Groundsel is a book given to me while living in Germany as a child. My mother and I would often go to a special little bookshop owned my a friendly, elderly man who had a tiny star stamp to use on his price stickers. He would always say hello to me with his thick German accent and stamp that little star on the back of my hand. I still have this book, in great condition, but the star has now faded from the price sticker.
Scottish artist Fergus Hall wrote and illustrated this book, published in 1982. It doesn't seem to be in print anymore, but you can find it used online. The illustrations are SO unique! I remember being creeped out by the impish Jack Frost character. As a child I was so intrigued (not consciously, of course) by both how vivid and disturbing the artwork was (not disturbing in a bad way...you'll see what I mean if you look at the pictures below.)
*Groundsel is a type of plant. It comes in many varieties.
*Groundsel is also the name of one of the rabbits in Watership Down by Richard Adams.)
Below you will find the first page and several of the illustrations. It's a very imaginative story and a great way to introduce the concept of time and seasons.
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |
My older sister had this when we were kids (I'm 25 and she's 31) and I remember always looking at the pictures in awe. I'd actually forgotten what it was called so I asked my sister and she reminded me which is why I searched for it just now. Thank you for posting this, you've helped me rekindle some cool childhood memories.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad! Childhood memories are like magic, aren't they? Thank you for visiting!
Delete