I think it is a must for every child’s bookshelf – beautiful and just as enchanting as when the first book appeared in 1923. Not only does it work as a collection of poems, but it also helps teaches children about flowers and plants and enriches nature for them. I think this collection is just wonderful and one of the books my daughter pores over the most.

My daughter and niece not only love the poems and illustrations – but they enjoy copying the drawings. There is a useful index, an introduction about Cicely Mary Barker – which is fairly short but long enough that most children will probably read it - and (of course) the poems and the pictures are just gorgeous. None of my children have ever liked the paper covers on hardback and always remove them, so I was pleased to see that this has a nice cover underneath (some hardbacks just have plain cloth covers, but this looks good with or without the slip cover). Both are hardback, with good quality paper and includes the original books: Flower Fairies of the Spring, Flower Fairies of the Summer, Flower Fairies of the Autumn, Flower Fairies of the Winter, Flower Fairies of the Garden, Flower Fairies of the Trees, Flower Fairies of the Wayside and A Flower Fairy Alphabet. My daughter has the earlier version and I purchased the newer version for my niece, as they both adore it. POSTAGE AT COST.This is a new edition of a previously published book. MORE IMAGES ATTACHED TO THIS LISTING, ALL ZOOMABLE, FURTHER IMAGES ON REQUEST. A very good plus bright copy (issued without dustwrapper?).

Corners just very slightly rubbed, no inscriptions, contents very nice. They are very slender and long limbed, curiously Fairy Snowdrop wears stockings and suspenders! The roses do a Wild Rose dance and the thistles the Scotch reel. The delightful flower fairies have no wings and are only distantly related to those of Cicely Barker. Alice inspired: 2 small girls picking wild flowers get sleepy, follow a sorrel fairy, shrink to a very small size, enter a hole in an oak tree, and at the end of a tunnel, arrive with lots of other flower creatures at the court of Queen Daisy and King Dandelion. Coloured title illustration and 13 large pretty coloured illustrations including 1 double page by V.

FIRST EDITION circa 1945 (dated from British Library accession date), 4to, 285 x 215 mm, 11¼ x 8½ inches, white cloth backed boards, colour illustrated upper board with red title, grey lower board, (16) pages.

The complete flower fairies