Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Books that I can Smell


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My favourite childrens books are written and illustrated by Swedish writer Elsa Beskow. The nature that she illustrates is the same I grew up with. I know exactly how everthing in her books feels and smells, even taste like. I also love the idea of all the plants being little persons winking and waving at me when I pass by them.

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So much memories come up when I look through these. I can remember walking in the lake among the yellow water-lilies when I was a child. Pure magic. 

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Green and red goosberries!

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This is my favourite picture. I can feel the exitment of playing by the brook when the snow has finally smelted. Good times! 

I really wanted my children to love these books as much as I do and almost spoiled the whole thing by starting to read these to them too early. They live in a very different kind of environment than I did (no forrest!). That makes me sometimes sad even though I know it is just different and they will have their own memories. Yesterday however they both wanted to read one of Beskow's books as a bedtime story, what a relief! 

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The beautiful bag in the picture is what I got in our Double Dutch swap. I asked something to carry my knitting projects in. Betty van Os made this amazing bag for me. I could have never made something like this myself, thank you Betty! Now I just have to fill it with some projects.

Joining again with Yarn Along

9 comments:

Eva said...

beautiful illustrations! I think I'll have to get some of her books as well, for me to look at and later for our little girl to read. :-)

Minnado said...

What beautiful illustrations - I would like to look for an english language version for my little girls. As a girl I loved Cicely May Barker's flower fairy books - a similar kind of style of illustration. xx

Karen Sue said...

these look like great books! I just bought a book for my 24yr old's birthday next weekend, that is a sequel to some we read many, many years ago.
Wonderful bag, too. It's great when you instantly want to put your gift to use and don't have to think...now where am I going to put this??

Mari said...

They do have these in english at amazon.co.uk. Barker's books look lovely, thanks for the tip!

Mari said...

We had a secret swap with hints of what we wanted. I got what I asked for and more! I could have never made this bag myself.

The Muse of The Day said...

I saw this post, about Elsa Beskow, and I just HAD to comment, Mari, for she is one of my favorites! I have Ollie's Ski Trip, and also the one where he wants a new blue wool coat ... Not sure where in the house that one is now. When I see her work, it makes me want to illustrate children's books. I bought them even before I had kids. I always read them to my children at a christmas time so they associate it with that - I must add, here, they seem to be into "other" things. No worries. I always knew that the real person I bought those books for where ME!

Carolina

PS. Love to be able to comment directly.

The Muse of The Day said...

I remember the name of the other book - Pelle's New Suit. Love that one. Thank you for bringing such fond memories to the forefront.


Carolina

The Muse of The Day said...

OK, Mari, I have torn my house apart looking for that other book ... NOTHING. I have no idea where it could have been placed. I do know, for certain, that it was not given away like the other million or so books my children have had. Anyways, while I was digging around a thought popped into my head I want to share with you. I wondered if our adult lives are spent on a quest to regain what we felt in our youth. The more I looked for Pelle's New Suit, and peered into other children's books, the more I thought of this. To the point where I am convinced that this, your post and subsequent shakedown of my memories, is all meant to be - like a sign - telling me what I am supposed to be doing. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Carolina

Anonymous said...

Wonderful books and stories!

We made a school play based on the book Kukkaisjuhla when I was seven or eight - I played the nettle and got my hair sprayed green. I loved the hair but had to wait until I was eleven until my dad agreed I get my hair dyed green again; even that was a compromise and I only got green highlights in my bangs. Thinking back, maybe that was a good thing ;D
-Virve