Dear friends
I am pleased to announce the arrival of my second children's book!
As the flowers bloom and blossoms open on the trees, so another children's book is born in my garden of stories. The Secrets of the Dandelions is a tale of wonder and discovery of the marvels
​that live in this seemingly simple spring time flower. Take off your shoes and let the green grass tickle your toes as you go outside for a walk with Aurelia. See what is happening in her garden in spring. Share a cup of tea with a friend and put on a golden crown. Sit for a moment and watch the winged friends visit the dandelions. Most of all, look up to the sky and down to the earth and connect  the mysteries that live in between. 
​

Each illustration in this 32 page book is needle felted with natural wool fibers. The images are soft and simple...perfect for the young child to dream into. One mother told me that with my first book, her young son kept trying to stroke the pictures on the page, in an effort to feel the soft, woolly fibers. Others have shared how calming and soothing it is to dream into the softness of the illustrations.

This past weekend, I had the joy of sharing my new book at Dandelion Day in Carbondale, CO. At this festival, all parts of the dandelions (leaves, roots and blossoms) are celebrated for their  nutritional and healing properties and as a food source for pollinators. In past years, folks have dressed up in colorful costumes and danced in a dandelion parade. The park in the center of town is a pesticide-free place where the green grass beholds a spectacle of yellow polka dots.

​Thank you to those who helped bring this book to birth:
Russell, for your photographic genius, humor and laughter.
Ann, for your technical skills, patience and heart's love for children's stories.
Don, for your ongoing support as I dance this caravan of creativity.
Gunther, for your work in the world of bio-dynamic farming, gardening and bee keeping.
Nancy, for your keen and imaginative inner eye in merging the healing arts of story and nature.
Mindy, for creating a place where our every day Sky is more Blue and more Bright.
Elizabeth, for the wee ones you care for in the forests and gardens of Colorado.
 
And for all the readers of this story, who help celebrate the wondrous world of dandelions.

​​

For those living outside of Colorado, please see the following pages for more info
on purchasing my new book:
Dandelion Book Hardcover and Dandelion Book Softcover

For local friends in the Boulder area, stay tuned for further updates as I plan local pop-ups at my home and in neighborhood gardens, parks and schools.

                                                             The Secrets of the Dandelions
 
​   Once upon a time, there lived a little girl named Aurelia. She lived with her mother in a little yellow house with a big, green garden. Her mother was a wise gardener and she knew of the secrets of the plants that lived in their garden.
   No matter the weather, Aurelia loved to play outside. There was always something to do and discover in the garden. Her little cat Goldy would walk beside her and together they would play. Now, it was spring time. The sun warmed the earth and the days grew longer. New green plants were sprouting up each day. Oh, how good it felt to touch the earth again with her bare feet!
  Aurelia and Goldy wandered out each day to see what was new. One morning, in the month of April, Aurelia saw a carpet of bright, yellow flowers dotting the green grass. The dandelions were back and they were a sign of spring. How she loved the dandelions! She bent down to look at them more closely. They were round and their golden petals rayed out from the middle. "Ooh!" she cried with delight. "You look like little wee suns! Round and yellow and bright. You make me so happy!" She ran inside the house to fetch her favorite, yellow cape. She put it on and proceeded through the yellow speckled grass like a queen. Then, she twirled and danced a little dandelion dance. Goldy loved the sun too. He rolled on her back in the grass and soaked up the sunshine as Aurelia sang a little song:

                   Dandelions everywhere 
                   You are so much fun
                   Bright and round and yellow
                   Shining like the sun!

     ​That spring, Aurelia became good friends with the dandelions. At night, before sleep, she would tip toe out to the grass and leave little gifts for the dandelion faeries. She would give them tiny crumbs of honey cake in a sea shell or even a little blanket that she stitched from her basket of sewing scraps. In the morning, she would put on her cape and lay out a quilt in the dandelion patch. She would dress up her dollies and have fancy tea parties in the spring time sunshine. Her mother joined her and showed her something fun to do. "Every queen needs a royal crown" she declared. "Let's make one together." So they picked handfuls of long stemmed dandelions and Aurelia's mother made a little hole in the middle of each stem. "You can use your thumb nail" she said. "then you can weave the next stem inside. Do this over and over until you have a crown that fits your head. Just the right size!" Aurelia watched her mother weave the stems. She tried her hand at it and caught on quickly. While they worked, they sang their little song..
            Dandelions everywhere
            You are so much fun
            Bright and round and yellow
            Shining like the sun!
And before they knew it, they had woven their crowns!

