Quimble Wood

by N.M. Bodecker

Book Overview

"There once were four quimbles in a box: Quilliam, Quilice, Quint and the unstoppable Quenelope, each wearing a tall, pointed hat, and each no bigger than your little finger." Their box fell out of a car where the road winds through the forest, "...and that's how the quimbles came to be in the woods." Thus begins the saga of the quimbles, the magical story of four little people's survival in the sildnerness. Suddenly they faced with the oldest of...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553152777
• ISBN13: 9780553152777
• Release Date: August 1984
• Publisher: Bantam Books
• Length: 48 Pages
• Weight: 0.10 lbs.
• Age Range: 13 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 8 to 9

Customer Reviews

What a great find!

I am a substitute teacher and I was in for a librarian. I found this book on the shelf and was automatically drawn to the cover and the title! The friendly community of insects coming together to clean up their neighborhood is so charming! I read it to myself, but it would be a great read-aloud! Probably for 2 sittings, the book is short, but not that short. A great book I'd reccomend for themes like community, Earth Day, or keeping the Earth clean!

communitarian insects deal with pollution in their sweet village

What a sweet book to read aloud to your kids! If you have just read the Lorax, and your kids like to hear longer stories, try this story about a community of insects that has to deal with a major pollution disaster -- a bagful of trash dumped on their village of mushroom-sized homes. I love Blegvad's illustrations, and the story is neither too long nor too short. It's about the same length and of a similar inspirational quality as "Elsie Piddock skips in her sleep". It is an amazing work of craft to convey this anti-pollution message without any didacticism. Good for both insect-lovers and those who are insect-averse.

charming short story

Written some three decades ago by the Danish poet N.M. Bodecker, and charmingly illustrated in black-and-white ink drawings by his friend Erik Blegvad, this little book is a tiny overlooked jewel. The story follows a beetle and his new community of ladybugs, crickets, ants, moths, caterpillars, and other insects as they repair the damage done to their cozy community of mushroom houses by litter dumped in their little corner of the woods. It's a hopeful, none-too-serious tale about recycling and making the best of a bad thing. A great read-aloud for kids aged 4 and up, and a good short read for ages 7 and up. (Estimated reading level, grade 2-3, but it's a rather short story).

Charming and Endearing

When I came across a copy of Quimble Wood at the library I was totally enchanted. I had to have this book! The story of the survival of the little Quimbles is lovely- but I have to admit the illustrations stole my heart- has anyone heard of any other work by Branka Starr? Wonderful!Searching for sequel- Quimble Winter!!

Charming self-sufficiency

As a teacher for 25 years, I have read many books to many children. Few have the impact of this one; the tiny size, inventiveness, and remarkable pluck of the 4 characters become part of our class' mythology, and continue to inspire the children long after the last page is read.