Beautiful Book

I love Carl Larsson's work - his landscapes, his portraits, his folksy home decorations - but although I have long been aware, in a sort of peripheral way, that his paintings had been incorporated into a number of picture-books, I didn't think to track them down until a goodreads friend (thanks, Krista!) reviewed one. This one. It goes without saying that it is a beautiful book, but A Farm is also immensely educational, in an engaging, fun way. Not only did I learn a little bit more about Larsson himself, and his life at his country home, Little Hyttnäs, but I also gained quite a bit of insight into the farming life in rural Sweden, at the turn of the 19th/20th century. This book, with text by Lennart Rudström (based upon Larsson's own recollections), and painting by Larsson, documents a year in the life of Spadarvet, the farm just next door to Little Hyttnäs, that Larsson purchased in 1897.

The text is quite extensive, so this is not one for beginning readers, or for younger children with short attention spans - although even they might appreciate the artwork! - but for those with an appreciation for quiet joys, and the details of life as it was lived more than one hundred years ago in Sweden. From the thinning of the trees in winter, to the cow-herding in summer, the many activities of the farm find their way into the story, while little informational asides (also text heavy!) give further information. The artwork is simply luminous - the sort of paintings one likes to pore over, or page through, again and again. Recommended to all Carl Larsson fans, and to those young readers with an interest in farming practices of the past, or who enjoy historical fiction. ( )