The Flowers' Festival

by Elsa Beskow

A lucky little girl is invited by the flower fairies to join them for their Midsummer festival. Gathering around Queen Rose, all the flowers and bumblebees and birds tell their enchanting stories, while Pea-blossom and the Dew-cups serve refreshments.

(Ages 4-6)

See also the mini edition of Elsa Beskow's popular Flowers' Festival.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fantasy, Summer, Fiction, Classics, Fairy Tales

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1914

About the author

"Så långt jag minns tillbaka brukade vi syskon, liksom nästan alla barn, tycka mycket om att rita. Jag var bara sex år då jag hade klart för mig, att jag helst av allt ville lära mig rita, när jag blev stor, och allra helst rita i sagoböcker. Min bror och jag brukade ofta sitta och rita tillsammans. Han ritade vikingafejder och grekiska hjältestrider, medan jag ritade barn och stugor och landskap. Hans ritningar var säkert mycket bättre än mina. Jag kommer ihåg att jag beundrade dem mycket, fast jag nog tyckte att hans hjältar hade väl korta ben." Så berättar Elsa Beskow om sin barndom "När jag var liten" publicerad första gången i Barnbiblioteket Saga nr 35 (texten ovan tagen ur Solägget 1986) I samma berättelse skriver Elsa Beskow om hur roligt det var att gå i skolan och få lära sig läsa, hennes favoritbok var en tjock Topeliusbok som hon släpade med sig överallt och läste högt ur för sina syskon.

Redan som liten satte hon ihop långa sagor som hon berättade för sin ett år äldre bror, "Vanligen gick det till så, att han släpade mig med sig till en vrå, satte sig själv i vägen för mig, så att jag ej kunde rymma, och befallde: berätta nu! Och jag pladdrade på så gott jag kunde. Ibland tappade jag alldeles tråden i berättelsen och frågade honom bekymrad: 'Vad menar jag, Hans?' 'Kanske menar Elsa så…' föreslog han helt beredvilligt, och så fortgick berättelsen."

Elsa Beskow föddes 1874 på Söder i Stockholm. Hennes familj bestod av mor och far, fyra systrar och en bror. När Elsa Beskow var 15 år dog hennes far och modern blev ensam med barnen. Familjen flyttade till moderns ogifta yngre syskon som bodde tillsammans. Mostrarna och morbrodern blev verklighetens förebilder till Tant Grön, Tant Brun, Tant Gredelin och Farbror Blå.

Under åren 1892-95 utbildade sig Elsa Beskow till teckningslärare vid Tekniska skolan, det var också då som hon började att teckna för barn. 1897 gifte hon sig med Natanael Beskow, präst och konstnär. Paret fick sex söner, vilka många gånger kom att stå modell för barnen i hennes berättelser och sagor. Deras hus och vildvuxna trädgård i Djursholm fick ge inspiration till hennes besjälade blommor och växter. Elsa Beskows stil har jämförts med sekelskifteskonstnärer som Walter Crane och Kate Greenaway, men även Ottilia Adelborg. Första gången hennes bilder, bildberättelser och verser publicerades var 1894 för barntidningen Jultomten.

Barnboksdebuten kom 1897 med bilderboken Sagan om den lilla lilla gumman, en klassiker som de flesta barn känner till ännu idag. Elsa Beskow hade fått ramsan om den lilla gumman berättad för sig av sin mormor och i den första upplagan från 1897 slutar boken abrupt med gummans "Schas katta!" I nästa upplaga tyckte förläggaren på Wahlström och Widstrand att boken skulle sluta med "och katten sprang till skogs och kom aldrig mer igen" för så mindes han ramsan.

Men femtio år senare, i en ny upplaga, skrev Elsa Beskow till raden "Men kanske[br]ändå att han kom hem till slut" då flera barn blivit ledsna över det tidigare slutet.

Beskows bilder dominerade bilderbokskonsten under närmare 50 år och säkert har många av dagens bilderbokskonstnärer påverkats av hennes konst.

1952 erhöll Elsa Beskow Nils Holgersson-plaketten för sin samlade produktion. Det finns dessutom ett pris uppkallat efter henne, Elsa Beskow-plaketten, instiftat 1958 av Sveriges allmänna biblioteksförening.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young girl witnesses the flowers' Midsummer festival in this Swedish picture-book, first published in 1914 as Blomsterfesten. Too young to go to the Midsummer dance on her own, Lisa is left alone for the day by her grandmother, who must go out. When she encounters the Midsummer fairy, that beautiful lady makes her invisible, allowing her to witness the flowers of the field, forest and home as they gather to celebrate high summer. Presided over by Queen Rose, with her many lovely attendants - Ladies Pansy, Peony, Lilac and Honeysuckle, Lords Crown Imperial and Bleeding Heart, Sir Iris - the floral gathering is dominated by storytelling, as various insects and birds relate tales involving various flowers and plants. From the bumblebee's observations about the unhappy Bird's-Foot Trefoil, who is displeased at being called a 'vetch' - so like a witch! - to the goldfinch's chronicle of Mrs. Chestnut and her many sons, the selections presented win universal acclaim. All, that is, save the sparrow's song in tribute to the ever-lasting weeds, banished to the area outside the garden gate...

Like all of Elsa Beskow's books, The Flowers' Festival is a aesthetically pleasing volume, with its creator's appealing artwork gracing every page. Each two-page spread features the bulk of the text on the left, with black-and-white drawings, and the remainder of the text on the right, with full-colour paintings. All are beautiful, although I tend to prefer the colour paintings. The scene in which Lisa meets the Midsummer fairy was particularly lovely, I thought. The story itself is engaging, revealing Beskow's long-standing interest in nature, and her evident belief that it was a magical realm, if the child (and through them, the reader) could only find a way to truly see it. I thought the fairy's use of poppy juice to make Lisa invisible was amusing. Adults today might question the inclusion of such a substance in a children's book, but in the early 20th century, it would have been far less remarkable. One has only to think of the field of poppies that puts Dorothy and her companions to sleep in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), or the magical tobacco the five-year-old hero smokes in The Old Tobacco Shop (1921). The conflict between the flowers and vegetables on the one hand, and the weeds on the other, was also quite interesting, smacking a bit a classism. The flowers are all refined delicacy - many of them ladies and lords - while the weeds are depicted as rowdy and rough, and of a lower social order. This was an interesting formulation for a nature lover to impose on her floral world, I thought, as so many weeds are also beautiful flowers. For myself, I have always loved Queen Anne's Lace, although it is considered a weed. Perhaps Beskow approached the question with a gardener's dislike of invasive plants that make her task more difficult? However that may be, I thought the subplot involving the weeds inserted a decidedly human element into the floral world being depicted.

[SwedishGeekGirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very cute and charming story with alot of beautiful illustrations of flowers that come together to celebrate midsummer.
The flower´s festival get a 8.8/10 stars.

[Juli Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always love Beskow's illustrations, and this was no different. I also loved the flower-fashion. However, this book has some pretty offensive class politics (involving weeds) that keep it from rating higher for me.

[Natalie Hoopes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful concept and illustrations but I felt badly for the weeds! Came across as pretty classist, unfortunately. Still, a beautiful and dreamy addition to my library.

[a ☕︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

very wholesome and charmingly rustic, mother wild strawberry and her children were a special favorite. elsa beskow’s turn-of-the-century art has already won me over.

[Lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story of a young girl permitted to spy on the festival the flowers hold in her grandmother's garden at Midsummer includes lovely pictures and entertaining yarns about the different types of flowers. It does reflect a slightly uncomfortable amount of classism for modern tastes, with more royal flowers waited upon by servant flowers and animosity toward rowdy disshevelled weeds barely content to observe the festival from just outside the garden. While the flowers are lovely and I like the story's attention to their habitats -- flowers from the garden, from the meadow, from the wood and houseplants arrive at festival in turn -- there are other Elsa Beskow books like Children of the Forest that I would prefer to introduce to my son.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art in the original editions is wonderful; this version isn't bad but it's lost something in the reprinting. The botanical theme makes this a lovely book to read to children during the gardening season, especially if they are familiar with even a few of the plants mentioned in the story. Classifying the flowers as royalty, common people, and rabble is outdated, but it's also reality as kids might see it. Today we have celebrities (who are often treated like royalty) and the "bad guys" as well as all of the other people who fill so many roles in society. Isn't that a lot like the flowers in the festival?

(Once Lisa saw the flowers and plants in the gardens as being families and individuals, how could she ever again pick a bouquet or walk barefoot through a meadow?)

[Marmot · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved all the many flower characters in this book, it was really fun to read with my child (who is 3 but into flowers just like me). I liked how all the flower characters were portrayed botanically accurate. The little sub stories told by the birds were cute too. A good choice for flower lovers like myself! I especially liked how the wild flowers were included, not just the common garden plants.

[Madeleine Knutsson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Läst till 1LI100 Barn­ och ungdomslitteratur, 30 högskolepoäng

[Jeremy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, wasn’t this a lovely little children’s story with an unfortunate classist moral…

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since I don't know a lot about flowers, especially wild flowers, I enjoyed looking up the various flowers on a search engine's images to see photos of them, and to see how closely the photos matched the illustrations. Elsa did a very good job of depicting the flowers; I really like her turn-of-the-last-century illustrations anyway.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kauniisti kuvitettu tarina kukkien juhannusjuhlista, taattua Elsa Beskowin taikaa! Näistä kuvista haluaisin taulun jos toisenkin; kuinka tarkasti kukkien puvut onkaan suunniteltu.

Täydellinen juhannuskirja.

[Sarah Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute but definitely not Beskow’s best. It was fun to hear all the stories told by different flowers & birds, but it didn’t really have a cohesive storyline. If not for the beautiful illustrations that always accompany Beskow’s books, I likely would have only given it 3 stars.

[Carolina Edvinsson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Läs min recension på bloggen ---> Romeoandjuliet

[Tiffany Dang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned many flower types. Very cute <3

[Ehryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is classic Elsa Beskow and I love her delicate art and how effervescent the story is. I really like how she depicts each plant and flower all decked out for the party.

[Therese · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a BEAUTIFUL book!

[Marlenesabine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kjøpte denne forleden, da jeg minnes at den var en av bøkene jeg likte best som barn. Tegningene er aldeles nydelige, og jeg satt nok lenge med disse å drømte meg bort.

[Xander · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very sweet tale of a girl at Midsummer who was unable to go to any parties. Instead the Midsummer Fairy puts a couple of drops of poppy juice in her eyes to give her the ability to see all the flowers and vegetables having their festival.

It's very sweet and simple with beautiful illustrations. The only thing that really caught my attention was the poppy juice. So this little girl is going to go on a crazy trip in the summer? I guess so. It's not like the children reading this story will know anything about the powers of the poppy, but it's pretty funny.

[Samira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Elsa Beskow book!

[Morgan Sohl · Rating 5 out of 5]

a favorite from my childhood

[Kagama-the Literaturevixen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this as a child

[Robin Raines-Bond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely, enchanting way to learn the name of flowers and to recognize them. The story is wonderful and the illustrations so quaint. My five year old class really enjoy it.

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

100% adored this story and the illustrations that went along with it.