In Honor of Cicely Mary Baker: Creation Care Books

For some time I have wanted to correlate book reviews with author birthdays, but I never seemed able to pull off the timing. When it came to my attention that June 28 is the birthday of British poet-painter Cicely Mary Barker (1895–1973), it seemed an auspicious occasion to complete another back burner project, a collection of reviews about creation care.

My husband’s cousins introduced us to Barker’s charming seasonal/botanical paintings and poems when our daughter was in preschool. I loved learning about nature while immersed in the mystique with which Barker infused it. (Her Flower Fairies of the Autumn volume appears here: Autumn Picture Books). I was also intrigued to discover she was a devout Christian, a fact reflected overtly in some but not all of her books, as well as in her Christmas cards and installations for churches. Among several online biographies is this from current publisher Penguin Books: Flower Fairies. Cicely Mary Barker and Her Art, by Jane Laing, lamentably out of print, contains an expanded biography as well as many of Barker’s seasonal and devotional paintings.    

Nature inspired Barker, and she was committed to precise representation of it, an undertaking that necessarily requires close study. In my first few decades of life, I tended to dismiss the value of attending to the natural world. After all, isn’t it human souls that are eternal? But over the years my perspective shifted. A revisiting of N.T. Wright’s Surprised by Hope a year or so ago refocused my attention on the idea that we are now, beginning with the moment of Jesus’s resurrection, living in the New Creation.

Furthermore, we are agents of it through our acts of creativity, caring for fellow humans, and nurturing and preserving the earth entrusted to us (and from which we were created). Wright makes the astonishing and intoxicating claim that our every act of re-creation now somehow bears eternal implications for the kingdom that is coming.

I don’t understand how that works. But I do know that when I connect with nature I am generally healthier, happier, and, hopefully, more benevolent to those around me. The books below celebrate Creation and ways to care for it.

Home, by Isabelle Simler, trans. Vineet Lal (Eerdmans, 2024, 68pp, ages 5–9) This volume of paired paintings and poetry seems particularly suitable for a post in honor of Barker. Though quite different in style, Simler’s striking double-spread illustrations share Barker’s mix of fact and fancy, their naturalistic accuracy highlighted by bold strokes of color and movement. With  short poems both informative and creative, Simler highlights the sometimes astonishing home-building habits of two dozen species. The tailorbird, for example, creates a nest from leaves sewn together with grass or spider web. Lal rises admirably to the challenge of translating these spirited forays into the animal kingdom.

Wildlife Crossings, by Catherine Barr, ill. Christiane Engel (Candlewick, 2024, 40pp, ages 5–9) Fascinating and informative, Barr’s text highlights seven places around the world where human infrastructure has hampered the habitual movements of animal species. Often they are endangered when trying to pass from one protected area to another. Elephants in India, Hedgehogs in the UK, Atlantic salmon in Germany, and others all face threats to their natural habitats. Engel’s detailed art illustrates the creative solutions arrived at by governments and local residents. From bear bridges to elephant apps, efforts are being made to help humans and animals thrive in tandem.

Jayden’s Impossible Garden, by Mélina Mangal, ill. Ken Daley (Free Spirit, 2021, 40pp, ages 4–9)Thissimple,heartwarming story depicts an intergenerational friendship that leads to an urban green oasis. Jayden’s mother insists there’s no nature in the city. But Jayden and Mr. Curtis convince her otherwise by using discarded objects to create a haven for plants, insects, and people. Back matter includes inspiration, information, and instructions to help readers connect with community and nature. How to Bird, by Rasha Hamid (ages 3–8), is another Free Spirit publication aimed at making birding appealing, accessible, and rewarding, no matter where you live.

Fur, Fin, Feathers, by Cassandra Maxwell (Eerdmans, 2015, 34pp, ages 5–9) Zoos have a mixed legacy but, according to Maxwell, Abraham Dee Bartlett (1812–1897) was ahead of his time. An animal lover from childhood, he dreamed of a profession that would allow him to work with them. Despite unpromising career prospects, he learned all he could, until the London Zoological Society took note of him and appointed him superintendent of the London Zoo. Through ongoing study and personal attention to its residents, he revolutionized animal care in zoos, from diet, to habitats, to veterinary medicine. Bartless also generated educational placards and guidebooks to ensure that visitors would not only look at but gain respect and love for the animals.

Celia Planted a Garden: The Story of Celia Thaxter and Her Island Garden, by Phyllis Root and Gary D. Schmidt, ill. Melissa Sweet (Candlewick, 2022, 40pp, ages 5–9)) If Celia Thaxter (1894–1935) had met Barker, only one year her senior, I suspect each would have found in the other a kindred spirit. Thaxter had an unusual childhood, as the daughter of a lighthouse keeper off the New England coast. As Root and Schmidt have it, this stark setting gave rise to Thaxter’s love for nature and beauty, which eventually found expression through gardening, painting, and poetry. Like a garden, Sweet’s multimedia illustrations overflow with color and images—more than one can absorb in one sitting. Thaxter’s reconstructed garden at the Shoals Marine Laboratory on Appledore Island is open to visitors: Celia Thaxter’s Garden.

Winged Wonders, by Meeg Pincus, ill. Yas Imamura (Sleeping Bear Press, 2020, 40pp, ages 10–12) Pincus’s inspiring text celebrates the collaboration of hundreds—perhaps thousands—of individuals who helped solve the mystery of monarch migration between Canada and Mexico in the 1970s. Back matter focuses attention on the current endangered status of these wonders and how to help protect them. I feel a personal connection to this title, as the illustrator lives in Portland, two hours to the north of us, and the tiny community of Elkton, about an hour southwest, boasts the remarkable Elkton Community Education Center (elktonbutterflies.com), with a butterfly garden and a multitude of educational opportunities and events.

Curious Kids Nature Guide: Explore the Amazing Outdoors of the Pacific Northwest, by Fiona Cohen, ill. Marni Fylling (Little Bigfoot, 2017, 86pp, ages 4–12) Also boasting a PNW connection, this title nevertheless holds value for any fans and students of nature. Fylling’s lifelike watercolors complement Cohen’s fascinating details, like how yellowjackets built their paper-like nests (by chewing wood), or that fact that yellow-striped hoverflies are not actually stinging insects but aphid-eating pollinators. Book sections focus attention on forest, beach, and freshwater ecosystems, as well as backyards and urban parks.

Northwest Know-How: Trees, by Karen Gaudette Brewer, ill. Emily Poole (Sasquatch Books, 2021, 130pp) This volume hails from even closer to home, with illustrations by Eugene’s own Emily Poole. In addition to tree identification aids, succinct, engaging text offers helpful tips (i.e. where to find concentrations of larch, an uncommonly deciduous conifer) and fun facts (i.e. bitter cherry blossoms belong to the rose family and nourish butterflies). A great companion for hikers, gardeners, and park goers—or any lover of trees.