Books with author Margaret Tempest Alison Uttley

Little Grey Rabbit Books Alison Uttley used to tell stories to her little son as they walked through the fields and woods. The tales were always based on the country traditions and country folk she knew so well in her own childhood. When her son went away to school she missed these story-telling walks and decided instead to write down the tales so that he could read them in the holidays. She never told the same tale twice, so the first one she wrote was absolutely new. It was about a Little Grey Rabbit, a Hare and a Squirrel. Such delightful stories obviously had to have illustrations, and Margaret Tempest's pictures showed Little Grey Rabbit and friends just as Alison Uttley had always imagined them. And from these happy beginnings there has grown the whole series of these enchanting little books.

Squirrel, Hare and little Grey Rabbit have all caught colds. Whilst they suck butterscotch and sip blackcurrant tea, their friends bustle about bringing remedies. What they really need, though, says Mrs Hedgehog, is a change of air! "They ought to have a day at the sea," advises Wise Owl. "You'll get rid of your sneezes when you feel the sea breezes." So, in a blue caravan drawn by Duke the horse, Hare, Squirrel, little Grey Rabbit and all their friends set off for the sea. At journey's end, when they feel the warm sand under their feet and the sea air in their fur and feathers, all the animals are filled with joy. Little curling waves sing to Grey Rabbit, Squirrel goes paddling and Hare braves a swim. But the seaside is not quite as restful as it appears: wild gulls and cliff-top climbing make everyone's hearts beat faster. At the end of a happy day, as the setting sun casts a golden pathway in the waves, the party of sleepy friends clamber into the caravan, and Duke takes them home. AGE 4-8