With an evocative poem for every month of the year, young Naomi introduces us to her family and hosts a journey through the seasonal rhythms of her rural Mennonite community.
In the winter there’s a quilting bee with chattering, friendly women to warm the frigid night, visits to a general store with all its treasures, and the awakening of the sap in the sugar bush. Spring months bring the hard work of clearing the fields and the sweet reward of shoofly pies. Under the hot summer sun there’s home-made ice cream, baseball to play, and a horse-drawn buggy to drive. Then it’s autumn when the shy narrator must help sell produce at the road-ide stand, while she thinks of the snows to come. And all year long there are delicious, child-friendly recipes to make and sample.
The poems and recipes are perfectly complemented by Peter Etril Snyder’s lovely paintings. Winterberries and Apple Blossoms is a beautifully produced book, perfect for gift-giving, or sharing with anyone who appreciates simple, enduring values.
“…sunlit acrylic scenes that convey a close-knit family that works, plays, and prays together. Along with Forler’s graceful verse, and recipes for every season, it all adds up to a warm portrait of a community seldom found in the spotlight.” —Publishers Weekly
“…Together, Forler and Snyder offer readers of all ages a glimpse into Naomi’s world –by way of a poem and painting for each month of the calendar year…. Forler includes 12 recipes for traditional Mennonite desserts in keeping with the book’s calendar theme. Think vanilla ice cream made in coffee cans, Dutch apple pie and of course, Apple Blossoms, those delicious pastries filled with apples, brown sugar and cinnamon. Yum!” —Waterloo Region Record
NAN FORLER is a writer and a teacher who lives in a house overflowing with music and books. She likes to write stories at an old wooden table in her kitchen, and some of those stories are made into books, such as Winterberries and Apple Blossoms, Bird Child and Trampoline Boy. Nan shares her home with her husband, her two children and a yorkie-poo named Alice. She lives in Waterloo, Ontario.
View titles by Nan Forler
With an evocative poem for every month of the year, young Naomi introduces us to her family and hosts a journey through the seasonal rhythms of her rural Mennonite community.
In the winter there’s a quilting bee with chattering, friendly women to warm the frigid night, visits to a general store with all its treasures, and the awakening of the sap in the sugar bush. Spring months bring the hard work of clearing the fields and the sweet reward of shoofly pies. Under the hot summer sun there’s home-made ice cream, baseball to play, and a horse-drawn buggy to drive. Then it’s autumn when the shy narrator must help sell produce at the road-ide stand, while she thinks of the snows to come. And all year long there are delicious, child-friendly recipes to make and sample.
The poems and recipes are perfectly complemented by Peter Etril Snyder’s lovely paintings. Winterberries and Apple Blossoms is a beautifully produced book, perfect for gift-giving, or sharing with anyone who appreciates simple, enduring values.
Reviews
“…sunlit acrylic scenes that convey a close-knit family that works, plays, and prays together. Along with Forler’s graceful verse, and recipes for every season, it all adds up to a warm portrait of a community seldom found in the spotlight.” —Publishers Weekly
“…Together, Forler and Snyder offer readers of all ages a glimpse into Naomi’s world –by way of a poem and painting for each month of the calendar year…. Forler includes 12 recipes for traditional Mennonite desserts in keeping with the book’s calendar theme. Think vanilla ice cream made in coffee cans, Dutch apple pie and of course, Apple Blossoms, those delicious pastries filled with apples, brown sugar and cinnamon. Yum!” —Waterloo Region Record
Author
NAN FORLER is a writer and a teacher who lives in a house overflowing with music and books. She likes to write stories at an old wooden table in her kitchen, and some of those stories are made into books, such as Winterberries and Apple Blossoms, Bird Child and Trampoline Boy. Nan shares her home with her husband, her two children and a yorkie-poo named Alice. She lives in Waterloo, Ontario.
View titles by Nan Forler
