Books with author Reg Down

Summer is almost over and Tom Nutcracker is soon to go to school. But deep in the forest on his father’s farm two gnomes called Pine Cone and Pepper Pot are worried. What if the school does not teach Tom his letters properly? What if the teacher messes the alphabet up? Then Tom might spell Pine Cone as NEPI NOEC, or Pepper Pot as PREPREP TOP. He might even spell the famous Tiptoes Lightly as TOESPIT THIGLLY. That would be a disaster. A huge disaster! So the two gnomes, with the help of Tiptoes Lightly and Farmer John, set out to teach Tom his letters. Tom’s younger sister, June Berry, insists on being taught too, and never will they, or anyone else who reads this tale, forget their ABC’s – or their LMNOP’s or QRST’s either. Whether your child knows their alphabet or not Pine Cone and Pepper Pot guarantee that they will see the letters and their shapes with new and creative eyes. The Alphabet is filled with stories, songs, pictures, plays and adventures silly and bold. The Alphabet is a large format, full color book, suitable for children from late kindergarten to grade three - and for teachers or homeschoolers seeking to enrich the art of learning to write. PS - the humorous use of the word 'learned' instead of 'taught' in the subtitle, while colloquial, is correct. It dates from circa 1300 and extends into our times. I am in the learned company of Shakespeare, Disraeli, Wodehouse et al. in its use. :)

Tiptoes Lightly lives in an acorn high in the branches of a Great Oak Tree. Her tiny house has no furniture-except for two downy feathers Lucy the Goose gave her to sleep on. Her friends, Pine Cone and Pepper Pot the gnomes, decide to make her a birthday present of one table and three chairs. They search the forest for the perfect branch and enlist the help of forest folk to make the furniture: Ompliant the Elephant to carry the wood, Carpenter Ants to shape the branch and Spinalot the Spider to spin the webbing for the chairs. Unfortunately, Pepper Pot sits down on one of the chairs while the spider web is still fresh and becomes hopelessly flyed. When, at last, he is freed Pine Cone and Pepper Pot row down Running River to collect wax from the bees to finish the table and chairs. Hauling the table and chairs up the Tiptoes' oak tree presents a host of unexpected difficulties. Finally, at a surprise birthday party arranged by Jemima Mouse, Tiptoes receives her beautiful presents. At the request of the Mouse children she tells the tale of how she was born from Mother Wind and Father Sun. The book is rounded out with a short separate story, 'The Tale of None', in which little None (a ladybug with no spots, none at all!) goes to India, America and Africa to find her spots. These she receives from a spotted cow, a freckled girl and the king of spottiness himself, the leopard. 'The Magic Knot ~ and other tangles!' is lavishly illustrated by the artist-author. The stories are humorous and sanguine. They are innocent and magical tales suitable for reading to young children or for young children to read.

Tiptoes Lightly lives in an acorn high up in the branches of a great oak tree. The Festival of Stones follows her adventures, and those of her friends, through the festivals of Michaelmas, Halloween, Martinmas, Advent and Christmas. At Michaelmas a real dragon appears, as does St. Michael, and Farmer John tells the story of 'The Most Beautiful Dragon in the Whole World' to his children. Other tales are told too. An angel tells the story of 'Martin's Light' at Martinmas, at the Festival of Animals Tiptoes recounts how the animals were sung into the world in 'The Myth of Ella-jah', and Farmer John reads 'The Burden Bull of Scotland' to his children on Christmas day. On the way Jeremy Mouse has a frightening encounter at Halloween (with a you-know-what-kind of vegetable!) and almost drowns while sliding on ice (luckily he is saved by Mr. Owl the Vegetarian). At the farm, the children meet the Borodat who lives in the barn, and on Christmas night June Berry dreams of her mother who has passed over the threshold. In the last chapter the world's first snow-mouse is made by Jeremy Mouse - helped by Tiptoes and the house fairies, Pins and Needles. The Festival of Stones is lavishly illustrated by the artist-author. The stories are reverent, humorous, sanguine and spiritual. They are innocent and magical tales, suitable for reading to young children or for young children to read.

