A blog of my running thoughts while reading. *Warning: Spoilers*
The poems included at the end of this book that were not previously included were cute, but not great by any means. I’m not actually that surprised that they weren’t previously included. And it’s not that there’s anything wrong with them, I can simply see why Silverstein might have chosen the ones he did over these ones. Still, this was a fun read and it was amusing to read some “new” poems.
There are so many fun poems in this collection. Silverstein seems to have been especially good at looking at things from a kid’s perspective. He’s got poems about kid rights and what kids might want or need (a homework machine, a really good excuse for being late to school, replacement parents who let you get away with whatever you want, etc.) as well as poems about popular kid topics (pirates, monsters, etc.). It’s an eclectic selection, though, and I’m quite enjoying it.
There are some fun poems in this book. I really like that he doesn’t stick to only one style, but plays with different ones throughout the book. There are some surprisingly dark poems in here given that this is one of the major go-to poetry titles for parents, even parents who don’t want their kids reading anything dark. It’s as if the cute art and more famous light-hearted poems in the collection allow them to totally miss the cruel, depressing or sad ones!
Shel Silverstein is always so much fun and it’s really been far too long since I actually sat down and read his poetry. My favorite so far from this reading of this particular volume is “The Picture Puzzle Piece”, which is all about the many things that a lost jigsaw puzzle piece might portray. It’s such a wonderful celebration of imagination and all the possibilities something has before you figure out what it is!
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.