Milly-Molly-Mandy’s Winter by Joyce Lankester Brisley is a gentle collection of village stories for 5 year olds, all about small kindnesses on cold days and dark evenings.<\/p>\n
First, Milly-Molly-Mandy goes to stay with Mrs Hooker in town for a whole weekend. It’s her first time sleeping away from home on her own! She spends her money on presents for everyone (sugar mice for Father, Grandpa and Uncle, two a penny). Then she worries she’s bought Mother and Aunty handkerchiefs with the wrong letters on.<\/p>\n
Back home, her friends little-friend-Susan and Billy Blunt are never far away. On a windy day she offers to carry Miss Thumble’s shopping. (There are two Miss Thumbles, and the only way to tell them apart is a hat.) Billy Blunt says it’s too heavy and wanders off. Then he comes back pulling his box-on-wheels. That’s Billy all over!<\/p>\n
He’s got a shiny new mouth-organ too. So the pair of them go carol-singing on Christmas Eve, just for love and not for money. They end up in the forge, with Mr Rudge hammering in time and half the village singing along.<\/p>\n
There’s an evening keeping house with little-friend-Susan while the grown-ups go to a meeting. They tie on Mother’s aprons and fry their supper. Then a very gruff knock comes at the door. Who could it be?<\/p>\n
The loveliest one is the cosy. Milly-Molly-Mandy wants to make Mother a patchwork tea cosy, so she gathers scraps from the family one at a time. Red satin, green ribbon, a piece of Grandma’s velvet, Uncle’s spotty tie. The list gets longer every time it’s said, and it’s a treat if your reader likes joining in. She even minds Miss Muggins’s shop for an hour (very solemnly indeed).<\/p>\n
Each story is short and complete, so one makes a perfect bedtime read. The same names keep coming back, and you get to know the whole village. The biggest drama is a knock at the door or a worry about the letters on two hankies.<\/p>\n
It’s worth knowing these are very old-fashioned stories. Money is pennies and half a crown. Three children fry onions on the kitchen stove while the grown-ups are out, and children wander the village on their own.<\/p>\n
It’s gentle stuff, but some of it is a world away from now. A quick chat about what’s changed is probably half the fun. If your reader likes stories where being kind is the whole adventure, this is lovely.<\/p>\n
If your reader wants to stay in the village a bit longer, Milly-Molly-Mandy’s Spring has a tumble into the cow-pond and a party in the barn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Milly-Molly-Mandy’s Winter by Joyce Lankester Brisley is a gentle collection of village stories for 5 year olds, all about small kindnesses on cold days and dark evenings. First, Milly-Molly-Mandy goes to stay with Mrs Hooker in town for a whole weekend. It’s her first time sleeping away from home on her own! She spends her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":14105,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"lr_next_read_post_id":14108,"lr_next_read_anchor":"Milly-Molly-Mandy's Spring","lr_seo_hook":"Carol-singing in a forge, a secret patchwork cosy and a shop to mind alone.","lr_series_id":808,"lr_series_name":"The World of Milly-Molly-Mandy","lr_series_position":5,"lr_series_label":"","lr_author_order":""},"book_tag":[20],"age_group":[21],"book_type":[1044],"book_author":[505],"class_list":["post-14106","our-books","type-our-books","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","book_tag-real-life-books","age_group-books-for-5-year-olds","book_type-paid","book_author-joyce-lankester-brisley"],"yoast_title":"Milly-Molly-Mandy’s Winter by Joyce Lankester Brisley | Little Reads","yoast_metadesc":"Carol-singing in a forge, a secret patchwork cosy and a shop to mind alone. For ages 5+. 3,000+ books in the Little Reads app. 7-day free trial.","acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n