Tiptoes Lightly lives in an acorn high up in the branches of a Great Oak Tree. One morning she finds a note lying on her floor. It says: "Please help! Bee has lost his buzz!" She and her friend, Jeremy Mouse, set off down Running River to help the hapless bee. Mr. Cactus, being grumpy and extra thorny, has snagged Bee's buzz on one of his thorns. Thus begins the adventure that takes Tiptoes to the house of Pine Cone and Pepper Pot (they're not at home-just yet), down to the sea to untangle Octopus (he's too young to count his legs properly and gets them mixed up), and up to Snowy Mountain to find out from Jack Frost himself whether he is a gnome (Pepper Pot says he's a gnome because he makes crystals) or a fairy (Tiptoes says he's a fairy because he flies through the air). Jack Frost tells his own creation myth which answers the question in a powerful and striking way. The 'Tales of Tiptoes Lightly' is comprised of three adventures: 'The Bee who lost his Buzz', 'Pumpkin Crow' and 'Lucy Goose and the Half-egg.' Lavishly and lovingly illustrated by the artist-author, they are humorous, sanguine and droll. They are innocent and magical nature tales, suitable for reading to young children or for young children to read.

Jayne is a cat, raised as a dog. Found as a new-born she is brought up with a litter of puppies. And Jayne does not turn out to be just any kind of dog, she is the top dog, the main-man dog, the king-of-the-castle dog. She holds her tail up straight when she walks and brooks no nonsense. Jayne is a tough cookie—as tough as nails and as cool as cucumbers come—as she proves in (almost) all her adventures: with Bengal Bob, when flying and skydiving, as lifesaver extraordinaire and as mayor and saviour of the great city of New Philawashingyork. The Adventures of Jayne is a fun tale for family reading or for children to read themselves. Suitable for grades 1 to 5.

The sun is rising higher into the sky every day. Summer has come and Farmer John builds a great pile of wood for the Midsummer's Eve festival taking place on his land. Tom Nutcracker and June Berry's whole school is coming to celebrate. June Berry forgets a basket (with a cookie inside) by the oak tree when they are helping their dad build the wood pile. A small detail to us, perhaps, but one which leads Jeremy Mouse on a merry dance as Jemima Mouse tries to preserve the cookie for the festival. Meanwhile, Pine Cone and Pepper Pot are not opening their door to anyone other than Tiptoes (and even then only reluctantly). Their beards, it seems, are entangled. Hopelessly entangled. This sends Tiptoes all over the forest to find a way to get pine resin out of beards. Then there is the problem of Ompliant the Elephant. What are Tom and June to do with him? How will they keep him out of sight? But the clever kids come up with a wonderful idea to hide a pachyderm in plain sight. Finally, the Summer Queen begins to appear here and there, and in the end joins the festival and tells 'The Tale of Turana' before mysteriously vanishing before the crowd. The Midsummer Mouse is a summer tale, full of midsummer mirth, misadventure, mystery and delight. It will bring sparkles to children's eyes, and laughter to adults, too. Suitable, as always with Tiptoes Lightly tales, for family reading from kindergarten through age ten or so.

Tiptoes Lightly is a fairy who lives in an acorn high in the branches of a Great Oak Tree. Big-Stamp Two-Toes the Barefoot Giant follows her adventures, and those of her friends, through springtime at Farmer John's. On the way Ompliant the Elephant has his leg pulled by Chit-Chat the Chipmunk; Tiptoes sails down to the sea and brings Spinner the Dolphin back with her to see flowers for the very first time; Tom Nutcracker tracks giant footprints into the forest but gets himself treed, and Meadow Mouse almost gets eaten by Tiger the Cat. Many tales and legends are also told: Miranda the spring pixie remembers how the little blue and yellow forget-me-not came to be; a rock spirit reveals how his rock ended up lying in the middle of the forest so far away from the Snowy Mountains (because of Big-Stamp Two-Toes the Barefoot Giant, of course!), and Mr. Rabbit tells the Jeremy Mouse and his mouselings the Legend of Oak Knoll Warren. Big-Stamp Two-Toes the Barefoot Giant is lavishly illustrated by the artist-author. These stories are reverent, humorous, sanguine and even, at times, spiritual. They are innocent and magical tales, suitable for reading to young children or for young children to read.

