Summary:

The Complete Book of the Flower Fairies by Cicely Mary Barker is an enchanting resource for poetry, art and nature study.  It is a combination of many of her works as follows:   Flower Fairies of the Spring; Flower Fairies of the Summer; Flower Fairies of the Autumn; Flower Fairies of the Winter; Flower Fairies of the Garden; Flower Fairies of the Trees; Flower Fairies of the Wayside; A Flower Fairy Alphabet; Old Rhymes for all Times; and The Fairy Necklaces.

Cicely Mary Barker brought flowers to life with her artwork.  She not only created the sweet illustrations (watercolours), but wrote a poem to go along with each flower painting.  There are poems and artwork for a variety of flowers throughout the seasons of the year.
 

My thoughts:

My children were first delighted with the paintings & poems in this book the summer we planted phlox in our garden.  "The Song of the Phlox Fairy" (from Flower Fairies of the Garden) was the perfect accompaniment to their excitement at seeing the first blooms.  They then wanted to know more poems for the other flowers in our garden.

We like to read the poems, one or two per day, during the appropriate seasons.  We also try to memorize our favourites!  It can be fun to go out in nature and recite the poems for the flowers we find.

My personal favourite poem and painting is "The Song of the Rose Fairy", but truthfully I love so many of them.  "The Song of the Apple Blossom Fairies" is dear indeed.

People have enjoyed these books since 1923, and I am sure we will continue to do so for years to come.