   They put them on their heads and smiled. Aurelia made tiny crowns for her dollies. She even made one for Goldy. They drank fresh peppermint tea and had a royal tea-time!
   The dandelions bloomed on and on and . Aurelia could pick as many as she wanted. "Be sure to leave some for the honey bees" her mother reminded her. Her mother let the dandelions grow freely all over the grass for she knew that the bees loved to gather pollen from them to make their sweet, golden honey.As Aurelia watched the honey bees do their work, she could see their legs grow fat with the fluffy, yellow pollen stuck to their legs. She picked bouquets of violets and dandelions for the supper table each night but made sure to leave plenty for the honey bees.

   It seemed like her golden friends would bloom forever, but, as time passed, there were less and less of the sunny blossoms. The flowers were closing up at the top. They looked like little bundles all wrapped up tight. There was only a tiny tip of yellow at the top of each one. "Hmm" she wondered. "It looks as if they are going to sleep. I wonder what will become of them? " she said to herself. Her mother, who was gathering dandelion leaves to add to their salad for lunch, overheard Aurelia's question but she quietly kept on with her work.
   Aurelia felt a little bit sad. She missed her sunny friends. "Where did they go?" she asked her mother. "Will I ever see them again?" Her mother smiled and gently put her arm around Aurelia's shoulder. She knew of the secrets of the plants in her garden, but she wanted her daughter to discover this treasure for herself.  "Wait and see my dear. Something new will come" was her reply. And she walked off to tend to her roses.

   Aurelia watched as all the dandelions closed up. There was a quiet hush in the garden. "Perhaps they are only going to sleep" she said. "It's hard to just wait and see, like mother says." She remembered how hard it was to wait the night before her fifth birthday. She knew that a special package awaited her in golden wrapping on the kitchen table the night before, but she had to wait until the next morning to open it up.
   By now, each sleeping dandelion had grown a fuzzy white tuft on top. Aurelia touched them with her finger tips. "Ooh, they are soft" she said. "Soft and white. I wonder why they are changing colors?" She waited and watched until one morning, they began to open up. "Oh my" she said. "They are waking up, but now, they look different!" Everywhere were round, white globes across the green grass. They were not sturdy like the yellow flowers. They were soft and delicate, kind of like a dream. Aurelia bent down to look more closely. "You don't look like a sun anymore" she said to them. "You look like the moon up in the night sky. The same moon I say goodnight to each night before sleep." And she made up a new song and sang it to her fluffy friends.

        Dandelions everywhere
        Silvery, white balloons
        Dreamy, soft and round
        You look just like the moon

 
   And this time, she danced a little more softly. Her soft cat purred and rubbed against her leg. "I think you like the moon dance as much as the sun dance!" she said to Goldy. Just then, her mother joined her. She plucked a dandelion stem and put it close to her mouth. She closed her eyes and waited a moment. Then, she blew with all her might and tiny seeds flew away in a cloud of silver. "I just made a wish" said her mother. "You can make one too. And now that the dandelions have made their little seeds, you can pick as many as you like!"
   And so, Aurelia spent the days picking the delicate globes and making dandelion wishes. She made wishes for her family, her friends and the honey bees. Her most special wish was that the dandelions would return the next spring. Just then, Brother Wind blew his big breath and a cloud of tiny seeds blew all around her! Goldy jumped up to try and catch a flying seed.
   When Aurelia caught one, she had to hold it carefully between her tiny fingers. She cried with wonder "My stars! Just when I thought you could not change again, now I see another special thing about you!" Each tiny seed looked like a little star. When they swirled around her and filled the air, they looked the starry sky at night. She called her mother to share what she had just discovered.
   "Mother" she called. "I have one more song for the dandelions. Come and sing with me." Her mother joined her and they danced in the garden as Brother Wind  blew the starry seeds all around them. And together they sang

       Dandelions everywhere
       Your seeds go near and far
       You travel all around the world
       You look like tiny stars!

   And so, that spring, Aurelia found out about watching, waiting and wondering in the garden. Her mother and her now shared the secrets of the dandelions...that they indeed were just like the sun, the moon and the stars.


