This is Dinky and as you can see she loves sunflowers and nature. Dinky is the youngest of the Reading Gnomes, but that does not stop her from reading and going on adventures. Dinky loves ‘Song of Sounds’ and uses this to help her with words she does not know (she is helping Mrs Harmer to learn the song as she only knows the first two verses!) She loves to act out the stories that she has read and often gets the other gnomes involved in her plays and stories.

This is Flimp, he likes finding out about things and is always asking questions. If the rest of the Reading Gnomes do not know the answer to his questions, he will go off and find a book that can help him. He loves books about space and dinosaurs and will often spend the summer nights lying on the grass staring up at the stars. He really enjoys learning ‘big’ words like Alpha Centauri A (this is a star) and Spinosaurus (this is a dinosaur, but Mrs Harmer needed to look up what he looked like).

This is Bitsy, she loves gardening and bugs. Bitsy loves to plant flowers and help to make the world a better place. Last year, she started to grow her own vegetables and gave Mrs Harmer some amazing raspberries to make jam. She is always picking up litter, looking for ways to make the planet greener and save the environment. Reading books about plants, animals and eco-systems helps Bitsy to be a better gardener and environmentalist. Maybe like Bitsy, you could be picking up rubbish and reminding people to turn off the lights and taps. You could even make some posters that we could put around the school to help remind everyone.

Merry is the joker of the family and he loves nothing more than telling terrible jokes and making the other gnomes laugh. He reads lots of books, but really likes a book that will make him laugh. He and Mrs Harmer both love ‘Traction Man’ and ‘Diary of a Killer Cat’ and he is always looking for new books to read. Here are some of his favourite jokes:

How do all the oceans say hello to each other? They wave!

What did one wall say to the other wall? I’ll meet you at the corner!

What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear!

Gnorbitt is a bookworm and loves nothing better than getting lost in a book. He often misses meals as he always has his nose stuck in a book.  He has even been caught reading a book under the covers with a torch and like Mrs Harmer, he loves to read in the bath. Gnorbitt loves a good mystery and an adventure story, as he likes to imagine that he is there soaring through the planets, diving in the deepest oceans, fighting dragons and hunting for treasure.

Tonk loves sport and being outdoors. He loved living in the woods as he really enjoyed camping. His best friend is Flimp and they enjoy stargazing together, often with a hot chocolate and toasted marshmallows. Tonk often goes into the woods to build dens, climb trees and he knows how to use a compass. In the autumn he loves going out looking at all the amazing colours and in winter he loves building a campfire and singing songs around it. However, spring and summer are his favourite times because he loves trees and camping out.

Bingles is the oldest Reading Gnome and has read so many books that she cannot imagine a day without a book. She has no favourite genre, but enjoys poetry, books about the world and stories about magic. Bingles once tried to list her favourite books of all time, but had to give up as the list was so long and it kept changing; mind you some did stay on the list, but moved around. 

Zee enjoys the seaside and they like walking on the beach, especially in the winter. They love a ‘Mr Whippy’ and agree with Mrs Harmer that it is the best ice-cream ever. No arguments! They enjoy reading lots of different types of books, but likes them to be more realistic, so is not a fan of fantasy fiction. Zee, as you can see, is very passionate about rainbows as they love the colours, but also because they remind Zee to always be hopeful and that without rain you would never have a rainbow.

Jazz and Josie are twins and have always done everything together. Luckily, for them they enjoy the same things and like going rock climbing and doing things like going on a zip-wire. However, when it comes to books they like different things. Jazz loves a mystery book and wants to be a detective when he is older – he is really enjoying the books by M.G Leonard as they take place on trains. Josie, on the other hand, loves books that make her laugh and her favourite author is David Baddiel 

Tulla is really into sports although her favourite ones are surfing and rugby.  She can be found riding the waves down at the beach every day in the summer and often in the winter, especially since she started to kite surf down at Goring. She loves any book to do with sport!

Charlie is Bitsy’s best friend and is very passionate about the environment – green is their favourite colour. Charlie likes to imagine that they are the gnome version of David Attenborough and is on a mission to make us all aware of our impact on the planet. Charlie believes that even the smallest thing can make a difference and is always to be found making insect hotels, homes for bees and planting insect friendly plants. They love any book to do with nature – fiction or non-fiction and their favourite poem is The Tyger, by William Blake. 

Brimble and Griffin are brothers and are in a band. Brimble is the drummer and Griffin is the guitarist. They write their own songs and love nothing more than to perform. Their band is called ‘The Rolling Gnomes’ and they are very popular at all the festivals. They even played at Glastonbury with Miss Rogers – though their tent was a lot smaller! They love playing rock music and have often taken well known songs and changed the lyrics. Some of their better known ones are: Papa Was A Rolling Gnome; Gnomehouse Rock;   They Don’t Gnome About Us;  The Gnomes are Back in Town; You Really Gnome Me and Gnoming Me, Gnoming You!