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Review: Children of the Forest

ByJessica Burke

My children used to want to live outside. Or at least they thought they did. 

Perhaps every child who is given a lot of time outside will eventually create a world of their own where they will wish to live. Mine created countless worlds. I don’t know which was the first, but the earliest I remember was the city inside the boughs of the trees that divide our property from our neighbors’ land. Reaching all the way to the ground, the leaves and branches create the perfect hideaway inside them. The kids made kitchens, bedrooms, banks, jails, and more in the place we affectionately call the bushes. But the world in the bushes was just a place to play until they were called inside to the place where they lived. 

As they got older and the worlds they created outside became more mature, they began to ask about living outside. They assured me that this used to be done all the time by children, or at least the books they were reading said so. To compromise, we let the children camp outside with their friends. I was certainly very nervous, but what could go wrong when the children only had to walk a short distance to come inside our home? 

On their first camping night, I peeked outside and saw the children running around, without inhibition, at midnight. I even once caught a glimpse of one of their friends howling at the moon. Another time, as I crept quietly to the backyard to check on my adventurers, I saw four of the children put their arms around each other and begin to sing. My favorite scenes were when they would just play and laugh and scream, some of the best activities of childhood. But every time, I watched them with a touch of fear (for there were dangers out there) and intrigue (wondering what happens to a child in his natural habitat).

Children grow up, and they’ve moved on to new dreams, and sadly, none that I’m aware of involve the opportunity to howl at the moon or roast an obscene quantity of marshmallows over a fire. But I still have a toddler who needs to live and read in a way that enchants his heart and imagination to the magic found out of doors.

The lovely book, Children of the Forest, by Elsa Beskow, is a recent discovery for me that has me reminiscing about earlier days of my older children’s lives and hoping that my toddler can be outdoors as much as possible. Every time I read it, it captures the imagination of my little son and me. 

Tom, Sam, Harriet, and Daisy are four forest children who have the blessing of living in a small house under the curling roots of an old pine tree. On warm summer evenings, they go to the pool to play with their friends, the frogs, or to ride on Renata the bat. Sometimes, they join the dancing of the fairies in the moonlight. On snowy days, they play for so long that they are covered in enough snow to look like snowballs. When spring returns, the children splash in the stream and build a dam, no one caring how wet or muddy they become. 

It isn’t all child’s play. There is real work for a family to do, even a family that lives in a house under a pine tree. During the harvest, everyone has to do their share. The whole family helps collect fruits, nuts, and seeds for the long winter. And their father teaches them how to find the safe mushrooms that can be used for pies and puddings. Little Sam doesn’t listen, though, and he picks up a poisonous mushroom that, if ingested, could kill him. Of course, Father rebukes Sam.  

Mushrooms aren’t the only danger, though. Once, the children encounter Vara the Viper. Fortunately, their father is there to fight and kill the snake. Another time, Tom and Sam poked an ant’s nest and received their reward. As their mother treated their stings, she reminded them to never hurt a creature of the forest unless they needed to in self-defense. Then there was the time the children were scared silly by the troll. 

Children of the forest need time dedicated to lessons as well, and Tom, Sam, Harriet, and Daisy go to see wise Mrs. Owl for their schooling. Alongside the other young creatures of the forest, the children learn about the signs and ways of nature, how to stay safe from hunting animals, and why to be leery of humans. 

I suspect that the children of the forest grow up just like mine did, but when a new spring comes, so does a baby brother, probably not too unlike my little toddler. Elsa Beskow tells readers at the end of her tale that if we just think about the children and their forest friends, their story will never end. I’d like to think that if my youngest creates his own worlds outside, and my children’s children, and my children’s children’s children do, too, then perhaps the magic found out of doors will never end either.  

Jessica Burke
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