Here's another version of one of our favorite poems. Illustrated by Paul Galdone, it has a loose, bright comical flair.
This was such a heartwarming book with surprising gravitas. Written in the 1950's, the father in this endearing story is implied to be suffering from PTSD from the war. He's always tired and moody and isn't able to hold down a job. So the family decides to have a change of scene and leaves the city for a rural house in the mountains that belonged to their grandmother. Told through the adventures of the daughter Marley, the book follows the family through the year as they adapt and make a new life for themselves. The children start a new school, meet a woodworking recluse and learn about country ways (especially tapping trees and making maple syrup) from their wonderful neighbors. Meanwhile their father finds purpose and solace in the hard work of gardening on their land. I absolutely love accidentally finding books like this, such forgotten gems!
Some wonderful ways to read about this season of Springtime...
"Now the trees were growing up again, but there were tangled old limbs in piles and ancient stumps overgrown with lichens and moss and little green leaves and ferns. If she stopped in the middle of all the thousands of things growing in every direction, she got what she called the 'push-feeling'. Everything was pushing up into the sun, trying to grow taller and bigger. She had never thought about it before in all her life, but all the miracles every week made her think about it."
"So many things to begin again! She knew how the leaves would come green on the trees, how their flowers would turn the soft maples red along the brook. She knew where water would go tumbling as the snow melted, making waterfalls that were there only in the spring. She lifted her face to the sun and laughed. Spring sparkled already in the sharp air."
This is a great series to collect to introduce children to some famous poets. (Edna St.Vincent Millay being one of my favorites!)
Even Chris was taken with this book and the true story it tells of the ships that were painted with dazzling designs during World War I. It was a crazy idea born out of desperation to stop the deadly German U-boat attacks that were crippling Britain. It's a fascinating story that combines history and art and warfare and ships and gives the reader the desire to learn more. There's a timeline, actual photographs and an informative author and illustrator's note in the back pages. It was also fun to learn the role that women artists played in painting the ships those outrageous designs.
