Poppy's Babies
POPPY'S BABIES, the book she had been looking forward to tackling ever since that first shy courtship on the riverbank, was to prove the most demanding of all, for this time Jill would have to face a situation that would require all her faith and courage. As she worked on the illustrations, she found that she was getting increasingly tired and her sight was presenting real problems. It was not just a question of eye strain this time - it was getting more and more difficult to focus, almost as if her vision was slipping away. As you will see, there is nothing to indicate this in the pictures themselves, but in fact by the time she reached the last illustration she was only able to see half the page she was working on - the rest had simply disappeared.

Appointments with various specialists were arranged and Jill went into hospital for neurological tests. This was a worrying time, and the diagnosis more worrying still - Jill would need an operation to relieve pressure on the optic nerve. Although the surgeons were cautiously optimistic that her sight would then be restored, no one could be sure. As a naturally creative person, whose means of expression relies so entirely on the ability to record what she sees, this whole period was very frightening.

The operation was carried out and the news good. As soon as the pressure was removed, Jill's sight returned to normal but there was an enforced period of convalescence, and Jill had to postpone starting work on the first of a new series of books. As if in compensation this was the moment when the story of Brambly Hedge took a new and exciting detour.

	The Secret Staircase		The High Hills
	Sea Story		The Animated Brambly Hedge