The Farmer in the Dell — Ilse Plume

Ilse Plume, who was awarded a Caldecott Honor for her interpretation of The Bremen Town Musicians, gives tender, rustic life to the song lyrics for The Farmer in the Dell. Pennsylvania Dutch motifs and influences infuse her colored-pencil illustrations as the farmer takes a wife, who takes a child, who takes a nurse and so on. Songsheets serve as endpapers, bordered with tiny hearts, flowers and birds, which also appear on the family's farm buildings and furniture. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.