Meet the Capy Crew

Every story needs characters children can't stop talking about. Over the last few months a particular gang has taken over our shared character library, and it's time they had a proper introduction.

Meet the Capy Crew: a gang of small plush capybaras who believe, with total confidence, that capybaras come first.

The Capy Crew star in stories from our sister studio, Clever Stories, and they live in the same character library as the friends you meet on Clever Trails walks. Here's who's who.

The gang

Nibbles

The boss, and he knows it. Nibbles has cool sunglasses, big talk and a firm belief that every queue was made for him to push in. He isn't really a villain, more a spoilt little brother who has never been told no. When the toys finally stand up to him he's genuinely stunned. His catchphrase says it all: "Capys first!"

Chomp

Chomp lives for food and has no brakes. He's the first to dive face-first into anything sweet and is usually still covered in sprinkles at the end of the day.

Tex, Surfer Sid and Woolly

The gang's three show-offs. Tex is a cowboy who treats every stand-off like a western. Surfer Sid is so laid-back he surfs straight through queues. Woolly is always a bit chilly, even in summer, but manages to look stylish about it with a flick of his scarf.

Dave

Dave is the joke. Everyone else has a look, a gimmick and a big reaction. Dave just... is. He never changes expression, whatever chaos is going on around him, and children find this endlessly funny. He has one line, and he means it: "Sorry."

Pip

The baby of the gang: squeaky, a bit nervous and always hurrying to keep up. Pip is usually the first to notice when things are going wrong, and he isn't above a cheeky wink.

Big Bruv

The muscle. When Big Bruv is coming, the teacups tremble. He cracks his knuckles and charges like a rugby player, but he's all bluster, and in front of his mum he turns into a mortified teenager.

Mama Capy

The real power in the Capy Crew, and the only one they're scared of. Mama Capy arrives hands on hips and sorts everything out in about a minute flat. Everyone says sorry, everyone pays with their own pocket money, and then she pinches cheeks and leaves lipstick kisses. "Right, you lot, come with me. NOW!"

The toys who stand up to them

A gang like the Capy Crew needs someone to say enough is enough.

• Bonnie is a small knitted bunny with a big sense of fair play. She draws the plan in crayon and holds the middle of the line, chin up, even when her voice wobbles. "No pushing in. Back of the queue, please."
• Rex is a shy dinosaur whose practice roar is a tiny "rawr?". When it really matters, though, he finds a roar big enough to blow Big Bruv across the room.
• Sparkle is a gentle unicorn whose horn droops when she's sad. She gets nervous, but she never lets go of the line.
• Mr Buttons is the wise old teddy at the heart of it all. He doesn't shout. He puts a paw on a shoulder and reminds everyone that toys who stand together can't be pushed anywhere.

Why children love them

The Capy Crew are naughty in the way children understand: pushing in, grabbing the last of something, not saying sorry. They're never actually frightening, and they always get found out.

The stories are really about fairness and standing together. A small toy can be pushed aside, but a line of friends holding paws can't. Children love seeing the little ones win, and they love it even more when Mama Capy turns up.

Characters across our stories

Every character in our library, from Nutmeg the owl to Nibbles the capybara, is written with a personality, a way of speaking and a few quirks, so they sound the same wherever they appear. It's how a narrator can feel like an old friend by the second story.

While you wait to see who turns up next, meet the friends already on the trail. The Lantern Seeds introduces Nutmeg the owl, Pip the hedgehog and a sleepy badger called Bumble. Find every story on the Discover page.