Tidings

On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:

an orange owl


                 by Hanna, age 7


and a fruit tree


                                by Piero, age 7

On the second day of Christmas, my true love sent to me

a friendly zebra

                                 by Hannah, age 5

On the third day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:

three fair-haired dolls


                   by Nicky, age 7


                            by Riley, age 10

                                    by Evelyn, age 9

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:

four fantastic figures


             by Jess, age 6


                              by Brendan, age 9



                       by Aiko, age 8  


              by Jenny, age 14


On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me


A FIVE GREEN-EYED BUNNY!!!



              by Avery, age 8




      
 Whoa!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE AND HAPPINESS IN 2012!!!

The Unseen Playmate

When children are playing alone on the green,

In comes the playmate that never was seen.

When children are happy and lonely and good, 

The Friend of the Children comes out of the wood.

           by Wyatt, age 5

Nobody heard him and nobody saw,

His is a picture you never could draw,

but he's sure to be present, abroad or at home,

When children are happy and playing alone.

         by Dante, age 6

He lies in the laurels, he runs on the grass,

He sings when you tinkle the musical glass;

Whene'er you are happy and cannot tell why,

The Friend of the Children is sure to be by!

          by Olivia, age 8

He loves to be little, he hates to be big,

'Tis he that inhabits the caves that you dig;

'Tis he when you play with your soldiers of tin

That sides with the Frenchmen and never can win.

          by Eloise, age 4

'Tis he, when at night you go off to your bed,

Bids you to your sleep and not trouble your head;

For whever they're lying, in cupboard or shelf,

'Tis he will take care of your playthings himself!

           by Anna, age 6

(poem by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Rebeca the Mermaid

by Paige, age 7

I think this is definitely the most popular subject for a Child's Own softie - having made close to twenty, and all of them unique. I found a wonderful green silk with mystical colour gradations from green to yellow. And I (accidentally) found a way to curl her yarn hair. In her drawing, Paige inscribed her mermaid's name on the abdomen, but I decided to put the name on a little apron, her one piece of wardrobe. And in my head, I began to craft a story of a princess mermaid who after losing her parents and home to a submarine missile test, must learn to survive on her own. For a while, she works as a waitress in an underwater cafe called The Reef, until one night, the manager, a sea bass, hears her singing, and comes up with the idea of a dinner and show with her as the star. The mermaid draws the customers, and crowds and attracts the attention of all sorts of characters, like the soft-spoken Mr. Sting Ray and the notorious Mr. Shark...

Superfish

by Leo, age 9

Leo draws a lot, and like many children, has quite the imagination. Superfish is his own creation. For Christmas, he had this drawing turned into a softie for his 5 year-old cousin, Ben. Ben's blankie is Superfish's cape and the letters B.G. are young Ben's initials.

I like this Superfish. Really, children are the best at thinking outside the box. I'd never in a million years think of a fish as a superhero. But, now I sit here, imagining Superfish saving sea life from untimely deaths due to predators, oil spills, toxic garbage and all kinds of catastrophes caused by nature and humans.

girl with sweater

This is a very sweet drawing by a seven year old boy from Germany, of his mother when she was a little girl. The sweater with a blooming flower beneath a sun and the girl's happy expression signified that winter was ending and spring was arriving.

The package took a long time to deliver, as is sometimes the case for international orders, but I was getting worried, when the boy's father still hadn't received it after a month's time. Finally, a couple of days ago, the customer received news that it was being held at customs, and he was very relieved to be able to go get it. As was I. Phew.

What a nice gift for the mother!