Mary Leister

Although she loves her cozy home inside a log, Wee Green Witch decides that it is too stuffy for summer, and sets out to find a better abode for the warmer season. Discovering a wonderful mushroom, one with enough of a cap to provide her with shelter from the rain, but plenty of room underneath to see the world around, she moves herself and her little green cat and green dog in. Short tempered at the best of times, Wee Green Witch soon becomes enraged when she discovers that the mushroom cap is damaged, and she flies about accusing each of her neighbors of being the one responsible. It is only when she speaks to the mushroom itself - a Yellow-Cracked Boletus - that she discovers that the cracks appearing in "her" roof are a natural part of the mushroom's growth, and cannot be stopped. Magic, after all, should never be used against nature. Fortunately, Wee Green Witch's woodland neighbors are the forgiving sort, and when she realizes the error of her ways, and asks their advice, they help her to find a solution to her summer home woes...

Published in 1978 by the (then) Maryland-based Stemmer House Publishers, Wee Green Witch is a witchy tale with an ecological message. This seems only appropriate, as its author, Mary Leister, was a nature columnist for the Baltimore Sun and a wildlife contributor to such children's journals as Ranger Rick and Humpty Dumpty. I was intrigued by the idea here, that magic is something that cannot and should not be used against nature, as this implies a world view in which magic is a part of nature, rather than acting against it, to create "unnatural" results. The story is engaging, and the accompanying artwork from Elaine Arnold, which alternates between black and white line drawings and full-color paintings, is charming. The animal characters are delightful, but I particularly like the views of the interior of Wee Green Witch's miniature abodes. All in all, a wonderfully witchy tale, one I would have enjoyed greatly as a girl. It is quite text-heavy for a picture-book - it's really more of an illustrated short story - so I would recommend it to slightly older picture-book audiences (perhaps ages six and up?), who have the attention span for somewhat longer tales.… (más)

This excellent collection of Mary Leister's nature columns from the Baltimore Sun kept me turning the pages with glee. Leister was a Maryland naturalist and writer who lived in rural Howard County for many years. She died in 2003 at age 85. Her columns for the Sun centered on the flora and fauna of her home patch of woods, fields, stream, and pond. The beauty of one person reporting on the natural world from one geographical location over a period of time is that, through that person's eyes, you are able to observe the cycle of life at both a macro and micro level. For example, you learn that bobolinks arrived at the field near Leister's home on the same exact day for many years, provided the dandelion crop was in bloom. I think my favorite essay is the one about the Barred Owl that gets trapped in Leister's chimney, but there are many gems in here and I learned a lot from reading them.… (más)

This is a nature book which describes the small wildlife inhabitants and flora of Maryland. Illustrated by dated-looking but charming photographs by Robert Wirth, Wildlings is a series of nature essays from walks the author took with her dog through fields, marshes and woodlands. Mary Leister focuses attention on the smaller things- frogs, insects, birds, flowers, mushrooms, leaf buds. Some of the more interesting thing I read were of spiders with maternal behavior, secrets of skunk cabbage regrowth, the existence of the wheel bug and mushrooms that glow in the dark. I've always found tent caterpillars repulsive, but she makes even these little crawlers interesting. This wonderful book was an enjoyable read that fully held my interest. It almost made me want to crawl through the grass to see the smaller creatures hidden underfoot in my own small yard.

Dog Ear Diary… (más)