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Flower Fairies
Flower Fairies of the Wayside
Flower Fairies of the Wayside
39 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1960
1 person is currently reading
378 people want to read
About the author
Cicely Mary Barker
272 books330 followersCicely Mary Barker was the illustrator who created the famous Flower Fairies; those ethereal smiling children with butterfly wings. As a child she was influenced by the works of the illustrator Kate Greenaway, whom she assiduously copied in her formative years. Her principal influence, however, was the artwork of the Pre-Raphaelites.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
December 23, 2025
Peeking into this book feels like peeking into my soul.
November 13, 2019
Most of the fairies used in this book were boys and the plants seemed to be more bushes or weeds or other things. It was somewhat refreshing.
Another collection of plants and fairies and poetry. I think these are darling and there isn’t much else to say about them. Pick a book and start reading them.
The niece didn’t think the boy fairies were as much fun or had as much style. Go figure. They should have had more. She gave this 3 stars.
Another collection of plants and fairies and poetry. I think these are darling and there isn’t much else to say about them. Pick a book and start reading them.
The niece didn’t think the boy fairies were as much fun or had as much style. Go figure. They should have had more. She gave this 3 stars.
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December 19, 2025this one was also so special, full of inspiration to admire the beauty just down at your feet. from what ive been able to gather ive also got an early, if not first, edition of this in my hands, which felt extra special - thanks Deventer bookfair 2 years ago! now i need to continue my collecting!
February 10, 2018
Even though the more complex fairies of Brian Frout, Arthur Packham, and Charles Vess are my favourite there's an intrinsic innocent charm to Cicely Mary Barker's flower-inspired fairies. Each fairy's design is drawn from the flowers of England, in this case specifically wayside flora, so Barker's fairies retain a realism that many of the other artists bypass entirely. Sure, fairies are creatures of myth and legend, but they have one foot in the real world, so having an essence of the recognizable human world allows readers to imagine their reality. Considering that Barker was writing and drawing during the mid-1900s, I was surprised how much of a Victorian sensibility she retained. The delicate costumes especially harken back to this era, when there was a veritable boom in children's illustrated books led by Kate Greenaway who featured children (and their costumes) prominently in her illustrations. Quite a few of the boy fairies remind me of hte puckish character of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, as well, who is the most prominent of the late-Victorian fairytale characters. The roguish (but still childlike) expression in the eyes of hte Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon fairy (aptly named as well), the marching agromony fairies, and the white bindweed fairy could be easily transformed into Peter Pan, the Lost Boys, and Wendy Darling respectively! I may have started off late in Cicely Mary Barker's set of illustrations, but the wayside was a wonderful entry point into exploring her world of flower fairies.
January 26, 2015
Flower Fairies of the Wayside by Cicely Mary Barker This tiny, little book is a very sweet thing. I picked this up for my daughter at a used bookstore simply because it was filled with fairies. I had not looked at it in the two years since i picked it up but last next I just sat down and flipped through it.
This little book is filled with simple poetry and wonderful little paintings. Originally published way back in the 1920s, they stand up to the test of time. Any fan of fairy art will love this book.
The poems are simple, a great introduction to poetry to the younger reader, but a perfect book for those of us who write short form poetry.
It is nice to see something that is truly ageless.
This little book is filled with simple poetry and wonderful little paintings. Originally published way back in the 1920s, they stand up to the test of time. Any fan of fairy art will love this book.
The poems are simple, a great introduction to poetry to the younger reader, but a perfect book for those of us who write short form poetry.
It is nice to see something that is truly ageless.
December 30, 2025
Wow, das war wirklich wunderschön. Die Gedichte selbst sind nicht die kunstvollsten, die ich je gelesen habe, aber sie schaffen es, jeder Illustration eine ganz eigene liebliche Persönlichkeit zu geben, ohne sich inhaltlich stark unterscheiden zu müssen. Sie haben einen magischen, detailverliebten und sanften Ton und lesen sich so.. entschleunigt. Ich würde mir grade für Kinder mehr dieser Art "Content" wünschen und ich muss nicht erwähnen, dass die Bilder unglaublich schön sind. Hier meine Favoriten:
1. The Red Clover Fairy
2. The Tansy Fairy
3. The Ribwort Plantain Fairy / The White Bindweed Fairy
1. The Red Clover Fairy
2. The Tansy Fairy
3. The Ribwort Plantain Fairy / The White Bindweed Fairy
March 24, 2015
My nan used to read this collection to me when I was very little, and actually helped me learn to read with them, making them very meaningful to me.
This one was the last one I read, and it certainly matched up to the rest with it's sweet lyrical poems, and the beautiful illustrations to match. I was glad to have read them.
I just wished that Barker would have considered doing a story. The poems were beautiful, but a story conbining the fairies would have been magical!
This one was the last one I read, and it certainly matched up to the rest with it's sweet lyrical poems, and the beautiful illustrations to match. I was glad to have read them.
