Ellin Greene

Kimberly Wilson from Virginia writes “What a shame this wonderful, elegantly written little book is out of print. I read it when I was 12 and I haven't forgotten it. In this book, Midsummer is a dreamy, magical time when love is in the air, the good can get their due, animals may speak and longed for hopes can, with luck, come true.”

"As she did in a previous collection, Clever Cooks, the compiler has assembled around a central theme a potpourri of folk tales, traditional customs, herbal lore, and cookery. The selections chiefly represent Scandinavia, Great Britain, and Ireland; among the northern Europeans for whom winter is a long dark season, "Midsummer is a time of merriment and joy, and Midsummer Eve a night of magic and enchantment." Many of the rites and ceremonies of the summer solstice were originally pagan, but as was often the case, the festival eventually became overlaid with Christian symbolism; both aspects of the observance are reflected in the book. The material, inevitably a bit miscellaneous, is packaged handsomely and unified by graceful, highly decorative drawings." -Ethel L. Heins, Horn Book