A Fairy Went A-Marketing by JaMichael Henterly, verse by Rose Fyleman

The kindergartener recently has been caught telling everyone that she could recite the name of every Democrat running for office. She even knew the name of the Republican: Dubya. I had no part in this, I swear.

The start of my child's political awareness began in preschool with this beautifully illustrated book by JaMichael Henterly and Fyleman. A fairy living in a wonderfully decorated home goes out to market, each time to do a good deed for a fellow forest creature. The message is insidious, I know. The spirit of the book is celebratory of nature, the seasons, and the animals. Henterly illustrated each page with such tremendous imaginative detail, the kind kids love spending time poring over. A thimble for a flower pot. A coat trimmed with thistle down. A spring blossom for a bonnet.

My only complaint: it's not in hardback so our copy, as are the copies of our friends, is beat up, tattered and falling apart. She doesn't want to read it anymore now that she's "big". But this book, along with another one, is my standard birthday gift/present for any pre-schoolish kid in our lives.