I just wished that Barker would have considered doing a story. The poems were beautiful, but a story conbining the fairies would have been magical!
February 22, 2016
Currently my toddler son is singing from this book. He thoroughly enjoyed it and wanted me to read more after we had finished the whole book. I am thankful for more of these little books to read to him.
December 31, 2017
I finally read this book. I found a collection of her books at Goodwill in Tacoma. Specifically, Goodwill by the pound. Imagine pounds of books for pennies on the dollar! Back to this book. What a great way to introduce children and adults alike to flowers and plants.
January 3, 2019
Una magnifica raccolta di poemi floreali capace di incantare i lettori sia per la straordinaria bellezza dei versi che per l'altrettanto straordinaria bellezza delle immagini opera, anch'esse, dell'autrice.
Consigliatissimo!
Consigliatissimo!
February 25, 2008
The whole series of Flower Fairies is charming.
July 24, 2016
Wonderful, whimsical world of Cicely Mary Barker.
November 8, 2012
This beautiful classic is a pleasure to read.
May 1, 2015
very charming
December 25, 2024
In this darling little book, first published in 1948, Cicely Mary Barker provides a foreward, no doubt prompted by years of widespread reader appreciation and fascination for her previous little volumes. She makes clear that the flower information is from a range of factual sources, and that the fairy component is pretend - because 'It is nice to pretend about fairies.' Spot on there, Cicely!
Having nicely foregrounded what is to come, the wayside flowers and fairies appear with Cicely Mary Barker's consummate artistic flair and attention to detail, whimsy, and deep appreciation for the wonders of the natural world, which we so often take for granted or even know nothing about.
Having nicely foregrounded what is to come, the wayside flowers and fairies appear with Cicely Mary Barker's consummate artistic flair and attention to detail, whimsy, and deep appreciation for the wonders of the natural world, which we so often take for granted or even know nothing about.
November 23, 2022
The Song of the Horned Poppy Fairy
There are things I love and know:
The sound of the waves, the sight of the sea;
The great wide shore when the tide is low;
When there's salt in the air l, it's home to me -
With my petals of gold - the home for me!
The waves come up and cover the sand,
Then turn at the pebbly slope of the beach;
I feel the spray of them, where I stand,
Safe and happy, beyond their reach -
With my marvelous horns -
beyond their reach!
There are things I love and know:
The sound of the waves, the sight of the sea;
The great wide shore when the tide is low;
When there's salt in the air l, it's home to me -
With my petals of gold - the home for me!
The waves come up and cover the sand,
Then turn at the pebbly slope of the beach;
I feel the spray of them, where I stand,
Safe and happy, beyond their reach -
With my marvelous horns -
beyond their reach!
October 7, 2021
In those 50 pages, I was meandering through a wonderful, whimsical fairyland and I’m not complaining. It’s delicate, tender, and absolutely gorgeous—both the poems and their accompanying illustrations.
I couldn’t help but think of The Lost Words (Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris) as I was reading this book. There’s something so similar yet distinct about these two books!
I couldn’t help but think of The Lost Words (Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris) as I was reading this book. There’s something so similar yet distinct about these two books!
April 16, 2022
Lovely artwork with fun poems - a great way to learn the names of flowers!
This one, unlike many of it’s ilk, is still in print.
This is the seventh in the Flower Fairies series.
I read this as part of “The Complete Book of Flower Fairies”.
This one, unlike many of it’s ilk, is still in print.
This is the seventh in the Flower Fairies series.
I read this as part of “The Complete Book of Flower Fairies”.
August 24, 2023
3.5 stars. This is the third of the Flower Fairy poetry books I've read. Lovely illustrations and nice poems, but I didn't recognize any of the plants so didn't enjoy it as much as the Spring Fairies book.
May 10, 2020
i love the chicory buddy
January 10, 2023
The poem I liked best was THE SONG OF THE SOW THISTLE FAIRY, but I liked the painting for the Tansy Fairy the best. I was in a very yellow mood while I was reading it.
March 23, 2023
I just love these little poems and the illustrations are so beautiful.
May 11, 2023
Another quaint collection of art and poems
February 18, 2024
How many of these are on my tbr? Not enough! How many do I need? More, more!
December 30, 2024
Beautiful illustrations and poems.
February 14, 2025
A lovely way to learn how to identify and remember different plants and flowers, as well as different places different plants grow.
March 29, 2025
Book - no longer have
January 11, 2022
Kind of a strange little edition/reprint with the spine printed upside down/backwards (also on the dust jacket). Cover art is a little blurry, as are the illustrations throughout--which is really too bad as this edition doesn't do the artwork justice the way it's rendered. I do so wish the publisher would have chosen a different, better illustration than the "Ribwort Plantain" one for the cover as, for one (and this may just be a personal idiosyncratic gripe) I happen to be deathly afraid of snails, but regardless, there are far better illustrations in this book which would be much better suited to the cover.
