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When the Root Children Wake Up
Complimented with Ned Bittinger's stunning illustrations, best-selling author Audrey Wood's new version of a timeless classic is the perfect read aloud for this spring and gift all year round.
When Old Grandfather Winter disappears into his ice palace high in the mountains, Young Robin chirps her wake-up song to the Root Children deep underground. "Wake up," she sings. "It's time for the masquerade!"
Right away, the Root children set to work sewing their flowering costumes, and painting bugs with rainbows until they sparkle like jewels. Then, they frolic out into the world in a joyous chorus of color and song. They sing and dance through summer. But all good things must come to an end, and as the frosty autumn winds blow away the leaves and flowers, the Root Children must return to their underground bed with gentle Mother Earth.
When Old Grandfather Winter disappears into his ice palace high in the mountains, Young Robin chirps her wake-up song to the Root Children deep underground. "Wake up," she sings. "It's time for the masquerade!"
Right away, the Root children set to work sewing their flowering costumes, and painting bugs with rainbows until they sparkle like jewels. Then, they frolic out into the world in a joyous chorus of color and song. They sing and dance through summer. But all good things must come to an end, and as the frosty autumn winds blow away the leaves and flowers, the Root Children must return to their underground bed with gentle Mother Earth.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
2 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
Audrey Wood
78 books299 followersAudrey Wood studied art and drama at the Arkansas Art Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. She has owned an operated a book and import store, taught chldren's drama and art, and traveled throughout Mexico and Guatemala studying Indian folk art. She now lives in Hawaii with her talented family (husband Don and son Bruce, who have both collaborated with Audrey by illustrating some of her books).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
May 22, 2024
I saw Sibylle von Olfer's 1906 classic, The Root Children, in a special collections room of the Cincinnati and Hamilton Public Library in downtown Cincinnati. I was intrigued and went to place it on hold at my local library, however it wasn't available. Instead, I was able to find Audrey Wood's, When the Root Children Wake Up, which is a retelling of the classic story.
Audrey Wood's words and Ned Bittinger's illustrations perfectly compliment one another. Together they tell the story of the cycle of the seasons of nature. Characters include Old Grandfather Winter, Mother Earth, Aunt Spring, Cousin Summer, Uncle Fall, and the Root Children of course.
From the dust jacket, "It was the spiritual elements in the story of the Root Children that inspired my retelling," Ms. Wood says. "Just as flowers bloom, fade, and return to the earth to be reborn again, this pattern of change in nature brings hope and provides a comforting allegory for both children and adults."
Audrey Wood's words and Ned Bittinger's illustrations perfectly compliment one another. Together they tell the story of the cycle of the seasons of nature. Characters include Old Grandfather Winter, Mother Earth, Aunt Spring, Cousin Summer, Uncle Fall, and the Root Children of course.
From the dust jacket, "It was the spiritual elements in the story of the Root Children that inspired my retelling," Ms. Wood says. "Just as flowers bloom, fade, and return to the earth to be reborn again, this pattern of change in nature brings hope and provides a comforting allegory for both children and adults."
February 22, 2021
For those readers who have never had the opportunity to experience, to read either Sibylle von Olfers' delightful Etwas von den Wurzelkindern (both the author/illustrator's sweetly poetic verses that glorify and celebrate the seasons, the loving care of mother nature and her enchanting minions, and her glowing and evocatively tender descriptive Jugendstil-like accompanying illustrations) or Jack Zipes' almost equally stunning and narratively, poetically authentic feeling translation Mother Earth and her Children (which is sweetly graced with and by Sieglinde Schoen-Smith's simply amazing quilted illustrations of von Olfers' originals), you might perhaps find Audrey Wood's loose and expanded retelling, you might consider her When the Root Children Wake Up acceptable and perhaps even enjoyable.
