The Books of Marie Louise-Gay

I first fell in love with the carefree and wild spirited red haired Stella over 20 years ago when, as an undergraduate student, I had to design a thematic curriculum unit for one of my classes.  I chose the general topic of “Weather,” which I felt would be easy to work with, living and going to school in a place such as Maine which experiences not only the usual 4 seasons, but we also have the pleasure of a bonus season as Winter turns to Spring - mud season!  As I created lesson plans and learning activities for a 3-5 year old (fictional) class, I stumbled upon this book as I was adding literacy opportunities. Stella - Queen of the Snow by Marie Louise-Gay.  Stella’s wild, curly red hair against the mostly white snowy background on the cover caught my eye and, as I opened the book, the words captured my heart.  As Stella takes her little brother Sam outside to play in the snow for the first time, she also takes on the role of answering all his questions about it, with the confidence of an older sibling and with the reasoning that is so innocent and can truly only come from a child’s view of the natural world.  

“What does a snowman eat?” asked Sam
“Snowballs…” sang Stella, “snow peas…and snowsuits!”

Throughout my teaching career I have collected all the books about Stella (and her little brother Sam), and each one connects with nature in some way, whether in the forest or at the sea or just in Stella’s own backyard.  And, the text is rich with Sam’s curiosity about and Stella’s whimsical interpretations of the outdoors.

“Starfish are shooting stars that fell in love with the sea.”- Stella

As I spent a week traveling the wet, green, and beautiful country of Scotland visiting nursery schools that spend most (if not all) of their time outside (in all types of weather) and watching children as young as 2 and as old as 5 engaging with the natural environment I was reminded of Stella and Sam. Children climbing high onto structures made of pallets, just as Stella climbs over large rocks and up trees. Children watching birds in three-sided structures that have a big window so they can get close to the bird feeders without startling them, just as Stella and Sam are often depicted with small bunnies as they wander through the forest.  Children following their imaginations and being trusted to take risks they assessed in their own time without the intrusion of adults (they were still there and always watching and interacting, but not in a way that was overbearing), similar to the way Stella and Sam are never seen with their grownups (even though I’m sure they exist) because the world we see in the book is meant to be what they see and what they experience as children. It was amazing and inspiring and reminded me of my own childhood, searching for wild strawberries or riding my bike with my friends to the small river near my home to just explore and throw rocks.  While I may not exactly look at the world the way I did as a child, I am lucky to be an invited participant and guide as I get to spend so much time with children outside and hearing their own stories, questions, and interpretations of what they are seeing (sometimes for the first time).  May we all be able to look at the world with magic, joy, and curiosity, just as Stella and Sam do, if only for a few moments at a time.  

Sam: A Little Treasury

Stella - Fairy of the Forest

Stella - Princess of the Sky

Stella - Queen of the Snow

Stella - Star of the Sea

Read Me A Story, Stella

When Stella Was Very, Very Small