While I’m aware that there are several Flower Fairies books, from seasonal to other collections, the one I’m looking at is the full hefty Treasury – though I doubt there’s enough difference between them to make this review specific to the Treasury alone. You may have seen the magical botanical watercolour paintings on postcards, mugs or on social media, but not realised that Cicely Mary Barker’s fairies were originally accompanied by verses of poetry, then later turned into a childrens book series. But in the modern world, does the 1920’s Flower Fairy poetry hold up?
I certainly think this would appeal to any young child in any time. I remember obsessively reading through my copy as a child over and over, flicking to my favourites or picking a random page to discover a brand new fairy and flower I’d never heard of. When I got old enough to identify the flowers in the garden, or hear about birth flowers, I’d look for its fairy in my book. It wasn’t educational, but it was enough to engage me with the wild flowers around me.
Obviously some of the language is outdated, such as the use of “gay” for happy, and other deliberately older language to give the poems more of a folksong tone. This isn’t alienating enough, in my opinion, to put off a modern reader, and for the most part the language is kept simple enough that it likely won’t struggle with ageing much more over the next few generations of readers. The illustrations are given a delibertaly timeless fantasy design so that they don’t appear outdated, which gives them a whimsical touch that any reader can enjoy.
I’d really recommend this for children and parents first, or for people looking to gift something with some educational element to a younger relative. The botanical artwork is accurate enough that if you didn’t know a flower’s name, you could skim through the pages until you saw it (assuming it’s a flower you’d find in Britain). I think poetry is a great way of helping kids remember things, and engage with the natural world in an exciting new way. That isn’t to say the poetry is childish or no good to older readers, more that it’s naive and fits the criteria of nature-loving poetry rather than anything deeper.
If you’re interesting in whimsical fantasy, absolutely read these. If you want to engage people, young or old, in British flowers, thoroughly recommend. If you’re not into nature or fairies or want something meatier, then pass on this one. Personally I love it, and it no doubt had a role in getting me into poetry in the way I am now.
a place of words 