Book still good - Page 129 has a repairable tear - will do it if and when I have time - Delightful scraper-board illustrations by the author. >>> BB's classic memoir will be enjoyed by all who appreciate fine country writing, and who believe passionately in the resilience of Mother Nature, despite the follies of mankind. >>> Denys Watkins-Pitchford (better known as BB) wrote these wonderful essays on the English countryside in the 1930s - a time of peace and renewal between two world wars. The book was finally published in 1941 when, as BB puts it, England was 'in the darkest hour of our history.' BB captures here in words and sensitive wood engravings the wonders of English wildlife and countryside. Includes essays on: ravens and rookeries the stone curlew the purple emperor butterfly a woodcutter's house an encounter with a wildfowler one frosty dawn a night fishing on the Solway the strange behaviour of song thrushes the rescue of a black labrador a favourite copse the accidental death of a groom village characters hedgerows - and many more topics - 251 pg. - >>> What a wonderful find, true nature writing at its best. BB really understands nature. This is the sort of book you can read alone or read it to your children. Would highly recommend it. >>> Countryman, author and artist Denys Watkins-Pitchford is probably best known by his pen name BB, a name derived from the size of lead shot he used to shoot geese. His work has many followers, some who were enchanted by his children's stories when they were in the nursery, others who revel in his descriptions of country pursuits, especially carp fishing and shooting, and a third group captivated by his illustrations. - Born on 25th July 1905, Watkins-Pitchford was a sickly child who was educated at home and thus had plenty of free time to roam around the countryside with his fishing rod, shotgun and drawing pad. His combined loves of art and nature are at the root of his success as an artist and author. - His first book The Sportsmans Bedside Book was published in 1937 and was quickly followed up with nature based tales, such as Wild Lone, the story of a Pytchley Fox (1938) and The Countrymans Bedside Book (1941). - The authors most famous book, however, is The Little Grey Men which recounts the adventures of Dodder, Baldmoney, Sneezewort and Cloudberry, the last four gnomes in England. From the age of four BB was convinced of the existence of "little people", having encountered a gnome in his nursery, this meeting allowed him to bring his gnomes to life so vividly. The story was to win the Carnegie Medal for Childrens Literature in 1942. - BBs childrens books are illustrated with delicate watercolours, but his most striking images are his black and white drawings and his wonderfully atmospheric scraper board illustrations, used to great effect in books such as Vix - The Story of a Fox Cub (1960) and The Birds of the Lonely Lake (1961). - Both his children's writings, which appear under the pen-name BB and his nature books and illustrations, attributed to his real name, Denys Watkins-Pitchford, are highly collectable and his work is kept very much alive by an active and vibrant BB club.
