Oberon Zell

Kirsten Ellen Johnsen

Song of Gaea is a soothing, rhythmically rocking, lyrical picture book. Song of Gaea is a mystical paean to the Spirit in Nature with an uplifting message: a loving call for humanity to live in balance with the Earth. Song of Gaea presents cosmology and evolutionary ecology in a mythic framework and offers a sustainable vision of the future. Song of Gaea comprises 26 stanzas of four lines each. These would be printed on the right (odd) pages, with accompanying full-page color illustrations on the facing left (even) pages. The format would be 81/2" x 11" horizontal. At the back of the book would be a bit of technical information and time-line diagrams for parents to address scientific questions and concerns. The purpose of storytelling is to offer a sensibility of feeling-based knowledge in order that over the course of child development, the senses of morality and justice may take root in the rich soil of youth. This story will reach those seekers. Those who reach for the new relevance of Mother Earth are found in many walks of life. Parents of Pagan orientation and heritage, the fast growing "New Age" spiritual movement, as well as parents of many different faiths and parents in the Waldorf movement will buy this book because it is not a typical "save the Earth" polemic tirade, but a lyrical story of belonging. Song of Gaea is geared towards children in just the age ranges of my sons: three to eight. Rich and wholesome illustrations capture my young son's attention, along with the rising and falling lilt of poetry, while my elder son delights as well in the details of both the pictures and the scientific information. Song of Gaea makes for a perfect bedtime story, in no small part for the soothing strength of the message: that we are held in the great being of this planet, a part of all nature around us, with an inherent purpose and a destiny to unfold. There is a grand Mystery to the universe, and we have our place within it.

Kirsten Ellen Johnsen

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