​written by Christine Summerfield, April 2017

  It was spring time at Green Cottage. The dandelions dotted the grass with yellow polka dots and the lilacs filled the air with sweet perfume. The apple blossoms were finished blooming and green leaves filled its tree. George's mother had taken down her heavy, winter curtains and replaced them with white lace ones for the warmer days to come. "Ahh, that feels better" she said. "Now, we can open the windows and enjoy the evening breeze in our sitting room." How George loved to watch the gentle wind blow the soft, airy curtains back and forth.

Each day, George put on his red rubber boots and walked outside. He wandered around the cottage, looking for signs of spring. This time, he noticed the vines that grew up all around the house. Their yard was a small city garden, but his mother and father filled it with plants. Each year, they would dig out some grass and put in more flowers and ground covers that creep along the ground. "The birds and the bees love all kinds of plants" his parents would say. "Not just trees, but bushes and vines too. You never know where they might next build a home."

George could see that all kinds of vines grew around the house. Climbing roses and honeysuckle climbed along the front porch. It was a good place to sit at night and smell the sweet perfume. Around the arbor in the back garden, purple clematis twirled around bright pink roses. And all of the old fences were covered in Silver Lace vine. "That one is nick-named 'mile-a-minute' " said his mother. It grows so fast, you would think it grows a mile a minute!" And on the north side of the house, the whole wall was covered withVirginia Creeper. That was George's favorite vine, as its leaves turned bright red in the fall and they were full of purple berries for the birds to eat.

George knew all of the names of the vines around the house, except for one. All of the other vines lost their leaves in the winter, but this one stayed green all year long and its stems were quite sturdy. It was an evergreen and it climbed up and up and made a frame around the entrance to the front door.

"What's this vine called?" he asked his mother, pointing to the shiny green leaves. "That is a euonymus" replied his mother. "You-won-a-what?" George tried to wrap his tongue around this big, new word. "You-won-a-muss" she repeated slowly. "It rhymes with Grandpa Russ. And it sounds like Michaelmas and Christmas, she said. "Oh, I can remember that!" said George. "You-won-a-muss" he repeated to himself over and over as he looked at the leaves.He liked learning new words and he made up a little verse to help him remember:

You won a muss, You won a muss
You sound like Grandpa, Grandpa Russ
You won a muss, You won a muss
Your leaves stay green, even at Christmas!

He thought of his Grandfather Russell, who lived at the bottom of Precious Mountain and his big vegetable garden. He remembered Grandpa's favorite crop to grow was potatoes, of every shape and color.It was his grandfather who taught George's mother a love for the garden and all things that grow. He would be visiting him soon in summer and eating fresh food from his garden.

One day, as George stepped outside for his usual morning walk, he was just about to go out the front door when his mother stopped him. She put her arm around his shoulder and whispered "shh...there is a tiny new nest at the top of the euonymus vine. While I was tying my honeysuckle to the porch fence this morning, a mother house finch swooped right over my head and landed in the apple tree. She looked right at me, as if to say in a scolding voice: 'stay away from my new nest!' Sure enough, I tip toed across the porch and peeked at the vine. There, I could see a tiny brown nest, no bigger than the palm of my hand."

George looked at his mother's hand and marveled at how small that nest could be. Then, he remembered how tiny the house finches were. They flew away every winter and returned to his home each spring. They were quite colorful, with red or yellow feathers. And how they could sing! Their sweet songs awakened him each morning outside his bedroom window.

George's mother continued to tell him about the house finches. "The mother and father finches have built a nest in the vine.It is a safe, protected place from the wind and sun. The mother will lay her eggs and keep them warm until they hatch. Let's remember to quietly walk on the front porch to let them be in peace until the babies are born.Listen closely George, and some day soon, you will hear them sing in the early morning."

George waited and listened. He kept the feeder filled with linseed and and placed a clay saucer with fresh water on the ledge. He found a flat stone and put it in the center for the birds to land on. He watched the mama bird fly from the nest to the feeder  to the apple tree trunk and back again. He smiled at her, thinking 'your secret is safe with me'.

As George waited every day, he finally asked his mother "how long before those eggs hatch?" It was getting harder to wait until he could hear those baby birds sing. "A few more days" replied his mother. When the dandelions and lilacs are finished blooming, that will be just about the right time." Soon, George found other things to do in the garden.He poked about here and there with his lucky stick and found all kinds of bugs: worms, beetles, ants and even some lady bugs. Then, one morning, he noticed that the purple lilacs were fading and turning to brown. "Oh" he said to himself. He remembered what his mother said about the baby finches being born.