Tiptoes Lightly lives in an acorn high in the branches of a Great Oak Tree. One morning she finds a note lying on her floor. It says: "Please help! Bee has lost his buzz!" She and her friend, Jeremy Mouse, set off down Running River to help the hapless bee. Mr. Cactus, being grumpy and extra thorny, has snagged Bee's buzz on one of his thorns. Thus begins the adventure that takes Tiptoes to the house of Pine Cone and Pepper Pot (they're not at home, just yet), down to the sea to untangle Octopus (he's too young to count his legs properly and gets them mixed up), and up to Snowy Mountain to find out from Jack Frost himself whether he is a gnome (Pepper Pot says he's a gnome because he makes crystals) or a fairy (Tiptoes says he's a fairy because he flies through the air). Jack Frost tells his own creation myth which answers the question in a powerful and striking way.The 'Tales of Tiptoes Lightly' is comprised of three adventures: 'The Bee who lost his Buzz', 'Pumpkin Crow' and 'Lucy Goose and the Half-egg.' Lavishly and lovingly illustrated by the artist-author, they are humorous, sanguine and droll. They are innocent and magical nature tales, suitable for reading to young children or for young children to read.

Tiptoes Lightly loves the sea, and when Farmer John and his children, Tom Nutcracker and June Berry, drive to the seaside for Thanksgiving she goes along with them. Tom and June discover a freshly uncovered cave in the bluffs that run along the shore. They call it their Treasure Cave just for fun, but then find seven beautiful pearls and a finely wrought golden chain buried in the sand. Tiptoes sets out to find the story behind the pearls, and soon a delicate web of tales begins to unfold. Stretching back to the creation of the world, they weave together until Tiptoes and the children are caught up in the ongoing drama between the Sea King and his lovely daughter.This Tiptoes Lightly book is the ‘oldest’ of her tales and is best suited for children from grade one through grade four.

Spring is full of life and life is full of eggs, all sorts of eggs: great cosmic eggs and tiny butterfly eggs, salmon eggs and bird eggs, rabbit eggs and special eggs being gilded and painted by two gnomes called Pine Cone and Pepper Pot. They have been told (gossiped!) that Farmer John’s children, Tom and June, are going to give them special eggs for Easter, and they decide to reciprocate. However, if you are a gnome, a small gnome—even if you are two small gnomes—then the simplest of tasks (such as finding a bird who does not mind giving you a couple of their eggs) can be a problem, a big problem!Woven into the fabric of the book are many tales and legends: Pepper Pot reads the history of King Karnac and the Turning of Time, Madam Two-Pecks tells her chicks how the universe was created from the World Egg, the Wise Salmon in Running River tells of the great cycle of life, and yes, at the end the super-magical Easter Bunny slyly appears and leaves the most wonderful egg of all!Eggs for the Hunting is a spring tale, a wonder tale, affirming the joy, humor and mystery of life.

King Red is a red king, everything is red, his cape, his crown, even his little finger. One winter’s day it snows. The snow is the whitest King Red has ever seen and he just has to go a-walking. So begins the first of six tales centered on the wonderful world of color, a world children experience as vivid and full of life. Inside you’ll find The Rosy Princess and the yellow Elf, The orange Gnome from Spain, the melancholic Boo-hoo Blue and more, all. Come visit! Illustrated in watercolor. Suitable for kindergarten through grade 3.

One morning an egg appears in the meadow below the Great Oak Tree. Neither Jeremy Mouse nor the fairy Tiptoes Lightly have ever seen such a huge egg – over a foot tall! They go to Farmer John’s in search of an answer, but without any luck, and when they return the egg has grown! Thus begins an adventure which involves most everybody on the farm – human, animal and sprite. The egg, later hidden deep in the forest, keeps growing and finally hatches in a beautiful way on Easter Sunday. The Starry Bird is an Easter tale with healthy doses of humor, adventure, and just plain fun. But underneath, in a form suitable for children, run the mystery-questions of life, death and resurrection that lie at the heart of Easter.