Basil and Cornelius are beary excited about a new children’s poetry book written by UK poet and editor Rachel Piercey. Wisdom of the Woods: 40 Poems to Treasure (Magic Cat Publishing, 2024), is part of the wildly popular Brown Bear Wood series illustrated by Freya Hartas, which includes board books, coloring books, and interactive search-and-find adventure stories written in verse (which we featured here and here).

Readers who enjoy a poetic blend of nature and science will revel in these lyrical gems, as they immerse us in the wonder, joy and magic of Brown Bear Wood. How delightful to spend more time with our friend Bear and his many forest companions — above, below, and on the ground!

This book is actually a special gift to Bear from his Papa:

Dearest Bear,

The time has come, my little cub,
to pass into your paws
the Wisdom of the Woods --
a book of Nature's ancient laws.

It's been with us for many years,
passed down from bear to bear.
And now it's yours to read and use,
to think about and share.

The poems you will find inside
explore our woodland home,
the tiny daily miracles
occurring as we roam,

and how the plants and creatures
work in harmony, to grow.
So turn the page -- you're ready, Bear.
These things are yours to know . . . 

Love, Papa Bear

The winsome rhyming poems are presented in eight sections, taking us from dawn to dusk:

• Beginnings
• At Home in the Woodland
• Among the Trees
• Woodland Weather
• Mighty Minibeasts
• Look Closer
• So Many Seeds
• Goodnight, Woodland

Piercey effortlessly incorporates lots of interesting facts in her fun-to-read-aloud verses, everything from seed dispersion and pollination, to metamorphosis and migration, to condensation and photosynthesis. Readers will learn how the natural order of things works, especially with regard to the symbiosis of plants and animals, all the while charmed by lovable Bear and the fascinating creatures who share his cozy woodland habitat.

We’re first welcomed into Bear’s world at dawn:

DAWN CHORUS

Sing in the new dawn.
  Sing out the night.
Sing for a partner.
  Sing for the light.

Sing for the stillness.
  Sing for your space.
Sing for the sun
  as it soars into place.

Beginnings continues with a poem written from the POV of a sprouting seed addressing the soil, explaining what it needs to break through the surface, followed by “Ode to the Buds,” describing buds as the start of leaves, stalks, and flowers. Then it’s a paean to the colors and shapes of flowers, whose job is to attract pollinators — beetles, bees, butterflies, bats, birds, moths and wasps — who all enable plants to form new seeds that “give the whole world food to eat!”

We especially love the poems in At Home in the Woodland, as it begins with “Being a Bear,” describing the physical attributes that help him run, swim, stand upright, detect scents, and observe the seasons. The power in his jaw allows him to eat almost anything; Bear’s an omnivore!

We next see where different animals live: Hollow Tree (Bear), Cavity Cottage (Owl), Burrow Borough (Rabbit), Treetop Towers (Squirrel), The Den (Fox). Kids will like that Bat’s home is Upside Down and Snail sleeps Somewhere Dark. Hartas’s illustrations showing these creatures huddled in their comfy domiciles are simply adorable. 🙂

Among the Trees praises our leafy branched friends for their “Shelter & Shade,” then offers detailed descriptions of root systems, bark, rings, and blossoms. The section closes with three triolets about “Evergreens,” trees whose foliage is a “yearlong gift.”

Woodland Weather covers sunlight, dew, rain, frost, and snow — explaining via evocative sensory details and images how these elements are formed and impact the ecosystem.

~ from "Dewdrops"

They glimmer in the morning light,
a gift of silver from the night:
a thousand fallen fairy moons,
or sprinkled stars, or bright balloons.

Mighty Minibeasts details the life cycle of the butterfly and offers fascinating info about spiders, ladybirds and ants — small but mighty creatures with impressive creds when it comes to teamwork, industry and organization.

Lest we forget, Piercey takes us underground, a busy world unto itself:

IN THE SOIL

The soil's alive!
Alive with legs
and munching mouths
and hatching eggs,

with beetles, worms
and tiny mites,
and other things
which take small bites

of bits which need 
to decompose,
so plants can drink them
with their toes --

so food can grow,
and we can thrive,
all thanks to this:
the soil's alive!

So many wonders! These poems encourage us to take into account all living things, no matter their size, location, or roles in the natural realm. In case we think we’ve seen it all, we’re then invited to Look Closer. Consider this mushroom poem that uncannily brings to mind “Double, Double, Toil and Trouble” from Shakespeare’s Macbeth:

FUNGI, FUNGI

Fungi, fungi, thready, webby,
making mushrooms, soft and fleshy:
ones that look like steak or honey,
primed to pop or slickly runny,
eye of ghost or toe of zombie --
gloriously strange and rumbly.
Pale or vivid, pored or gilled,
capped with warts or finely frilled,
mushrooms rise to be of use:
to scatter spores and reproduce.

Fungi, fungi, thready, webby,
making mushrooms, soft and fleshy.
See them growing and you'll know
a fungal web is spread below . . .

When you’re certain you’ll never think of mushrooms in the same way ever again, Piercey is on to mosses, those “seedless, flowerless bryophytes,” the beauty of simple grasses in “tawny yellows, gentle purples, teals and rusts,” even leaf litter, deadwood, and wondrous chlorophyll’s role in photosynthesis (as sung by deciduous trees).

By this point, Bear’s especially pleased — because So Many Seeds is about harvest time — gathering fruit and nuts, “food to nourish, food to thrill.” As the animals feast on nature’s bounty, they help disperse more seeds along with wind, water, and ballochory.

Finally, the forest and its daytime inhabitants begin to wind down, the sun sets, and night creatures venture out (owls, mice, moths). Now it becomes a kingdom of the deep blue, the moon and stars. Bear has eaten his fill in preparation for hibernation. He knows winter would be too hard, as he’s a creature of the warm sun. He’s prepared to wait “for its soft gold song,” as he drifts off to sleep with “Moon’s Lullaby.”

As a longtime Freya Hartas fan, I was happy to see more of her charming illustrations. Who can resist a zealous ladybird chasing aphids, a puffy-cheeked caterpillar munching on a juicy leaf, industrious squirrels gathering acorns? Kids love looking for cute details and Hartas’s lovingly drawn animals are irresistible.

I like how Piercey and Hartas have imbued the book with just the right touch of whimsy and magic. Piercey imparts lots of facts in these poems, but fancy and mythology are never far away. With “Green Man and his leafy face/Fairies with their wings of lace,” “Unicorns aglow in glades/Dryads drifting through the shade,” and “Elves and gnomes in hidden homes,” we’re reminded of ancient traditions and the timelessness of the natural world, for its origin and miracles are something to forever hold in awe.

Wisdom of the Woods will arouse curiosity and hopefully inspire kids to put down their devices, get outside and explore the “wondrous world we live in.” There’s so much to discover when we take the time to sharpen our powers of observation. Who knows what brand of enchantment awaits on the other side of the door?

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WISDOM OF THE WOODS: 40 Poems to Treasure
written by Rachel Piercey
illustrated by Freya Hartas
published by Magic Cat Publishing, November 2024
Illustrated Poetry Collection for ages 4-6, 96pp.
*Includes Glossary

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Lovely and talented Carol Labuzzetta is hosting the Roundup at The Apples in My Orchard. Stop by and check out the full menu of poetic goodness being served up around the blogosphere this week. Enjoy your weekend!

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*Interior spreads text copyright © 2024 Rachel Piercey, illustrations © 2024 Freya Hartas, published by Magic Cat. All rights reserved.

**Copyright © 2025 Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.