Florette

by Anna Walker, Anna Walker (Illustrator)

Overview

A beautiful picture book celebration of friendship, resilience in the face of change, and the magic of the natural world.

When Mae’s family moves to a new home, she wishes she could bring her garden with her. She’ll miss the apple trees, the daffodils, and chasing butterflies in the wavy grass.

But there’s no room for a garden in the city. Or is there?

Mae’s story, gorgeously illustrated in watercolor, is a good match for kids interested in the environment, as well as any child going through a move.

A New York Times and New York Public Library Best Illustrated Picture Book

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780544876835
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/20/2018
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	9.60(w) x 10.90(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD590L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Author and illustrator Anna Walker has won numerous children’s book design and writing awards in her native Australia. The artwork and stories she’s created in her Melbourne studio have reached young readers worldwide. www.annawalker.com.au, Twitter: @basementbird, Instagram: @_annawalker_

Author and illustrator Anna Walker has won numerous children’s book design and writing awards in her native Australia. The artwork and stories she’s created in her Melbourne studio have reached young readers worldwide. www.annawalker.com.au, Twitter: @basementbird, Instagram: @_annawalker_

Editorial Reviews

"Light-skinned with bobbed chestnut hair tucked behind her ears, Mae tries to cheer herself up, which will deeply impress young readers who couldn't imagine being transplanted (and perhaps seem even more admirable to those who have!)." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"This quietly told and beautifully illustrated story will resonate with other children who have been uprooted, but hope to flourish in a new home." — Booklist

"A worthy addition to the canon of books depicting young gardeners transforming spaces and lives." — School Library Journal

"Walker’s carefully drafted watercolors capture the charm of Parisian streets." — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

★ 2017-11-13
Mae desperately misses her garden after moving to the city, with its tall, crowded buildings and narrow streets; her new urban environment offers no "winding paths and leafy hiding spots" or butterfly chases "in the wavy grass."Light-skinned with bobbed chestnut hair tucked behind her ears, Mae tries to cheer herself up, which will deeply impress young readers who couldn't imagine being transplanted (and perhaps seem even more admirable to those who have!). She covers a cobblestone square with chalk drawings of caterpillars, leaves, dragonflies, dandelions, bees, and grass; she covers towering cardboard moving boxes with apple trees, lily of the valley, birds, daisies, and ladybugs. But the rain washes away her pictures, and her dad totes away the boxes. While the city has its own appeal, its elegant buildings stretching skyward and its charming storefronts cheery, Mae's melancholy bleeds through, coloring everything. Wan watercolors offer some soft pinks, mellow reds, and mossy greens, but overcast slate blues and grays dominate. Verdant, dazzling endpapers at the book's very beginning (dappled leaves covering the spread completely, dotted with little wildflowers and the faces of a few woodland creatures) make Mae's changed circumstances painfully clear. When she stumbles upon Florette, a greenhouse plant shop crawling with vines, leaves, cactus needles, and blossoms, Mae finally sees she can bloom where she's been planted.Lessons in both gumption and the sacred nature of urban green spaces. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews