Mother Earth and her Children

Mother Earth and her Children - A quilted Fairy Tale Written by Sibylle Von Olfers , Illustrations by Sieglinde Schoen Smith, Translater by Jack Zipes.

Sieglinde Schoen-Smith is a quilter whose quilted interpretation of Mother Earth and Her Children captured the coveted Best in Show award at the 2006 International Quilt Show in Houston. Her quilt is inspired by Sibylle Von Olfers' classic storybook Mother Earth and Her Children.

When Mother Earth calls her children to prepare for spring, the earthly children yawn and stretch before they busy themselves with beautification. They dust off the bumblebees, scrub the beetles, paint bright new coats on the ladybugs, and rouse the caterpillars from their cocoons. Bedecked with new blossoms, the children emerge from the earth and become spring flowers that frolic through the summer and autumn, until the leaves begin to fall and they return to Mother Earth, bringing the weary bugs and beetles back to their winter refuge.

This story is translated from the German tale, first published in 1906. The author wrote this poem, originally named Something About the Root Children, while she was a member of the Catholic order of the Sister of Holy Elizabeth.

The illustrator, Sieglinde Schoen Smith, created the central quilt upon which this poem unfolds in response to the untimely death of her young son. The quilt, shown in its entirety at the end of the book, graphically depicts the entire poem. Each page spread shows just a small part of the quilt, as a photograph.