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By Mom Unplugged, May 25, 2007 9:42 pm

This sweet series of books contains the poems and illustrations of Cicely Mary Barker, arranged by season or subject. Since it is now spring, I feature Flower Fairies of the Spring. These little books were first published in 1923 and the language and pictures do feel like they come from the past.

Despite the age of the book however, it is still charming and fascinating today. My 6 year-old fairy-loving daughter frequently requests one of these poems before bed. Be advised, the language is quite sophisticated and some children, particularly younger ones, might be bored. Perhaps you might want to check it out of the library first.

Each two-page spread introduces a different flower fairy through a poem and accompanying illustration. For example, first are The Crocus Fairies, then The Colt’s-Foot Fairy, followed by The Celadine Fairy, etc.

Since Cicely Mary Parker was English, many of these flowers may not be so familiar to American readers. Perhaps it could be a good introduction to a botany or gardening lesson or discussion?

The illustrations are gorgeous. The fairies are lovely and expressive. For the pictures alone, this book is worth a look. Recently, the “Flower Fairies” have become quite commercialized. This series is the classic original and contains no modern, commercial references whatsoever.

I believe that these poems and illustrations can be found all together in a large volume, but I like this series since the books are quite small (about 5.5″ x 4.5″) and seem all the more magical because of their tiny size.

Other books in the series are:

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By Mom Unplugged, May 12, 2007 10:07 pm

Maybe I just don’t know my Maurice Sendak quite as well as I should, but I had never heard of this one when I found it in the “Friends Of The Library” used book bin for ten cents!

The subtitle of this 1962 book is “A Book of Months” because you will find a poem about chicken soup with rice for each of the twelve months of the year. The poems are funny and catchy. The illustrations are amusing, albeit not very colorful (mainly black and white with a few touches of blue and yellow) as is typical for many children’s books of the same era.

Of course repetitive readings of this book will help teach children the months of the year, but the real charm is in the amusing poems all about chicken and rice soup! My kids love it. What a great ten cent find!

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By Mom Unplugged, April 28, 2007 8:41 am

TV Turn-Off Week is almost over, but this weekend might be the hardest part! A week without after school and evening TV, followed by kids home all day today and tomorrow because it is the weekend…but before you just give up and turn it on, here is an idea:

Read them Jimmy Jet And His TV Set, by Shel Silverstein and then say “Go outside and play or you’ll turn into Jimmy Jet!” They’ll find something to do out there: dig in the dirt, collect pretty rocks, make fairy houses.

Let me know what your kids do. Good luck and hang in there!

Jimmy Jet And His TV Set can be found in the wonderful collection of poems and drawings by Shel Silverstein entitled Where the Sidewalk Ends 30th Anniversary Edition: Poems and Drawings

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By Mom Unplugged, April 19, 2007 10:01 pm

I found this little book at a garage sale for 10 cents. Even if you are not that lucky and have to pay full price for it, it is well worth it!

This is a book of poems all about penguins, that are both very amusing and educational. This is not high literature, but these poems are so clever, that even I enjoy reading them! Kids will learn a lot about penguins as they laugh.

To give you an idea, the titles of the poems are the following:

• A Hatchling’s Song
• Mother Penguin’s Vacation
• My Father’s Feet
• Regurgitate (my kids’ favorite)
• I Am Looking For My Mother
• Penguins’ First Swim
• Predator Riddles
• Diary of a Very Short Winter Day
• Belly Sliding
• Be My Penguin
• Antarctic Anthem

If you have a penguin-lover in your family, then you MUST get this book! Also, check out this very cool live wild penguin webcam from Antarctica that I found recently!

Gentoo Penguins, Base O’Higgins, Antarctica

Isn’t the Internet amazing? It looks pretty cold there, doesn’t it!