He tip toed towards the front porch and sat down on the steps. He was quiet as a mouse. He listened and waited. He tried not to look up too many times at the wee nest, but he was so excited! Just then, he saw the father finch fly to the nest. He knew it was the father, because his head and chest were rusty red.  George heard the sound of tiny baby birds "peep, peep, peep, peep, peep" they all cried in high voices. The mama and papa were perched on the edge of the vine, bending their heads inside the nests and feeding the babies.

There was a flurry of sound and a flutter of wings for a moment, then all was quiet and still. Mama finch settled into her nest and wrapped her wings around her babies, keeping them warm and safe. Papa finch stood on the sturdy vine just outside the nest, looking out and keeping watch. And the euyonomous vines wrapped its shiny green leaves all around the nest. All were safe and warm.

George thought of those babies and smiled. "I know just how they feel" he said to himself. "After supper, when my belly is full, my mother puts her arms around me too. We snuggle in bed with a story to help me fall asleep. My bed is a lot like that wee nest."

And for many days that spring, George awoke to the sweet songs of a happy family of house finches. He listened to the changing sounds of the babies from peeping to squawking to singing. And one day, they flew away and were free. But George always kept the feeder full and the saucer filled with clean water, as he knew the songbirds would return the very next spring.

Old Tree Finds a Friend

It was early spring by the shores of Silver Lake. The quiet earth was waking up from her long winter's sleep. Green shoots were peeking out of the ground and buds swelled on the branches of the apple trees. Grandmother Winter had knitted one last blanket of snow over the land in the meadow. The animals were building their homes for their babies to be born in spring.

One apple tree stood all by himself at the edge of the meadow. He was the oldest of all the apple trees and he lived all alone. His trunk was crooked and leaned down towards the earth. There were no buds on his branches. Underneath, his bark peeled and fell to the ground.

As he watched the other trees fill with nests of robins and squirrels, he bent his head down low. He too wanted a friend to make a home in his trunk. "Who will come and visit me?" he wondered. "My bark is old and rough and I have no soft, green buds anymore."

Just them a white tailed rabbit hopped by. She was looking for a home. She leaned against the tree, trying to burrow herself inside and feel cozy. "Oh, this tree is too rough for me" she said. "My fur is so soft. I will itch and scratch on this tree." And off she hopped to find a softer home.

A little while later, a mother lady bug gently landed on the tree. She too was looking for a home for her babies. As she crept along the brown bark, she cried "this bark is too brown for me. My pretty shell is much too shiny and it will show up too much against these dark brown walls. I need a home where I will feel safe and no one can spot me. And away she flew in search of a more colorful home.

Molly mouse scurried along the bark of the tree, looking to settle in to the right home for her babies that would be born that spring. Her soft whiskers brushed against the rough, dry bark. She looked for a little pond of water to bathe in but could not find any. "Ooh" she cried. "This tree is much too dry and far away from the pond, where I like to collect my thistle down from the milk weed pods. I must find a home closer to the pond." And off she ran in search of water.

"Goodness me" thought the tree. "Who will make a home in my trunk? Surely someone will come and keep me company this spring. His trunk sagged a little lower to the ground. He felt sad and lonely. Some of his bark even peeled off and fell to the ground. As the sun set in the evening, he bent his head down low and cried himself to sleep.

The next morning, a mother spider awoke early. She crawled along the bark under the old apple tree. She carefully looked at all of the nooks and crannies inside the rough, dry bark. "Ooh" she said to herself. It is nice and quiet here. Far away from other creatures. I won't be bothered here and I can spin my web in peace. The walls are dark brown, just like me! I could hide safely in here and no one would find me. And just look at this scratchy bark! It is just right for me to build my web onto. It will attach well to the rough edges and be strong and sturdy against brother north wind. This is the perfect house for me!"

And so, Mother Spider set to work, busily spinning her web. She carefully crafted each thin strand and her web stuck strong to the bark. The old tree watched with wonder as the silvery, delicate web came to life. And as she finished weaving her last thread, tiny dew drops collected in the web and they twinkled and shone in the morning sun.

​The old tree smiled at those sparkling jewels and said "thank you dear spider. You are just the friend I have been waiting for.Your web is so fine and delicate against my scratchy, old bark. How I delight in watching you spin and weave. And the fresh dew drops remind me of when I was a young and supple tree. You have made me happy in my old age." Looking up towards the sky, he stretched his trunk up high and smiled at Father Sun.

