Child of Faerie, Child of Earth

Book came with MOLD on front and pages literally stuck together due to water damage and mildew!!! What the heck, seller?!?!

I discovered this book in a class about writing children's books. While I have read many books by Jane Yolen, I can honestly say this is one of my favorite Yolen books with a poem as text. The poetry is intricate yet appears simple. This is a story that must be read aloud, simply to delight in the rhythm and the story. The illustrations are stunning, accentuating an already wonderful story. I strongly recommend this book for children, particularly in a read aloud setting. I also recommend this book for adults who love all things faerie or who appreciate a sweet tale that almost sings.

Nearing age five my son decided to express his growing passion for all things Fairy and I searched high and low for gifts to nurture his appreciation of peace and magic. Near the dawn of my quest I discovered this book and immediately ordered it because other reviews were inspiring and the cover art showed a boy fairy (a rare find!). My son loved the book and wanted to share it with all his friends and family. Nearing age six, he still enjoys the book and fondly tells others of the day his mom came in to teach a lesson with it to his kindergarten class. You can recreate the easy lesson with your own children. Simply take two sheets of construction paper and fold them in half, then staple. Give it a purple cover (Child of Fairy) and a green back (Child of Earth). Let the children decorate each with pictures of earth children (photos or drawings of themselves and friends) and fairy children (stickers or drawings of imagined fairy children...glitter is essential!). Next have them devote a couple of pages to creating environments for the children (we used leaves, moss, and twigs glued on for earth kids and bright feathers, glitter, and sequins for fairy kids). Finally devote the two inner-most pages to others who are different from themselves. We cut out pictures in magazines of people of different ages,races, and genders as well as places near and far from "home." This serves as an excellent tool to discuss respecting differences with small children. Enjoy!

This book is both a lyrical and visual treasure. I bought this as a Christmas present for a niece and couldn't part with it! I even bought a copy just so I could mat and frame some of the incredibly magical pictures. This is my favorite children's book`of all time.