I love all of the Flower Fairies books, but specific edition aside, this definitely isn't my favorite in the series. Rather than following the formula of the fairies teaching about/introducing the corresponding plant to the reader by describing themselves, there are a few sections in (or flowers for) which the text/poem is entirely based on dialogue between the fairies and some this-worldly creature (the aforementioned "Ribwort Plantain" among them--after reading this I know almost nothing about ribwort plantain other than that snails apparently love it and I should therefore avoid it at all costs)--which does less to directly inform the reader (of any age) about the plant in question, and some of these (e.g., Red Clover) seem rather low-effort on Miss Barker's part. Perhaps she ran out of steam a bit regarding the poetry.
The unnecessary, appended "Author's Note", too, is irksomely redundant (C.M.B insults--in my view--her little readers a bit by feeling the need to explicitly explain that the fairies in the books are "pretend" and "not real" but that it is "nice to pretend about fairies" but that the flowers and facts about them are "true"/"real ones". Come on, now! Really?! Ugh. These are things that every child over a certain age intuitively knows, and that any child under that certain age does not need to "know" or have spelled out to them) and adds little to nothing of value to the book as a whole, except mentioning a few of her sources.
Any of the Flower Fairies books (at least the ones I've had the privilege of reading, thus far) are timeless childhood classics for all ages and highly recommended; however, when it comes to overall quality, while the illustrations (if you can find a version with them rendered correctly, w/no blurriness!) remain top-notch, this entry in the series (Flower Fairies of the Wayside) is of discernibly lower quality, just isn't up to or quite on par with the impeccable standard set by the much earlier seasonal ones (or the seasons quartet, for that matter, including the posthumously published of the Winter book), nor is it Miss Barker at her best. Unsurprising perhaps given that Wayside was originally published over twenty years after the germinal three seasonal books, but just something to bear in mind.
I love all of the Flower Fairies books, but specific edition aside, this definitely isn't my favorite in the series. Rather than following the formula of the fairies teaching about/introducing the corresponding plant to the reader by describing themselves, there are a few sections in (or flowers for) which the text/poem is entirely based on dialogue between the fairies and some this-worldly creature (the aforementioned "Ribwort Plantain" among them--after reading this I know almost nothing about ribwort plantain other than that snails apparently love it and I should therefore avoid it at all costs)--which does less to directly inform the reader (of any age) about the plant in question, and some of these (e.g., Red Clover) seem rather low-effort on Miss Barker's part. Perhaps she ran out of steam a bit regarding the poetry.
The unnecessary, appended "Author's Note", too, is irksomely redundant (C.M.B insults--in my view--her little readers a bit by feeling the need to explicitly explain that the fairies in the books are "pretend" and "not real" but that it is "nice to pretend about fairies" but that the flowers and facts about them are "true"/"real ones". Come on, now! Really?! Ugh. These are things that every child over a certain age intuitively knows, and that any child under that certain age does not need to "know" or have spelled out to them) and adds little to nothing of value to the book as a whole, except mentioning a few of her sources.
Any of the Flower Fairies books (at least the ones I've had the privilege of reading, thus far) are timeless childhood classics for all ages and highly recommended; however, when it comes to overall quality, while the illustrations (if you can find a version with them rendered correctly, w/no blurriness!) remain top-notch, this entry in the series (Flower Fairies of the Wayside) is of discernibly lower quality, just isn't up to or quite on par with the impeccable standard set by the much earlier seasonal ones (or the seasons quartet, for that matter, including the posthumously published of the Winter book), nor is it Miss Barker at her best. Unsurprising perhaps given that Wayside was originally published over twenty years after the germinal three seasonal books, but just something to bear in mind.
January 20, 2016
This is another of the Cicely Mary barker books from England. There is no copyright date in this book. Also, this particular book is taller than the other books in the series and has a different type of cover.
At the end of the book there is a note from the author saying that the flowers are based on real flowers, but that the author had never seen a fairy, and she says “children will be able to tell the true parts from the pretend parts in these books.” This causes me to wonder if she had come under pressure from someone over the issue of the reality or non-reality of fairies, and she had to include a sort of disclaimer in her book.
There's 24 fairies in this book and, as usual, there's a color illustration to go with each flower, along with a poem. As in the other books, there are also notes for many of the flowers about their names, etc.
At the end of the book there is a note from the author saying that the flowers are based on real flowers, but that the author had never seen a fairy, and she says “children will be able to tell the true parts from the pretend parts in these books.” This causes me to wonder if she had come under pressure from someone over the issue of the reality or non-reality of fairies, and she had to include a sort of disclaimer in her book.
There's 24 fairies in this book and, as usual, there's a color illustration to go with each flower, along with a poem. As in the other books, there are also notes for many of the flowers about their names, etc.
December 19, 2016
I love learning the different plants of the wayside through this enchantingly beautifully illustrated book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews