Babblebrook Family
FATHER ROCKY BABBLEBROOK is the proud owner of the Babblebrook General Store. It is often the busiest shop on the High Street, selling the freshest vegetables, the crispiest fruits and the lightest cakes in all of Sylvania. But Rocky is even more popular than his chocolate eclairs! He tells his customers the tallest of tales with the straightest of faces and no one can wait to hear what he is going to come out with next. Once he asked Cassandra Macavity if she had any vases at home that were big enough for one of his cauliflowers! Another time he told Delia Doughty not to embarrass his blueberries or they would turn bright red! Everyone agrees that Rocky should have been a stand-up comedian rather than a store keeper!
MOTHER CRYSTAL BABBLEBROOK (born GREYSTONE) is Rocky's wife and thankfully she loves her husband's tall stories just as much as everyone else in the village. Not that she has very much time to listen to them, of course. Crystal is the best and busiest cook in Sylvania, which is all the more surprising when you learn that her mother-in-law Pearl, who struggles to boil an egg, likes to give Crystal cooking tips! But Crystal doesn't only make scrummy meals for her family back at home, nor does she just make delicious tarts, pies and cakes for her husband to sell in the Grocery Store. This year saw Crystal become a writer too. Her first cookery book 'Crystal's 20 favourite Cupcakes' was a bestseller and now 'Crystal's 30-Minute Carrot Recipes' is flying off the shelves too!
OLDER BROTHER RICHARD BABBLEBROOK works so hard in the family grocery store that Rocky and Crystal don't know what they would do without their eldest son. At the weekends he does everything from stacking the shelves with tins of soup to helping customers bag their groceries. But Richard is quite different from everyone else in the Babblebrook family. He is the strong and silent type, excelling at all sports and most academic subjects, but otherwise very, very shy. As soon as Richard finishes college he wants to be a tree surgeon. His mother thinks that this is because he loves nature so much. But his father suspects that his son's desire to work alone deep in the Sylvanian forest is because it means he won't have to talk to anyone! (8 Aug)
OLDER SISTER JUDY BABBLEBROOK could not be more different from her brother, Richard. She is the most outgoing person you will ever have the pleasure to meet. In fact everyone in Sylvania thinks she should have been named something like Breezy or Bubbles because whenever Judy 'breezes' into a room she literally 'bubbles' over with fun and gaiety. When she leaves college next year Judy is looking forward to working in the Babblebrook General Store full time. She really enjoys being behind the till and catching up with everyone's news. But Rocky thinks he might well have to give his friendly daughter every Saturday off – it is just that she spends so long chatting with his customers that the queues get far too long at the weekend! (19 Oct)
YOUNGER BROTHER BUBBA BABBLEBROOK is Rocky and Crystal's middle son. When he is not at school he loves to help his father out by riding around the village delivering all his farm-fresh produce. Bubba has an incredible sense of hearing too. No sooner has Theodora Dappledawn stepped onto the High Street, Bubba will warn his father that their best customer is on her way. Of course, this special gift often comes in very useful in the school playground too. His best friend Lucky Snow-Warren only has to open a sweet wrapper and a grinning Bubba will be standing next to him with his hand out “I think my son can hear the grass grow!” Crystal often chuckles to herself! (8 Sep)
YOUNGER SISTER BREEZY BABBLEBROOK has a special gift too. There is no one in Sylvania better at getting their own way than Rocky and Crystal's middle daughter! Breezy just has to look at her father with those huge brown eyes of hers and he gives her an extra slice of carrot cake or a big bag of her favourite lemon sherbets. “How can I possibly say no to Breezy when she gives me such a sweet smile?” says Rocky if Crystal ever complains that their daughter is getting rather spoilt. “And surely you noticed how hard she worked in the store today?” Even Crystal has to admit that no one sweeps the floor quite as vigorously as Breezy!
BABY SISTER CORAL BABBLEBROOK plays happily in her playpen whenever it is her father's turn to look after her in the shop. She is noisy, especially when she is hungry – and it doesn't matter whether that's for food or attention! Her mother thinks her smallest daughter is going to be quite a handful when she grows up. Her father thinks she could represent Sylvania in the 'Noise Olympics'.
