If you’re anything like me, you enjoy illustrated books just as much as non-illustrated ones (okay, sometimes more; art is fun). For some fun and fancy-free illustrated books, look no further than Walter Crane’s Flora’s Feast, 1899, or Charles Lamb’s A Masque of Days, 1901 (also illustrated by Walter Crane).
Flora’s Feast is a poem about Queen Flora waking up all the various flowers after winter fades away, from the very first snowdrops to the very last Christmas Rose. It’s reminiscent of a parade, with bright and decorative people dressed as flowers and an accompanying piece of calligraphy.
A Masque of Days is about a dinner party where all the personified days of the year have been invited and then get into various shenanigans, fights, and mis-seatings. These characters are, again, dressed in beautiful costumes that only need a hint of information on what day of the year they are. Some featured characters include May Day, April Fools, and my personal favorite, the summer solstice (or “Longest Day”).
I fully recommend browsing through these books. They are absolutely gorgeous.
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By Morgan Ford