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Hob Stories
The Green Book of Hob Stories
More adventures of Hob the goblin who lives under the stairs, visible only to children, and whose job is to chase away trouble and keep the house in order. In this book, he deals with the Strange Baby, the Mump, the Temper, the Cough, and the Storm.
28 pages, Hardcover
First published April 6, 1984
About the author
William Mayne
136 books16 followersWilliam Mayne was a British writer of children's fiction. Born in Hull, he was educated at the choir school attached to Canterbury Cathedral and his memories of that time contributed to his early books. He lived most of his life in North Yorkshire.
He was described as one of the outstanding children's authors of the 20th Century by the Oxford Companion to Children's Literature, and won the Carnegie Medal in 1957 for A Grass Rope and the Guardian Award in 1993 for Low Tide. He has written more than a hundred books, and is best known for his Choir School quartet comprising A Swarm in May, Choristers' Cake, Cathedral Wednesday and Words and Music, and his Earthfasts trilogy comprising Earthfasts, Cradlefasts and Candlefasts, an unusual evocation of the King Arthur legend.
A Swarm in May was filmed by the Children's Film Unit in 1983 and a five-part television series of Earthfasts was broadcast by the BBC in 1994.
William Mayne was imprisoned for two and a half years in 2004 after admitting to charges of child sexual abuse and was placed on the British sex offenders' register. His books were largely removed from shelves, and he died in disgrace in 2010.
He was described as one of the outstanding children's authors of the 20th Century by the Oxford Companion to Children's Literature, and won the Carnegie Medal in 1957 for A Grass Rope and the Guardian Award in 1993 for Low Tide. He has written more than a hundred books, and is best known for his Choir School quartet comprising A Swarm in May, Choristers' Cake, Cathedral Wednesday and Words and Music, and his Earthfasts trilogy comprising Earthfasts, Cradlefasts and Candlefasts, an unusual evocation of the King Arthur legend.
A Swarm in May was filmed by the Children's Film Unit in 1983 and a five-part television series of Earthfasts was broadcast by the BBC in 1994.
William Mayne was imprisoned for two and a half years in 2004 after admitting to charges of child sexual abuse and was placed on the British sex offenders' register. His books were largely removed from shelves, and he died in disgrace in 2010.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 19, 2026
Five delightful very short stories which seem like they could be from a century or two ago, except for the camera and the family's clothes as shown in the pictures. The stories fit well into English folklore traditions. This is basically a picture book - every other page is a lovely, colorful picture - but it is small, only about 6" square.
Hob lives in a cupboard under the stairs! (Note that this book, like almost all the other Hob books, was published in the 1980s or early 90s, BEFORE the first Harry Potter book.) I don't know if the under-the-stairs location is traditional or not (many homes wouldn't have had stairs centuries ago), but I wouldn't be surprised if J K Rowling read some of these books. He is invisible and the grownups say they don't believe in him. The children definitely believe in him. Hob comes out at night and always find that somebody - we're not told whether it's an adult or child - has left a gift for him. One time it was an egg. He's afraid that someday they will leave him clothes - that would mean that he had to leave! (This motif is well known from stories like The Shoemaker and the Elves, so I don't think Rowling got that from these books.) I like the pictures a lot - oddly, they seem to show Hob wearing a white union suit, though it sounds like he has no clothes. He's invisible anyway.
I think a bright 6-8-year-old could probably read this without help. It would make a good read-aloud for somewhat younger children. But older kids and grownups can enjoy it, too -it certainly interested me! It was so easy and fast to read that I made myself slow down and reread the stories.
I would like to read other the Hob Story books if I get the chance - this is the only one our county's libraries have. I would like to own some.
Hob lives in a cupboard under the stairs! (Note that this book, like almost all the other Hob books, was published in the 1980s or early 90s, BEFORE the first Harry Potter book.) I don't know if the under-the-stairs location is traditional or not (many homes wouldn't have had stairs centuries ago), but I wouldn't be surprised if J K Rowling read some of these books. He is invisible and the grownups say they don't believe in him. The children definitely believe in him. Hob comes out at night and always find that somebody - we're not told whether it's an adult or child - has left a gift for him. One time it was an egg. He's afraid that someday they will leave him clothes - that would mean that he had to leave! (This motif is well known from stories like The Shoemaker and the Elves, so I don't think Rowling got that from these books.) I like the pictures a lot - oddly, they seem to show Hob wearing a white union suit, though it sounds like he has no clothes. He's invisible anyway.
I think a bright 6-8-year-old could probably read this without help. It would make a good read-aloud for somewhat younger children. But older kids and grownups can enjoy it, too -it certainly interested me! It was so easy and fast to read that I made myself slow down and reread the stories.
I would like to read other the Hob Story books if I get the chance - this is the only one our county's libraries have. I would like to own some.
Displaying 1 of 1 review