Children of the Forest: Mini Edition

by Elsa Beskow

Book Overview

The children of the forest live deep in the roots of an old pine tree. They collect wild mushrooms and blueberries and shelter under toadstools when it rains. They play with the squirrels and frogs, and when fall comes, they collect and prepare food to see them through the long winter, until the warm spring breeze starts to blow.

A mini gift edition of Elsa Beskow's classic story.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0863154972
• ISBN13: 9780863154973
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: Floris Books
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.8" x 4.9"
• Age Range: 3 to 5 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 2

Customer Reviews

Quality story with good imagination

Elsa Beskow’s stories are always appreciated at our house. Quality stories with great imagination.

Seriously, my favorite children’s book of all time.

This is definitely my favorite book for young children. The illustrations are beautiful (obviously, it’s Elsa Beskow), the premise is imaginative (little people playing with forest creatures!), and the content encourages a deep connection to nature that is like a breath of fresh air (especially for my young city dwellers). Overall, it’s a sweet, gentle, and rich book that we really enjoy reading and never tire of.

Children of the Forest

I love this book and most of Beskow's books for their amazing illustrations and original stories of little people/ fairies/ elves of the forest. I wanted to comment on other reviewers that had a problem with a snake being killed in the book. They felt that it sent a poor message about labeling forest creatures as either 'good' or 'bad'. I am a biologist, an environmentalist, and a mother of a two-year old. I live in an area that has scorpions, rattle snakes, poison ivy, and poisonous mushrooms in my back yard, and I'm alway cautious about my daughter when she is in our woods. I have to be stern with her about sticking her hands down holes, and picking mushrooms and plants, etc. I think the book sends a good message to children that live in and around wilderness areas to respect the creatures and living beings of the forest. If you read on after the the snake is killed, the mother tells her children that were playing/ poking ants with sticks that you "never hurt the creatures of the forest, unless they mean you harm". So, basically, the message seems to be that it is fair to kill a snake that is trying to attack you but not another that is minding its own business. I agree with this, and I think a lot of readers will to. I also appreciate how the father gets angry at his son for not paying attention to his lesson on mushroom picking. He goes on to say: "Sam! If you make a mistake, we may all die". It may be harsh to some readers, but I thinks it's refreshing to have a dose of reality from a book rather than live in a world were we teach our children that ever snake, plant, mushroom, bear, etc., is harmless.

a fun and beautifully illustrated story

_Children of the Forest_ is perfect for little people just past picture-only books, or those able to follow a simple story line. It is the tale of a family of tiny people who live in the forest, with a description of their daily lives and interactions with critters of the woods. A very charming story. But the illustrations are also marvelous, of an almost "art-nouveau" style of the early 20th century. Highly recommended.

Spectacular

Elsa Beskow is classic! What a wonderful book deeply explorative of the Earth. Elsa is accurate with her botanical drawings. She has such a beautiful mind! She places fairy children and elf children as the helping hands to Earth's changes. As the insects and bugs are preparing for Spring's entrance, the children paint and polish them. Perfect book for ages 2-6. Innocent, perfect for homeschooled children.

fun and innocent tale of a tiny family living in woods

Adorable tale about a miniature family, mother, father, two daughters and two sons who live in the forest. Children play and go to school with forest animals. The animals and children speak to each other. There are several morals taught in the course of the story. Follows the family from one season through the next. The children help the parents work, harvest food for winter, etc. It is nice to see the children happily working with the family rather than just existing to be entertained. The children have several adventures and lots of different fun activities playing with the animals in the forest. The book is formatted with text on the left page with one or more black and white illustrations above and/or below it, and the right side of the book is one big full color illustration. The book is a large format. The illustrations are gorgeous and offer much to look at, many details, rather than just mimicking the exact words of the text. I wish there were more books of this high quality available today. If there are more 100 year old books like this, I wish they would be republished. The story is lovely and the adult will enjoy reading it over and over.

a classic

This is a wonderful book which has been in my family for generations. This book has adventure, educates children about nature and animals, family bonding, etc. The detailed pictures can be explored for hours toghether with your children.