MOTHER CRYSTAL BABBLEBROOK (born GREYSTONE) is Rocky's wife and thankfully she loves her husband's tall stories just as much as everyone else in the village. Not that she has very much time to listen to them, of course. Crystal is the best and busiest cook in Sylvania, which is all the more surprising when you learn that her mother-in-law Pearl, who struggles to boil an egg, likes to give Crystal cooking tips! But Crystal doesn't only make scrummy meals for her family back at home, nor does she just make delicious tarts, pies and cakes for her husband to sell in the Grocery Store. This year saw Crystal become a writer too. Her first cookery book 'Crystal's 20 favourite Cupcakes' was a bestseller and now 'Crystal's 30-Minute Carrot Recipes' is flying off the shelves too!
OLDER BROTHER RICHARD BABBLEBROOK works so hard in the family grocery store that Rocky and Crystal don't know what they would do without their eldest son. At the weekends he does everything from stacking the shelves with tins of soup to helping customers bag their groceries. But Richard is quite different from everyone else in the Babblebrook family. He is the strong and silent type, excelling at all sports and most academic subjects, but otherwise very, very shy. As soon as Richard finishes college he wants to be a tree surgeon. His mother thinks that this is because he loves nature so much. But his father suspects that his son's desire to work alone deep in the Sylvanian forest is because it means he won't have to talk to anyone! (8 Aug)
OLDER SISTER JUDY BABBLEBROOK could not be more different from her brother, Richard. She is the most outgoing person you will ever have the pleasure to meet. In fact everyone in Sylvania thinks she should have been named something like Breezy or Bubbles because whenever Judy 'breezes' into a room she literally 'bubbles' over with fun and gaiety. When she leaves college next year Judy is looking forward to working in the Babblebrook General Store full time. She really enjoys being behind the till and catching up with everyone's news. But Rocky thinks he might well have to give his friendly daughter every Saturday off – it is just that she spends so long chatting with his customers that the queues get far too long at the weekend! (19 Oct)
YOUNGER BROTHER BUBBA BABBLEBROOK is Rocky and Crystal's middle son. When he is not at school he loves to help his father out by riding around the village delivering all his farm-fresh produce. Bubba has an incredible sense of hearing too. No sooner has Theodora Dappledawn stepped onto the High Street, Bubba will warn his father that their best customer is on her way. Of course, this special gift often comes in very useful in the school playground too. His best friend Lucky Snow-Warren only has to open a sweet wrapper and a grinning Bubba will be standing next to him with his hand out “I think my son can hear the grass grow!” Crystal often chuckles to herself! (8 Sep)
YOUNGER SISTER BREEZY BABBLEBROOK has a special gift too. There is no one in Sylvania better at getting their own way than Rocky and Crystal's middle daughter! Breezy just has to look at her father with those huge brown eyes of hers and he gives her an extra slice of carrot cake or a big bag of her favourite lemon sherbets. “How can I possibly say no to Breezy when she gives me such a sweet smile?” says Rocky if Crystal ever complains that their daughter is getting rather spoilt. “And surely you noticed how hard she worked in the store today?” Even Crystal has to admit that no one sweeps the floor quite as vigorously as Breezy!
BABY SISTER CORAL BABBLEBROOK plays happily in her playpen whenever it is her father's turn to look after her in the shop. She is noisy, especially when she is hungry – and it doesn't matter whether that's for food or attention! Her mother thinks her smallest daughter is going to be quite a handful when she grows up. Her father thinks she could represent Sylvania in the 'Noise Olympics'.
GRANDFATHER CLIFF BABBLEBROOK has what is generally called 'the gift of the gab'. His son Rocky is exactly the same, of course, but Cliff is quite happy to leave all the jokes to him. Whenever Cliff is helping out in the family grocery store he likes nothing better than to reminisce with the older customers about life in Sylvania before cars, fridges or televisions. “Yet we all managed perfectly well without them, didn't we?” is the way their long conversations always seem to end. But even the children love listening to 'Grandpa Babblebrook' as they call him. Although perhaps that's because he always gives them a free lollipop just before they leave the shop! (13 Jan)
GRANDMOTHER PEARL BABBLEBROOK (born RIVERINE) is the worst cook in Sylvania. Her Carrot Cakes are dry, her Apple Crumbles are burnt and once she even forgot to put turnips in her Turnip Casserole! Her poor husband always eats whatever she puts in front of him though – Cliff loves his wife very much and he would hate to hurt her feelings after all these years. Everyone in the Babblebrook family is just as kindhearted and Crystal even pretends to take Pearl's advice when she's writing one of her cookery books. Of course, for the sake of his business Rocky has to be a little more practical. He allows Pearl to sell cakes in the Babblebrook General Store but not to make any of them – he has his reputation to consider, after all! (5 Nov)
GRANDMOTHER PEARL BABBLEBROOK (born RIVERINE) is the worst cook in Sylvania. Her Carrot Cakes are dry, her Apple Crumbles are burnt and once she even forgot to put turnips in her Turnip Casserole! Her poor husband always eats whatever she puts in front of him though – Cliff loves his wife very much and he would hate to hurt her feelings after all these years. Everyone in the Babblebrook family is just as kindhearted and Crystal even pretends to take Pearl's advice when she's writing one of her cookery books. Of course, for the sake of his business Rocky has to be a little more practical. He allows Pearl to sell cakes in the Babblebrook General Store but not to make any of them – he has his reputation to consider, after all! (5 Nov)
GRANDFATHER LAURENCE GREYSTONE is kind and caring. He takes responsibility for his actions and will never let anybody down.
GRANDMOTHER SORIYA GREYSTONE (born BEVEREN) loves to sit in the sun reading or knitting.
GRANDMOTHER SORIYA GREYSTONE (born BEVEREN) loves to sit in the sun reading or knitting.
FATHER GEORGE BABBLEBROOK and his darling wife Harriet have a new arrival, a bouncing baby boy called Freddie. George, the proud father, could not wait to take his little bundle of joy to the seaside to play in the golden sands by the shore. George has always loved the seaside, so much in fact, that he moved to a lovely little cottage at Sea Breeze Cape with his family. They run a little beach side shop, selling everything you need for a day at the beach. They call their shop 'Babblebrook's Beach Side Store', and it's a smaller version of his brother, Rocky's shop.
MOTHER HARRIET BABBLEBROOK (born MARSH) is kept busy with her new born baby, Freddie. Thankfully her husband George and daughter Michelle are always on hand to help out. Harriet loves living at Sea Breeze Cape, from their living room window you can see the beach and the sea. Harriet bakes all the pastries for the shop, and during summer months makes special packed lunches for customers to take on the beach with them.
BROTHER WALTER BABBLEBROOK is very bossy and likes to tell his siblings what to do.
SISTER MICHELLE BABBLEBROOK loves having a baby brother. She has always seen her cousins have such big families, that she hopes her parents have lots more children. She is kept very fit, walking to school each day from Sea Breeze Cape, which is a good forty minute walk. Thankfully, when it is winter her father drives her to school, or she would get very cold and wet when it rains!
BABY BROTHER FREDDIE BABBLEBROOK is the latest addition to the Babblebrook family. His grandparents love to visit him and spoil him with lots of gifts. His father loves taking him to the seaside to build sandcastles, while his mother is teaching him to swim. Freddie is quieter than his cousins at present, but wait until he gets older!
MOTHER HARRIET BABBLEBROOK (born MARSH) is kept busy with her new born baby, Freddie. Thankfully her husband George and daughter Michelle are always on hand to help out. Harriet loves living at Sea Breeze Cape, from their living room window you can see the beach and the sea. Harriet bakes all the pastries for the shop, and during summer months makes special packed lunches for customers to take on the beach with them.
BROTHER WALTER BABBLEBROOK is very bossy and likes to tell his siblings what to do.
SISTER MICHELLE BABBLEBROOK loves having a baby brother. She has always seen her cousins have such big families, that she hopes her parents have lots more children. She is kept very fit, walking to school each day from Sea Breeze Cape, which is a good forty minute walk. Thankfully, when it is winter her father drives her to school, or she would get very cold and wet when it rains!
BABY BROTHER FREDDIE BABBLEBROOK is the latest addition to the Babblebrook family. His grandparents love to visit him and spoil him with lots of gifts. His father loves taking him to the seaside to build sandcastles, while his mother is teaching him to swim. Freddie is quieter than his cousins at present, but wait until he gets older!
Family ties: Rocky and George are the sons of Cliff and Pearl and the brothers of Marian Brighteyes and Fiona Cottontail. Laurence and Soriya are the parents of Crystal.