However, I am NOT IN ANY WAY this person, and as such, I have found Audrey Wood's adapted and retold narrative as well as Ned Bittinger's accompanying illustrations not only much too far removed from Sibylle von Olfers’ original German text and images, but frankly I do in fact consider When the Root Children Wake Up a story, a book that I personally and vehemently find rather majorly creepy and in many ways a personal and unforgivable insult to von Olfers and her artistic and literary vision and legacy. For indeed, Audrey Wood and Ned Bittinger’s described and depicted root children often almost seem to verge on being rather sexual and vixen-like in demeanour and depiction, and frankly, the main story-line of When the Root Children Wake Up just veers so far from Etwas von den Wurzelkindern that this does not only make me shake my head in frustrated consternation but also with very much anger and annoyance that Sibylle von Olfers' masterpiece has been this badly and this annoyingly bastardised, altered and abused.
SO NOT AT ALL RECOMMENDED is When the Root Children Wake Up (and really, while Ned Bittinger's illustrations are indeed adept and competent, I continuously feel as though I am looking at a bunch of diminutive cavorting female sex goddesses, not really appropriate and also, completely and willfully missing what Sibylle von Olfers' childlike root children, both the girls and the boys, actually represent and continue to represent). And honestly, and with my apologies to anyone who actually likes and appreciates Audrey Wood's narrative and Ned Bittinger’s artwork in When the Root Children Wake UP, this is one picture book offering which I would dearly love to be able to rank with NEGATIVE stars, as I absolutely and utterly do despise it with every fibre of myself (and I very much thank providence that When the Root Children Wake Up was a library book and not a purchase, as I really do not WANT this book even in my possession, on my bookshelves).
However, I am NOT IN ANY WAY this person, and as such, I have found Audrey Wood's adapted and retold narrative as well as Ned Bittinger's accompanying illustrations not only much too far removed from Sibylle von Olfers’ original German text and images, but frankly I do in fact consider When the Root Children Wake Up a story, a book that I personally and vehemently find rather majorly creepy and in many ways a personal and unforgivable insult to von Olfers and her artistic and literary vision and legacy. For indeed, Audrey Wood and Ned Bittinger’s described and depicted root children often almost seem to verge on being rather sexual and vixen-like in demeanour and depiction, and frankly, the main story-line of When the Root Children Wake Up just veers so far from Etwas von den Wurzelkindern that this does not only make me shake my head in frustrated consternation but also with very much anger and annoyance that Sibylle von Olfers' masterpiece has been this badly and this annoyingly bastardised, altered and abused.
SO NOT AT ALL RECOMMENDED is When the Root Children Wake Up (and really, while Ned Bittinger's illustrations are indeed adept and competent, I continuously feel as though I am looking at a bunch of diminutive cavorting female sex goddesses, not really appropriate and also, completely and willfully missing what Sibylle von Olfers' childlike root children, both the girls and the boys, actually represent and continue to represent). And honestly, and with my apologies to anyone who actually likes and appreciates Audrey Wood's narrative and Ned Bittinger’s artwork in When the Root Children Wake UP, this is one picture book offering which I would dearly love to be able to rank with NEGATIVE stars, as I absolutely and utterly do despise it with every fibre of myself (and I very much thank providence that When the Root Children Wake Up was a library book and not a purchase, as I really do not WANT this book even in my possession, on my bookshelves).
October 20, 2018
The fifth and final version of this story that I have rated and reviewed recently, Audrey Wood's When the Root Children Wake Up is a very loose prose reinterpretation of a classic German picture-book,
Etwas von den Wurzelkindern
("Something About the Root Children") that was originally written and illustrated by Sibylle von Olfers in 1906. It is noteworthy, in that it manages to retain almost none of the charm of that original work, while inserting a great many disturbing elements, both visually and textually. I decidedly do not recommend this edition, although I am glad to have read it, as I think some readers may imagine that it represents von Olfers' work, after a fashion. It doesn't.
The original, which I have been fortunate enough to read, was written in rhyming poetry, a form retained in Mother Earth and Her Children: A Quilted Fairy Tale , which pairs a fairly faithful translation by Jack Zipes with quilted illustrations inspired by von Olfers' artwork. Prose adaptations can be found in The Story of the Root Children , put out by the UK-based Floris Books, who (unfortunately) seem not to have acknowledged that their title is a significant adaptation, rather than a translation; and in Helen Dean Fish's When the Root Children Wake Up , which was originally published in 1941, seems to be the first English-language edition of the story, and does acknowledge its status as an adaptation. Both of these prose editions, although they diverge widely from von Olfers' text, do retain her artwork.
