New York City offers visitors and residents alike an overwhelming number of adventures. History surrounds you, the noise is endless, and the sights are dazzling. When these delights became too much for this Midwest transplant, however, I’d go to the Strand and spend a few blissful hours on the floor in the children’s literature section. Surrounded by countless worlds just waiting to be stepped into, I’d find old friends and make new ones. One of these worlds was Jill Barklem’s Brambly Hedge series, and its simple stories and charming illustrations captivated me immediately.
Barklem and I share a strong dislike of public transportation, and we both sought to escape it through our imaginations. I’d rattle down from Harlem each day, arm looped around a pole, lost (well, the part of my brain that wasn’t looking out for trouble and for my next stop) in My Ántonia, the pastoral novels of Jan Karon, or A Nice Little Place on the North Side. Barklem, as the Brambly Hedge website says, also amused herself during long trips, but in a world of her own creation:
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