Blooming Beneath the Sun is a lively pairing of nursery rhymes by 19th Century poet Christina Rossetti and delightful art by the highly- praised Newbery Award honoree artist Ashley Bryan. This charming book is a treat for the eyes, ears and sense of humor of young children.
The twelve poems presented in this book plus one featured in the back material are well selected and cleverly paired with the illustrations. The first poem “Kookoorookoo! Kookoorookoo!” sits on a bright yellow page across from a big, energetic red rooster calling for the roses and early birds to wake up and meet the Spring morning. The iconic Rossetti poem “Who Has Seen the Wind?” speaks from a soft blue background across from an illustration of a tree encircled by the dancing wind. “Who has seen the wind/Neither I nor you:/But when the leaves hang trembling, /The wind is passing through.”
Much fun skips through the book with such poems as “Mother Shake the Cherry-Tree” and “If a Pig Wore a Wig” as well as with the wonderful accompanying kinetic art rendered in collage. The eye-popping illustration for “The Peacock Has a Score of Eyes” (with which he cannot see) adorns the cover of the book.
Lots of word play, rhyme, rhythm and delightful colors add to the enjoyment for both parents and children.
Blooming Beneath the Sun with poems by Christina Rossetti and art by Ashley Bryan is a complete package of both visual and auditory joy to be shared with children 4-7 years of age (Atheneum / an imprint of Simon and Schuster, 2019).
The Children’s Bookshelf is a production of WCMU. A link to the podcast and activity questions can be found at Children’s Bookshelf dot org.
Questions and activities for Blooming Beneath the Sun
The poem “Hurt No Living Thing” by Christina Rossetti appears on the last page of this book. It does not have an illustration. Read it out loud (youngsters not yet reading can ask a parent to help). If you were to add to the poet’s list of living things what would your list include? Think about it. Can you draw an illustration that includes a butterfly, moth, cricket, grasshopper, gnat, beetle and worm to go with this lovely poem? Have fun!
In the artist’s beautiful illustration of the poem “The Peacock Has a Score of Eyes” how many eyes can you count? The poet here is playing with words and situations: the peacock has so many eyes however he cannot use them to see. Can you spot other instances of word play in this poem? If you are not familiar with the string game of Cat’s-cradle or the flower called a foxglove do some looking on the internet with the help of parents, if needed. Then, enjoy the word play.
Gather parents and siblings around and read the poem “Mother Shake the Cherry Tree” out loud together. How does the rhythm make you feel? You might have to read it several times together before everyone gets into this happy beat. Pull some of the fun from the picture.