The weedflower

This charming eco-fable, with some comic nods to Jack and the Beanstalk and Paul Bunyan, stars a girl with dandelion-colored hair who fights to protect a "weedflower" emerging in her school's playground. Although the term dandelion is not used in the book, readers will easily recognize its spiky leaves and golden head. At book's start, the girl, Sam, sees a tiny bud peeking through the concrete at the edge of a fence. Sam talks to it, sings to it, and watches it grow, and soon, other children are doing the same as the weedflower grows and grows, quickly becoming a puffball towering over the youngest students. The adults want it removed; the students protest. Finally, the principal, so huge that the upper part of his face won't fit on the page, pulls the weedflower out by its roots--but, of course, more weedflowers return the next year. The illustrations, filled with humorous details, nicely contrast adults with children by showing the adults in dystopian gray and the children in vibrant colors. A fun celebration of nature.

An observant youngster cultivates a dandelion growing on a playground. Racially diverse children run and jump under the watchful eyes of adults. "No one spotted the tiny flower bud sprouting, impossibly, between the schoolyard's cement and rubber turf"--except for blond-haired, light-skinned young Sam, lying on her tummy with her hands under her chin. Capturing children's universal affection for this "weedflower," the illustrations depict her showering the "alien bud" with attention. She sings to it, and eventually, other kids flock to see this tiny miracle and band together to guard and water it. It grows and grows--a lovely metaphor for what happens to all living things when shown love. Predictably, the adults don't care for the "weed," as they call it, and decide to get rid of the now-enormous flower. But love cannot so easily be extinguished. This is a stirring reminder of the place of honor the lowly dandelion has in many young people's hearts. Davaze's straightforward, clear text contrasts with Ferrer's whimsical images. Relying on a palette of muted greens, rich browns, and crisp whites, the artist depicts the dandelion sprouting forth dramatically, its unappreciated beauty spilling onto the pages as the youngsters look on in awe. The story may prompt discussions as readers ponder the outcome and what it means to nurture something that others see little value in. A charmingly rendered ode to childhood wonder.(Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.