And then there's this book... Here too we have a prose adaptation, but the differences in storyline from the original are far more extreme than either the Floris Books or Helen Dean Fish editions, which were guided by the basic narrative laid out in von Olfers' art. Here we have Old Grandfather Winter, who does not appear in any other version, opening the story; we have Robin Redbreast waking the Root Children in time for Spring, rather than Mother Earth; and we have Aunt Spring, Cousin Summer and Uncle Fall all appearing as characters. Of course, as an adaptation, one could argue that these changes demonstrate that Audrey Wood is making the tale her own - making it into something new and fresh. Unfortunately, it's difficult to see what these changes add.
Then there's the artwork, done by Ned Bittinger in oil paint. Although I can't deny that they have a beauty of their own - hence the two stars, rather than one - they just don't suit the story, in my opinion. They're a little too creepy, a little too "dark fairy-tale" feeling to me, and that isn't what the Root Children is all about! Moreover, the Root Children themselves have been transformed into fairies, complete with gossamer wings! No! Worst of all, Mother Earth, who is an old woman in all the other versions of this story that I have seen, is young and beautiful here. Argh!
Do yourself a favor, if you are at all interested in this story, and pick up either the Zipes or Fish editions, mentioned above - this one just doesn't cut it! Of course, you may still be turned off by the cute anthropomorphism, but at least you'll be getting the real thing!
The original, which I have been fortunate enough to read, was written in rhyming poetry, a form retained in Mother Earth and Her Children: A Quilted Fairy Tale , which pairs a fairly faithful translation by Jack Zipes with quilted illustrations inspired by von Olfers' artwork. Prose adaptations can be found in The Story of the Root Children , put out by the UK-based Floris Books, who (unfortunately) seem not to have acknowledged that their title is a significant adaptation, rather than a translation; and in Helen Dean Fish's When the Root Children Wake Up , which was originally published in 1941, seems to be the first English-language edition of the story, and does acknowledge its status as an adaptation. Both of these prose editions, although they diverge widely from von Olfers' text, do retain her artwork.
And then there's this book... Here too we have a prose adaptation, but the differences in storyline from the original are far more extreme than either the Floris Books or Helen Dean Fish editions, which were guided by the basic narrative laid out in von Olfers' art. Here we have Old Grandfather Winter, who does not appear in any other version, opening the story; we have Robin Redbreast waking the Root Children in time for Spring, rather than Mother Earth; and we have Aunt Spring, Cousin Summer and Uncle Fall all appearing as characters. Of course, as an adaptation, one could argue that these changes demonstrate that Audrey Wood is making the tale her own - making it into something new and fresh. Unfortunately, it's difficult to see what these changes add.
Then there's the artwork, done by Ned Bittinger in oil paint. Although I can't deny that they have a beauty of their own - hence the two stars, rather than one - they just don't suit the story, in my opinion. They're a little too creepy, a little too "dark fairy-tale" feeling to me, and that isn't what the Root Children is all about! Moreover, the Root Children themselves have been transformed into fairies, complete with gossamer wings! No! Worst of all, Mother Earth, who is an old woman in all the other versions of this story that I have seen, is young and beautiful here. Argh!
Do yourself a favor, if you are at all interested in this story, and pick up either the Zipes or Fish editions, mentioned above - this one just doesn't cut it! Of course, you may still be turned off by the cute anthropomorphism, but at least you'll be getting the real thing!
February 22, 2019
Yeah, I'm rating this harshly, probably because I like the early versions of this story so much better. This just doesn't capture the essence of the changing seasons and the role of the root children in nature. Yes, here they painted the bright colors on the insects, but then they spent all of their time frolicking in the grasses. On some pages, they seem tiny, while on others they look to be the size of normal children. They are all 'pretty' kids, representing many races, probably too realistic for my taste. That made me wonder, should root children exhibit any distinct ethnic characteristics?