And so, the spider and the tree lived together that spring. The old apple tree shared stories of his past years in the meadow and the spider spun stories of spring times yet to come.

George and the Curly Catkins

Catkins catkins hanging from a tree
Dancing in the wind...tra loo, tra lah, tra lee   

   It was late in the month of April on the shores of Silver Lake. All that week, it had been sprinkling and raining, but this time, George woke up to see a blanket of heavy, white snow on the branches of the lilacs and willow tree outside his window. "That snow is much too heavy for those soft, delicate branches" he said to himself."They might break. I must go outside and tap the snow free from them."
  
   George pulled on his shiny red boots and buttoned up his warm coat. He covered his head with his woolly cap and stepped outside. There, leaning against the wall by the front door, was his walking stick. It was strong and sturdy and was as long as he was tall. He had found it under the grandfather cottonwood tree after the early spring snow storm. He walked outside into the chilly, snowy wind with his lucky stick.
 
Smishy smashy, Smishy smashy...went his little red boots as he walked in the soft, black mud.
Drippety droppety, drippety droppety...fell big, fat drops of water from the branches above his head. The drops made pretty polka dot patterns in the mud below. "My, oh my" he cried. "Mother Earth is getting a good soak today.I am sure the tree roots are drinking up the water and the worms are happy too."

   George took his stick and gently tapped the snow off of the lilac branches. He reached up as high as he could to do the same for the willow tree. The branches bounced happily back up, being set free from all that heavy snow. He knew that he was helping the branches from breaking.

As George poked about here and there with his stick, he found curly green catkins all over the ground. They were everywhere! He crouched down to look at them more closely. He picked up one and held it in his hand. "Ooh" he said, "this is soft and furry. It looks just like a caterpillar." He petted it with gentle care. "Wouldn't these be nice to put inside a bird's nest? George thought about how much he loved his warm and cozy bed at home, with the blue and green quilt his grandmother had knitted for him. Then, he smiled as he thought of Mother Robin and her babies curled up cozy in their nest of furry, green catkins.

Just then, George had an idea. He skipped back home to the garden shed and found his new basket. It was round and was the size of his dinner plate. His mother had just woven it out of soft, young willow branches earlier that spring. He took the basket back to the great willow tree. He gathered the green fuzzy catkins and placed them in the basket. While he worked, he hummed a little tune:

Catkins catkins hanging from a tree
Dancing in the wind...Tra loo, tra lah, tra lee

When his basket was full, he walked along the path, looking for the perfect place to leave his gift for the birds. "It must be just right" he said to himself. "It must be safe from Brother Wind or they will all scatter and blow away." George was a slow but steady walker. Patiently he strolled, with his arms lovingly wrapped around the basket of green curly catkins. While he walked, he hummed his little tune.

Catkins catkins hanging from a tree
Dancing in the wind...tra loo, tra lah, tra lee.

He stopped to rest on a stump by the edge of the path. He listened. High above in the sky, he spotted a robin, with her round, red breast. She was brave and sturdy to be out in the spring time snow. She was flying high. Something was dangling from her yellow beak. George looked more closely. It was a catkin! "She must be building her nest!" he said to himself. George got up with his basket and followed the bird until she landed on the branch of the tall willow tree, the one just outside his bedroom window.

George knew just what to do. He crawled under the bushes that led to the roots of the great willow tree. He brushed aside the dry, brown leaves and carefully placed the basket of catkins at the bottom of the tree. George smiled and dipped his hand inside the soft, furry bundle one last time. Then, he looked up to Mother Robin and said "here is my spring time gift to you. May you and your babies be safe and warm in your new home."

George walked through the door of his own home, happy to see the pot of cinnamon tea steeping on the kitchen table. He placed his little red boots by the fire to dry. He poured himself a cup of tea and curled up on his bed, deep in the folds of his blue and green quilt. As he sipped his tea, he looked out the window and saw the long willow branches swaying in the wind, back and forth, with the green curly catkins dangling below. It was is if the tree were waving to George saying "thanks for taking such good care of me!" Then, George drifted off to sleep for his afternoon nap, gently humming the words to his little spring time tune...

Catkins catkins hanging from a tree
​Dancing in the wind...tra loo, tra lah, tra lee.