About Author
How Bobby the Robin came to be created?
My wife had bought a small fluffy toy Robin, which the Grand-children adored. When they had a stopover I used to make up stories about the Robin. Bobbing it across the bed as I told them the story. This leant itself to the Robin being called Bobby. I did not know it then, but observing the Robin’s feeding in the lane through the kitchen window, I saw they did indeed bob along rather than fly. I had long forgotten the stories I made up. When the Great-grand-children came along, it seemed a good idea to write them down for the Great-great-grandchildren when they come along.
The stories which I have subsequently written owe themselves to watching the behaviour of the birds at the feeding stations in the garden. All the activities by the various birds and their interactions have been observed by the author.
To get the stories going I used the fact that Robins are very territorial and will fight, sometimes to the death to defend their territory. Youngsters on becoming an adult are driven from the nest by the parents and have to find a new territory away from the parents. This formed the basis for the First Adventure of Bobby the Robin.
As Featured On
Seeing a Robin fly out of our shed one day, which had a hole at the top, I looked in and found a Robin had built a nest in one of our many orange plastic flower pots, one of which had a dead plant in it. It was used until late spring, when one day the Robin was gone and never came back. That gave me the idea of it being a temporary home and formed the basis of Bobby’s adventure in Book 2.
The interaction of the birds, came as a result of watching the birds feed at our feeding station just outside our kitchen window. The Blue tits and the Robin’s feed quite happily alongside one another. The Sparrow’s however come in numbers and frighten all the other birds away, except the Blue tits. They just look up, ignore them, and carry-on feeding. The author has expanded this to form the basis of the friendships that run throughout all the books. The mob action of the Sparrows enabled me to weave in the Children’s Nursery Rhyme Who Killed Cock Robin.
All the scenes in the book are based on the woods and fields around the author’s house in France. All the birds introduced in the stories are seen in the fields and woods. Including the Grand Duc (the French name for an Eagle Owl) which the author witnessed in an event not suitable for a children’s story. It did lend itself to portraying him as an autocrat in charge of the Woodland community and nicely enabled me to use the name as like a Duke with his Dukedom. A lot of the birds names are French and leant themselves to becoming first names of the birds. Like Martin the French name for a Kingfisher and Gobbemouche for a Nightingale and his nickname of ‘Gobby’. I have also drawn on dialectcal names, like Madge for Magpie.
About The Books
The back story of the Bobby the Robin Adventure stories.
The Bobby the Robin stories take place in the Grand Duc’s estate in England. The Grand Duc is an Eagle Owl and is French and he has another estate in France. The English estate runs like a medieval fiefdom and is administered by his Senechel (steward) who is a Buzzard. He ensures the Grand Ducs rules are followed. It has a modern administrative system with a Mayor, (a Jackdaw called Jack), a Sheriff, (a Crow called Choucas), a Judge, (a Jay called J), and a committee. Composed of a Woodpigeon, called Columbus, a Chaffinch called Frin, a Nightingale (Gobbemouche in French) called Gobby, a Pipit called Pip, a Woodpecker called Woody, the community carpenter and a Blackbird called Merle, the community Undertaker. In addition there are two lawyers, the Public prosecutor, a Magpie called Madge and a Public Defender a Little Owl called Athené.
The stories embrace modern social concepts and problems, like immigration, racism, single parenthood, and food banks and as such are an allegory of life as was and is now.
The stories start with Bobby being evicted from his home, according to Robin law, as he is now considered an adult. They follow his life’s experiences (adventures) in the wood owned by the Grand Duc.
Book 1:
The First Adventure Of Bobby The Robin
Bobby is told by his father to leave the nest as he is now considered an adult. This is according to Robin law which says you must leave and find your own place somewhere else when you come of age. This becomes Bobby’s First Adventure. It is Christmas. There is snow on the ground. Bobby struggles to find somewhere suitable and food. Eventually he finds a house that has a feeding table and food. He thinks they love Robins. Because through the window he can see there are cards all over the wall of the room with pictures of Robins on them. He is happy. He has found his new place. There is only one problem, a Tabby cat is near the food table, and a Dog is asleep in his kennel. Brave Bobby wakes the dog to chase the cat away. He tucks in to the food. He just needs to find somewhere to stay, before building his first home.
Book 2:
The Second Adventure of BOBBY the Robin
a new dawn
Bobby wakes up with a start, where is everyone. He realises he is on his own for the first time in his life. He sees other birds feeding and joins them. They ignore him at first. He makes friends and explains why he is here.
Cocky the leader of a gang of Sparrows confronts Bobby.
The lady’s presence from the big house puts the gang to flight. Bobby sets off into the big wood to find a suitable tree for a nest. All the best trees are taken. He has to lower his standards. He sets off looking at more trees further away. Bobby gets a fright from a grey ‘monster’. At last he finds a suitable tree. Flying back he tells of his excitement to his new friend. He now has to work out, how do you build a nest?
Book 3:
Bobby the Robin's Third Adventure
The Trials of Work
Bobby awakes at first light eager to start his build. Just light enough to see the food table for a quick breakfast. Picking up some twigs on the way he puts them in place. Returning with more twigs he finds the first ones missing. He finds them on the ground. It is windy. He does not know how to make them secure. His hedgerow friends can not help him. Eventually he gets the foundation to stay in place. When the branch bounces up and down, and his foundation stays in place he is happy. Happiness is short lived as the Sheriff has arrived and arrests him. He has to go to the centre where he is charged. Madge prosecutes, and Athené defends him. J is the judge, and the jury is the committee that runs the affairs of the wood on behalf of the Grand Duc. He owns the wood. Bobby is found guilty, and given community service. He meets the jury and the Grand Duc. Bobby leaves and has to tell his hedgerow friends what has happened. He is not happy to have had to tell them.
Upcoming Books In The Series
Book 4:
Bobby woke up late with the realisation he had been found guilty. He has to start his community service. The Sheriff is not amused at Bobby’s lateness. Bobby flies to the edge of the wood and turns left.
He watches sea eagles fishing, keeping one eye open for those who would like to have Bobby as their dinner. He meets up with the ‘old crow’ and forms an immediate friendship. Bobby stays too long listening to her stories. He does not know the way back and gets lost.
He is late in reporting back and his report is not good enough. Bobby flies to the food table and has to tell the hedgerow birds what has happened to him. With a feeling of sadness he returns to his temporary nest. Worried about his image and not being late again makes him have a very disturbed night’s sleep.
Book 5:
Bobby continues with his build and completes the structure of his nest. He must find some moss for the walls, some bedding and carpeting to make it habitable. He still has to complete his community service which is helping him find his way around the wood and to where the inhabitants live. He has continued his friendship with the hedgerow birds and also with Caw. Bravely he has told off her relatives for not visiting her.
The woodland birds are feeling ‘down’ as the winter drags on. The Mayor decides to organise a party to cheer themselves up. At a meeting they decide on a fancy dress party to be held on the next full moon day. On that day, Bobby rushes back to give the Mayor some sad news. One of their own has died. They decide the party will continue and also be a celebration of their life. Woody and his kin prepare the grave in the hollow of a tree. The woodland community hold a funeral. The fancy dress party and celebration is a success. Bruno, the Grand Duc’s steward, judges and decides the winner of the best fancy dress. The woodland folk gradually leave and return to their homes.
Book 6:
It is a long hard winter. The oldest and youngest inhabitants are struggling to survive as food is very scarce. Bobby is feeling guilty as he has plenty of food. He suggests to the Mayor that they start a food bank. He negotiates with the Hedgerow birds to take even more food from the table for the food bank. They agree, as long the lady from the big house keeps it stocked. Bobby’s supplies keep several vulnerable birds alive. The Mayor, with the approval of Bruno and the committee, reward Bobby by making him the Grand Duc’s Ambassador to those who live outside the wood. They agree to build him an Embassy. After the celebrations Bobby needs to clear his head and goes to his bathing area. He is surprised by the fisher King.
Bobby flies to the food table to tell his friends he has been made Ambassador to liaise with them and solve common problems. They are not all convinced. Finally they find a suitable tree for the embassy, outside of the wood, but near enough to the Hedgerow community. Spring is arriving and all the Woodland folk are too busy with their own builds to work on Bobby’s Embassy or socialise.
Bobby is on his own again.
Book 7:
Bobby is fed up. Spring is arriving and no-one has any time for Bobby. All too busy repairing or building new nests for their existing or prospective partners. The mayor gives Bobby permission to go on holiday and suggests he talk to Columbus, who can tell him the way to go. He visits his nest but he is not there. He goes in search and runs into the Starlings again, who have invaded the wood and kidnapped Bobby. They sentence him to a thousand pecks for stealing their food, which he hasn’t. Columbus reports to the Mayor as to what has happened. Choucas creates a cunning plan and gets Bruno to mobilise the Grand Duc’s Lakeside raptor friends. Whilst the Starlings attention is on the Woodland birds, Bruno’s ‘air force’ descend from a great height, at their fastest speed, with talons and beaks at the ready. Into the mayhem the Mayor’s army go on the attack and together rout the Starlings. Bobby is saved, but the worse for wear from the pecking. He goes on holiday to recover. He meets Linn, who tells him the other birds won’t let him feed, because he is the wrong colour. Bobby returns to the wood with Linn and persuades the Mayor to let him stay in one of their empty nests and become part of the woodland community.
Upcoming Book
Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem.
