'This quintessential collection of May Gibbs’ classic stories was first published in 1940 and has never been out of print since! Featuring the tales of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie (first published in 1918) and its two sequels, Little Ragged Blossom (1920) and Little Obelia (1921). In this new edition, all of May’s original artwork has been sourced and re-scanned and the illustrations look as exquisite as the day May put down her paintbrush all those years ago.' (Source: author's website)
'Adapted from a series of books by May Gibbs, by arrangement with The Northcott Society and Cerebral Palsy Alliance.
'Snugglepot & Cuddlepie are on a mission to see a human – but only in the distance! Join your favourite gumnut babies on their journey through the magical Australian bush to the big city. Along the way you’ll meet friends and foes including Professor Kookaburra, Mrs Fantail, Mr Lizard, Mr Frog, Mrs Snake, Mr Possum and, of course, Little Ragged Blossom.
'Will Snugglepot lead the way? Can Cuddlepie hold his nerve? Can they avoid falling victim to the Big Bad Banksia Man?
This heartwarming theatrical delight is filled with laughter, mischief and fun for the whole family.' (Production summary)
'Snugglepot and Cuddlepie and two little gumnut brothers who set off on an adventure to see a human. They are joined on their quest by Mr Lizard and along the way, meet Little Ragged Blossom at a dance. Together the four adventurers meet many new bush friends and battle the evil Mrs Snake and the very scary Bad Banksia Men.' (Source: Author's website)
'In this sequel to Snugglepot and Cuddepie, the three friends – Little Ragged Blossom, Snugglepot and Cuddlepie go on a new adventure together to see new countries. When Ragged Blossom and Snugglepot are captured by the Banksia Men, they are thrown into the sea and go on to meet many new friends (and enemies) in the undersea world including Ann Chovy, Frilly, the baby Little Obelia and John Dory. Snugglepot is saved and reunited with Cuddlepie on dry land (Ragged Blossom stays in the sea to care for Little Obelia), they are joined by Mr Lizard who helps them escape the clutches of the Bad Banksia Men once more and throws the evil creatures into the sea.' (Source: author's website)
'In this follow up to Little Ragged Blossom, go on more adventures with Little Obelia, Ragged Blossom, Snugglepot and Cuddlepie on land and under the sea as they once again battle the Bad Banksia Men and a new enemy, the wicked and awful Giant Octopus. Joined by their old friend Mr Lizard they work together to defeat their evil enemies.' (Source: author's website)
'May Gibbs’s gumnut stories are central to the development of an Australian national imaginary. By connecting the natural ‘bush’ environment to settler-colonial social issues and scenes, Gibbs’s imagery and narrative reimagined the bush as a ‘home’ for colonizers, essentially ‘indigenising’ them in the image of white gumnut babies. The most comprehensive and influential interpretations of Gibbs’s work emphasize its currency to contemporaneous life and cultural trends, and its deft negotiation of sexuality, through the figures of the voluptuous gumnut babies and scrawny bad Banksia Men, who are covered with hair and ‘lips.’ A less prevalent but no less convincing interpretation underscores the dimension of race within Gibbs’s work: the whiteness of the stories’ heroes, and the blackness, even Aboriginality, of their nemeses, the wicked Banksia men. Through the concept of the fetish, this article interprets the banksia as an object produced in an intercultural space, and reproducing (in Gibbs’s stories) a set of racial anxieties about the Other in terms of sex and sexuality. How does race come to be parsed as sex? And what does the confluence of these anxieties reveal about settler representations of Aboriginality and the colonial mindset?' (Publication abstract)
'When I tell people I’m an environmental psychologist, they often assume that means I am a “tree hugger” and they are not entirely wrong. But it really means I spend a lot of time thinking and finding out about people’s relationships with the natural world, trees included.' (Introduction)
'Creating Cuddlepie tells the of the life of May Gibbs, from her early childhood in England through to her journey to a new home in Australia, and her many creative achievements along the way that culminated in the creation of the gumnut babies: Cuddlepot, Snugglepie and a host of other enchanting bush characters. It describes her early days as a young artist, achieving acclaim in particular for her botanical artwork, and her ventures into pictorial journalism, political cartoons, fashion, and feminist causes. With the advent of World War I, she created postcards and other illustrated ephemera that would bring great comfort to the troops at war with their messages of heartfelt support and greetings from home. Her earliest visions for the famous gumnut babies came to her in a dream and would be cherished by generations of children and adults to come. More than 100 years since the birth of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, May Gibbs remains one of the greatest Australian illustrators and story-tellers of all time.' (Publication summary)