Mother Earth and her children : a quilted fairy tale

The incredibly intricate and vivid illustrations in this book are details of a modern quilt inspired by Sibylle von Olfers' classic storybook Mother Earth and Her Children. This vibrant new translation, in turn inspired by the quilt, explores the changing of the seasons and delicately touches upon the circle of life. When Mother Earth calls her children to prepare for spring, the earthly children yawn and stretch before they busy themselves with beautification. They dust off the bumblebees, scrub the beetles, paint bright new coats on the ladybugs, and rouse the caterpillars from their cocoons. Bedecked with new blossoms, the children emerge from the earth and become spring flowers that frolic through the summer and autumn, until the leaves begin to fall and they return to Mother Earth, bringing the weary bugs and beetles back to their winter refuge.

Author Notes

Sibylle von Olfers is the author of Etwas von den Wurzelkindern and was an art teacher in East Prussia at the turn of the century as well as a member of the Catholic Order of St. Elizabeth. Sieglinde Schoen-Smith is a quilter whose quilted interpretation of Mother Earth and Her Children captured the coveted Best in Show award at the 2006 International Quilt Show in Houston. She lives in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Jack Zipes is the foremost expert on German folklore in the United States. He is a professor of German literature at the University of Minnesota and has edited, contributed to, and translated more than 50 books, essays, and plays on German folklore, including The Norton Anthology of Children's Literature and The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Reviews (1)

School Library Journal Review

PreS-Gr 1-This rhyming story has been translated from von Olfers's Etwas von den Wurzelkindern, originally published in Germany in 1906. As spring draws near, Mother Earth awakens her children to help welcome the impending season with "chores" such as sewing bright clothing and painting beetles in glowing hues. When the weather warms, the miniature children emerge from their underground home to celebrate ("Beside the brook/Those earthly tots/Skip among/Forget-me-nots"). When fall arrives, they return to Mother Earth to begin their winter slumber and wait for next year. The text is illustrated with panels of a handmade quilt, which is presented in its entirety at the back of the book, along with notes about the author and illustrator. The colors and workmanship of the quilt are exquisite. It has been photographed to show the minute details of each section, and individual stitches can be seen with great clarity. The graceful characters have delicately embroidered features and the natural setting is depicted with vitality and warmth. The whimsical tone of the artwork matches the simple story quite well. With one-of-a-kind illustrations, this is an eye-catching choice for one-on-one sharing or reading aloud to small groups.-G. Alyssa Parkinson, Highland Township Library, MI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Reviews (1)

School Library Journal Review