me the illustrations are outstanding, This is also a “season” book as the events take place at midwinter, Ive loved miniature items my whole life, especially as a kid, so the paintings are wonderful, I thought I might like this story better than in those otherbooks because of the title, The Secret Staircase is reminiscent of Nancy Drews The Hidden Staircase or even The Secret of the Old Clock, and it piqued my interest, but I just didnt feel it was that compelling.
It was ok though and given that Im not a picture book age person, it would perhaps appeal more to young children than to me.
Also, most kids love huge things or as in these books tiny things, Jill BarklemNovember,was a British writer and illustrator of childrens books, Her most famous work is the Brambly Hedge series, After an accident when she was thirteen, Jill was unable to take part in PE or games at school and instead developed her talent for drawing and art.
On leaving school, she studied illustration at St Martins in London, Jill is now a full time illustrator, working on the expanding series of books about the mice of Brambly Hedge.
She spent five years on research before she started to write her first stories about the mice of Brambly Hedge.
Jill BarklemNovember,was a British writer and illustrator of children's books, Her most famous work is the Brambly Hedge series, After an accident when she was thirteen, Jill was unable to take part in PE or games at school and instead developed her talent for drawing and art.
On leaving school, she studied illustration at St Martin's in London, Jill is now a full time illustrator, working on the expanding series of books about the mice of Brambly Hedge.
She spent five years on research before she started to write her first stories about the mice of Brambly Hedge.
sitelink.