Review by Booklist Review
Is it a tulip or an ice cream treat? A daisy or a set of spoons? Stockdale's clever illustrations of flowers draw attention to their unusual shapes by making comparisons to everyday objects, and kids will enjoy poring over each type of flower to identify the features that match the description. Each flower highlighted gets a spread of its own, and the selection of flower types are so wildly diverse that even the most botanical savvy of readers might not recognize them all. Helpful back matter gives more information on pollinators and how plants have adapted to attract pollinators, and full-color photos reveal what the flowers look like in reality, though it's not far from Stockdale's illustrated versions. The simple rhyming text paired with the close-up illustrations could make this a good pick for storytime, while the facts would be useful in a science program. This lively blend of imagination and science might send children scrambling to their backyards or neighborhood parks to see what else they can spot in flowers.--Linsenmeyer, Erin Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Appearances can be deceiving in the world of botany. In crisp acrylic paintings, Stockdale (Stripes of All Types) highlights 17 flowers that resemble a variety of objects or creatures, as described in a jaunty series of rhymes: "Prim ballerinas, wild baboons./ Snakes standing guard, and spiraling spoons." Photographs at book's end identify the flowers-such as the parrot flower, whose dangling blooms look like birds in flight, or the dusky greenish-gray black bat flower-as well as their scientific names, native habitats, and species that aid in their pollination. A closing overview of pollination and the way that flowers' distinctive shapes help attract pollinators lends additional heft to this handsome study of "Fantastic flowers in all kinds of shapes." Ages 2-6. Agent: Gina Maccoby, Gina Maccoby Literary. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-What can you see in a flower? After a succession of successful titles for the very young about birds and animals, Stockdale turns her attention to plants, sharing what she sees when she looks at 17 "fantastic flowers." Two orchids, a friar's cowl, and an African daisy produce "prim ballerinas,/wild baboons./Snakes standing guard,/and spiraling spoons." Stockdale's rhyming couplets are perfectly crafted. They're as delightful to read aloud as her clean, bright acrylic paintings are to look at. These images are sometimes framed and sometimes fill entire spreads. For the most part, only flowers and a few leaves are depicted, but there's an occasional surprise: a ruby-throated hummingbird probes a trumpet creeper; a bee approaches a coneflower. These images remind readers that plants need pollinators to produce fruits and seeds. A final spread features a girl and boy tending a flower-filled garden. The back matter includes brief information about flowers and a picture index: photographs of the flowers portrayed, accompanied by scientific and common names, native range, and usual pollinator. The flowers are native to various areas around the world. They may be less familiar to adult readers than the birds and animals in the author's previous work, but for the intended audience, they offer an invitation to use their imagination in the natural world. VERDICT Will be welcomed wherever Stockdale's other titles are popular.-Kathleen Isaacs, Children's Literature Specialist, Pasadena, MD © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The unique shapes and patterns of 17 exotic and common flowers are exhibited in this optically striking display that points to the plants' visual similarities to other objects, animals, or people. Aided by melodic rhyming verse, large, boldly colored acrylic paintings reveal the ways the flowers mimic something else. "Flowers in shapes that surprise and delight. // Upside down pants, / a parrot in flight. // Prim ballerinas, / wild baboons. // Snakes standing guard, // and spiraling spoons." A first look through the artwork will bring recognition for some of the comparisons, but the patterned arrangements and varying perspectives will invite re-examination to catch them all. The significant backmatter supplements the art with crisp close-up color photographs of each flower coupled with its common and scientific names, area of origin, and pollinators. It will crystallize the painted images for readers as they revisit the paintings and realize the associations, which are often reflected in the flower's common names. For example "Bumblebees laughing" glosses the bumblebee orchid, while Australia's red spider flower is represented as "skittering spiders." This should encourage older preschoolers and early elementary children to look closely at nature's wonders in the garden for their own comparisons. This is a book to closely pore overperhaps before a trip to the park or a botanical garden for real-life practice. (Informational picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