The sweetness of the original tale is lost in this overworked and overdrawn re-telling.
The sweetness of the original tale is lost in this overworked and overdrawn re-telling.
January 29, 2010
Hippyish anthropomorphization of the seasons, starring little flower-clad "root children" who run around being in touch with nature.
May 2, 2012
I don't think this book would have particularly wide appeal, but I really enjoyed the fresh images and the allegoric language. I think what drew me into this book most of all, however, is that it is a remake of a 1906 German book (see the publishing notes on the last page). I love to see good and mostly forgotten literature make its way back onto the shelves. It is part of where story (and we) came from.
June 24, 2017
Such a beautiful version of these amazing Root Children. Beautifully illustrated baby things of all sizes, shapes, and colors that make this tale so wonderful! :D Come underground and visit with Mother Earth as she awakens her sweet baby things to color and brighten the world with their splendor for Spring and Summer!
May 18, 2017
A nicely illustrated version of the old children's classic.
March 28, 2018
I love this book. When I was younger I just liked flipping through the book and looking at the wonderful pictures. This book is a great way to introduce an Earth Space and Science lesson about seasons and how they go through a cycle. This would be a great book to add to you library if you have young children and/or work with young children. It makes for a great read aloud and can also be turned into a song.
December 1, 2020
I want to like this book so much more than I actually do. We have checked this out from the library a couple of times and each time I am left slightly disappointed. This could be such a beautiful book but it just falls flat and I'm not exactly sure why.
June 10, 2017
weirdly beautiful
April 19, 2022
Stunning pictures and a gorgeous depiction of nature's movement through the seasond
June 3, 2022
Very fantasy-oriented but gorgeous paintings…picture/poem book for girls more likely than boys.
March 11, 2023
Continuing to read everything surrounding von Olfers' work. This one is her story, re-imagined by Wood and illustrated by Bittinger in beautiful oil paintings.
September 15, 2023
Beautiful illustrations! I love this gorgeous picture book and the charming story it tells.
September 26, 2023
When I was little, I liked looking at the Beautiful pictures... Now that I'm older I Still love it!
May 9, 2025
Very whimsical and light
April 11, 2013
There are some amazing paintings in this book. I actually like the art more than the story. Anthropomorphic personifications of the seasons appear and disapear throughout the year. The pictures are too complex for a group read-aloud (noone would see the details) but could be could for a one on one with an older child, or just to have around the house.
May 13, 2015
This is a remake of an early 20th century German book, so there's plenty of twee there-- which was ok since I don't mind twee. Audrey Wood's baroque illustrations were a fun read for me, and there's definitely a nature-god subtext going on there. My six year old son was uninterested. I'd pair it with the Lynne Plourde seasons books (Spring's Sprung etc.)
March 7, 2016
The story of the season told by the comings and goings of the Root Children. They have various relatives (Mother Earth, Aunt Spring, Grandfather Winter) that usher them into each new season.
Illustrations are enticing and ethereal.
Illustrations are enticing and ethereal.
April 3, 2008
Waldorf-y, Goddess inspired. Beautiful illustrations. I impose this on my children regularly. And they all get wrapped up in it. It's truly enchanting.
August 1, 2008
Wonderfully illustrated! The words really touched me. I love books where the seasons are people!
November 5, 2008
This book has beautiful descriptive language and glorious artwork. Audrey Wood personifies the four seasons. I use the book for demonstrating descriptive writng to my second graders.
January 13, 2009
it's a good earthly book all about the seasons.
March 24, 2009
This book personifies the magic of the changing seasons, with characters like Grandfather Winter, Aunt Spring, Cousin Summer, etc. The illustrations are outstanding.
April 15, 2009
Loved the picture and the classic season story. Kenshin even liked this one.
February 14, 2011
Pretty retelling of how seasons come and go.
August 13, 2012
Lovely story and illustrations. a fun way to explore season changes.
July 13, 2013
I LOVED this when I was a little girl. Cute story and beautiful pictures. Love it!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews