Pocketful of Posies

Pocketful of Posies by Salley Mavor.
Youth New Book Shelves – Lower Level – J398.8 M

I have only this year discovered the wonderfulness that is the artwork of Salley Mavor. This is her latest effort, a collection of nursery rhymes illustrated with her signature felt and found object dioramas with the little dolls, here looking more involved yet than in her how-to book, Felt Wee Folk. It is stunning. I hauled this book around everywhere with me for three weeks, showing it off to people whenever I could pry it away from my toddler, and everyone I showed it to was sucked into exploring the details. There’s the look of exasperation on the Old Woman in the Shoe’s face, embroidered rain drops, little silver jingle bells growing on plants in Mistress Mary’s garden. There are branches used for roofs, shells and acorn caps, buttons and beads mixed in. I read that she spent a month on each page, and it’s easy to believe. Some rhymes have a whole page devoted to them, while others are grouped thematically, with illustrations flowing from one rhyme to the next. For example, one spread shows a street full of village shops and includes rhymes relating to them. The rhymes seemed to me a good mix of familiar and new, including things like “Simple Simon” and “Polly Put the Kettle on”, but also “I Eat my Peas with Honey”. The language is slightly modified from what I grew up with, but, unlike many modern nursery rhyme collections, the rhymes are not updated to fit modern values. This is now my favorite nursery rhyme collection, good both for cultural literacy and beautiful art.

Magical Tales from Many Lands

Magical Tales from Many Lands Retold by Margaret Mayo. Illustrated by Jane Ray
Youth Non-fiction – Lower Level – J 398.2 M

I’m always on the lookout for good stories to read curled up with my six-year-old. Key features would include stories that work well read aloud, hopefully short enough to read at bedtime or before little sister becomes loses patience, and good pictures, as well as just the right blend of excitement without being too scary. I’ve loved Jane Ray’s work in Berlie Doherty’s Fairy Tales for years, but only recently found this earlier work. I still love Jane Ray’s style, folk-art like with lots of gold highlights. In this book, she blends her distinctive style with elements of the art of the culture she’s representing to create work that’s both cohesive throughout the book and reflective of the culture each story is from. The stories are Arabic (“The Lemon Princess”), Japanese, Chinese, Russian (a slightly less frightening “Baba Yaga Bony-Legs” than I’m used to), African (a version of “Unanana and the Elephant,” a story I remember from one of my favorite childhood storybooks of feminist folk tales.), African-American, Native American, French and more. It’s a good mix of cultures, and while the collection doesn’t feature all women, there are enough stories of strong women for balance. They are well told, with lots of the repetitive language that works so well for story-telling. Although perhaps less interesting to children, I really appreciated her notes on each tale, explaining the source or sources and her deviations from that version. This gem is now out of print, so enjoy it at your library!

Other favorite fairy tale collections:

Fairy Tales by Berlie Doherty – J 398.2 D

Mightier than the Sword by Jane Yolen – J 398.2 Y

Not One Damsel in Distress by Jane Yolen – J 398.2 Y

Saint George and the Dragon

Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges. Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman.
Youth Non-fiction – Lower Level – J398.22 SAI

Here is an oldie but goodie that deserves to be remembered. Caldecott-award winning illustrator Trina Schart Hyman is one of my favorites of all time, and this book is a fine example of her work. These are glorious full-page pictures (watercolor and ink if I am not mistaken), with borders and marginalia around the facing page of text. It’s a long picture book for older readers and the text, telling the story of the Red Cross Knight’s epic battle with the dragon, is beautifully written. Every time that my son asks for it at bedtime on an already late night, I look for a way to abridge the text to make it a more manageable length. Every time I end up just reading the whole thing, because the words are just right, with strong metaphors and alliterations adding to the medieval feel of the book. For kids too old for little-kid picture books and not quite ready for all chapter books, this is a book detailed and exciting enough to capture.