How to Speak Flower: A Kid's Guide to Buds, Blooms, and Blossoms

by Molly Williams, Miriam Bos (Illustrator)

Overview

A beautifully illustrated guide to the history and symbolism of flowers for every plant lover.

Sunflowers are symbols of friendship. Gardenias represent secrets and mystery. Irises say, I trust you. Flowers bring color and beauty to the everyday world around us, but flowers aren’t just pretty: Throughout history, they have been used to express ideas about ourselves and the people we care about.
From asters to zinnias, from baby’s breath to forget-me-nots, learn the magical, meaningful language of flowers with this magnificent guide to floriography. The secrets of every bloom and blossom are revealed … and with personalized quizzes and handy charts, you’ll discover your own flower power! 
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762479177
Publisher:	Running Press Book Publishers
Publication date:	05/09/2023
Pages:	120
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Molly Williams is a born and raised Midwesterner living in New England. Most of the time you can find her working on her thesis for the MFA Creative Writing program at Emerson College, but the rest of the time you'll find her with her nose in a book or getting her hands dirty in the garden. She is constantly trying to find ways to make her two passions, writing and floral design, intertwine.

Illustrator and pattern designer Miriam Bos comes from the Netherlands. (Interesting trivia: Her last name is Dutch for “forest.”) Miriam loves creating art that brings a smile to your face. A big lover of nature, Miriam lives in Apeldoorn, a city that is surrounded by forest (“bos”) and heide ("heath"). 

Editorial Reviews

This enthusiastic handbook offers a very concise history of floriography, or the idea that flowers can represent ideas and emotions, followed by entries on various blossoms that symbolize love, friendship, gratitude, celebration, and healing. Fluffy floral fun.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Williams groups flowers by their association with love, friendship, gratitude, celebration and healing. Using a light, conversational tone, she describes each flower’s characteristics and symbolism and offers fast facts…sections include several DIY projects, from flower arrangement to making homemade potpourri, while interactive quizzes throughout extend the floral fun.”—Booklist

"A flowery purchase that’s bright and beautiful."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

2023-02-08
What do flowers mean?

This enthusiastic handbook offers a very concise history of floriography, or the idea that flowers can represent ideas and emotions, followed by entries on various blossoms that symbolize love, friendship, gratitude, celebration, and healing. “Fast facts” accompany each example. A few blooms convey negative messages, and Williams also discusses poisonous flowers. Craft projects using flowers include making floral bath bombs and flower crowns and nurturing flowering houseplants. The book briefly mentions the quite different significance of various flowers around the globe. Generally, though, it’s fairly lightweight—Shakespeare’s use of flower language is not mentioned, nor is the role of the peony or orchid in China or the chrysanthemum or sakura in Japan. A chart offers simplified keys to symbolism that are further developed later, and there’s a page of “color meanings,” e.g., that orange can signify “fascination” or “pride.” Labels on a detailed flower cross section help us understand the botanical terms; also included is a lovely diagram of the flower life cycle and info on the pollinator crisis. Interspersed quizzes (closer to astrology than science) help readers identify their “soul flower” or “flower power.” An abundance of exclamation points throughout underscores the writer’s ardent belief that flowers are linked to emotions and can help us connect with others. Diverse people are depicted in the illustrations.

Fluffy floral fun. (list of historical flower meanings) (Nonfiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews