Snugglepot and Cuddlepie
During the 1920’s, May Gibbs wrote a series of books: The Gumnut Adventures, featuring amazing (and mildly disturbing) characters such as “Snugglepie and Cuddlepot:”
And Obedelia:
May Gibbs (1877-1969) emigrated to Australia from England with her parents when she was four years old. Part of her childhood was spent at a farming homestead in Western Australia where Gibbs’ love of the unique species in the Australian bush developed. The nuts, leaves and flowers she discovered as a child provided a lifetime of inspiration for her iconic and imaginative illustration work.
Children everywhere couldn’t help but wonder when they saw such things, whether Gumnut Babies really did live there, especially when they could actually see their scribbly writing on the trees. Gibbs took what every child could easily find and gave it a fantasy life of its own.
I can’t help but wonder if this series resulted in hordes of very paranoid, frightened children.
You can actually buy the book on Amazon.
Source and more pictures/info.
SheWalksSoftly 
April 20, 2010 at 8:40 pm
Growing up nurtured by stories of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie taught me a love of the bush as well as good and evil. It also taught me that there are good and innocent people who are often exploited or hurt by bullies and that nature is about the survival of the fittest. Even though life for some was hard in the bush, for the most part the characters had fun and friendship and a peaceful happy existence. I was never scared by the stories, just fascinated and enchanted. I still have the books over 50 years later.
April 16, 2012 at 6:41 pm
LOL! Only the Banksia Men were ever scary. You may like them. 😉 It’s difficult to get much sweeter than Snugglepot and Cuddlepie while Little Obelia was a childhood favorite being an Australian mer-baby. These were the “wee folk” of the bush Aussie kids grew up with and loved, helping us appreciate and be protective of an often harsh environment. The main legacy, apart from an additional love of a an often strange land, was in being able to see stories and magic anywhere I was. I may be more biased than most though, considering the author/illustrator was my great great aunt. 😉
April 19, 2012 at 4:47 pm
Oh wow! It’s so nice to hear a relative of the author chime in on this work!