Cover of The Terrible Tiny Kid
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Author | John Peterson |
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Language | English |
Genre | Fantasy |
Publisher | Scholastic Publishing |
Publication date
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1967 |
Media type | paperback |
The Littles is a series of children's novels by American author John Peterson, the first of which was published in 1967. Sixteen years later, Peterson's books were adapted into The Littles, an animated series by DIC Entertainment. The television show ran on ABC Saturday mornings from September 10, 1983 to November 2, 1985 for three seasons and 29 episodes. In 1985, DiC released an animated feature film spun off the series titled Here Come the Littles.
Similar to Mary Norton's earlier novel The Borrowers, The Littles features a family of tiny, intelligent humanoid creatures with mouse-like features (the Littles) who live in a house owned by the Bigg family. The mouse-like features include a long, furry tail, long teeth and mouse-like ears (in the books the Littles have a tail but not the long teeth and mouse-like ears). Their height is 4-6 inches.
The Littles are a family of tiny people living in the walls of human houses. The Little family consists of William T. Little and Wilma Little (Frank and Helen in the TV series), their children Tom and Lucy, and Uncle Pete (Grandpa Little in the TV series). In the books, Uncle Nick, Uncle Pete, Granny and Grandpa (Amos), and Baby Betsy live with the family. Relatives who don't live with them include Cousin Dinky, his wife Della, his mother Lily the nurse, Granny's sister Littlebit, and her cousins Tracy and Gracie.pepe
Tom and Lucy Little both insist on doing good deeds for big people, including a blind woman. One time they tried to find a Grandma Little for Grandpa. They can make mischief around the place.
An older cousin of the other Littles, he is a pilot and serves as the mail service and occasional transport for all tiny people in the area. In the books he flies a glider (competently) and is responsible and adventurous; in the TV series he flies a propeller plane (poorly) and he is clumsy and frequently gets into trouble. Usually these troubles remit directly into Grandpa Little, who loses his temper and charges into "disciplining" the unfortunate Dinky. In the books he marries Della, who learns to fly. While he lives with his mother Lilly the nurse in the books, in the TV series he lives with the family.