09.11.07
Posted in Poetry at 12:39 am by Rosepixie
The story “The Fairy Necklaces” was really sweet. It would make a great early chapter book/transitional book. The story is simple but interesting and nicely sequential and the art is lovely. I really liked that the story was nice and sweet, but not at all full of lessons or talking down to children. Jenny was a realistically sweet character who still had flaws (but not very many). The adult characters were wonderfully well fleshed out for this type of story. Overall, I was extremely impressed! This was my favorite part of the whole book!
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09.09.07
Posted in Poetry at 7:09 am by Rosepixie
There were some great poems in that section! I absolutely loved the one about the fairy going to market and buying things and then setting them free after a day! There was also a poem about how to stay in Mab’s favor that used the word “slut” in a way rather different than how we use it now. It made me kind of what to find out how and when the meaning changed.
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Posted in Poetry at 5:55 am by Rosepixie
The alphabet fairies are every bit as cute as the rest of Barker’s flower fairies. I found it irritating, however, that the verses for “v” and “y” were entirely about “u” and “x” not having flowers rather than about the “v” and “y” fairies themselves! It seemed very unfair! The strawberry and wallflower fairies had amazingly cute outfits, though!
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Posted in Poetry at 2:44 am by Rosepixie
I know that Cicely Mary Barker did her drawings first and then wrote the verses, but I’ve always liked that usually you couldn’t tell. In Flower Fairies of the Wayside there are two poems where it’s really obvious - one with a snail and one with a grasshopper. That’s really too bad because part of why you can tell is that they aren’t very good verses, but both illustrations are great.
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Posted in Poetry at 12:33 am by Rosepixie
Some of the tree fairies are really cute. I love the little flower ones (lilacs and such - flowers that come in little bunches). You always see Barker’s girl fairies, and they are cute, but I’m really coming to appreciate her boy fairies. She does really cute costumes for little boys.
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09.07.07
Posted in Poetry at 1:04 am by Rosepixie
The garden fairies are pretty much all of pretty flowers that one sees perfumes and such made from. There were a few with interesting side notes (tulips are noted to have come from Persia before Holland became famous for them, for example). There was also a repeat or two (I know Forget-Me-Nots already appeared in this book). Overall, though, this was a nice section.
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09.06.07
Posted in Poetry at 12:19 am by Rosepixie
Most of the fairies in the Winter section really should have been in the Autumn or Spring sections. I also wondered why Winter didn’t rate an introduction like the other seasons got. I love the little fairy costumes, though. The little pine cone caps and grass sandals are adorable!
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09.04.07
Posted in Poetry at 5:57 am by Rosepixie
Autumn was peopled with far more fairies of fruit and nuts and seeds than fairies of flowers! I suppose that makes sense. And many of the seed or nut or fruit fairies were of the same plant as a flower fairy that we saw in Spring or Summer. They actually make kind of interesting comparisons in some cases!
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Posted in Poetry at 2:49 am by Rosepixie
Summer is my favorite season and Barker includes my favorite flower among the Summer fairies - the rose! Her rose fairy drawing is so pretty! It’s always been a favorite of mine. Summer has a lot of great pieces, though, both the art and poetry are some of Barker’s best, in my opinion. There are a few only so-so poems, but also a number of wonderful ones! This book is really a great set of her work. I love getting to see everything laid out side by side!
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09.03.07
Posted in Poetry at 1:18 am by Rosepixie
The Spring flower fairies are something of a rag-tag lot! Many of them are weeds and little-thought-of wildflowers. This is not to say that they are without charm, quite the contrary in fact. I loved the elaborate little costumes (the Dandelion and the Daffodil were probably my favorites). Barker’s art is simply so adorable!
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