On One Flower

December 1, 2006
PreS-Gr 3-A rhyming text, most of which is a cumulative poem, tells how two boys wander into a field and discover a thriving ecosystem on a single goldenrod flower. Couplets set on the backgrounds of vivid picture spreads identify each of the seven invertebrates that the children observe (a mix of insects and arachnids) and briefly describe one or two of their special physical and/or behavioral characteristics. An appendix offers some additional facts about the goldenrod and the featured invertebrates. Contact information for several conservation organizations is included. The realistic, full-color art is the books best feature. The blue-eyed protagonists are attractive, the renderings of the small animals are close up and clear, and DiRubbios use of a constantly changing perspective is refreshing. As for the poetry, while the lines may rhyme, they often make little sense. For instance, the couplet describing a tick reads, An eight-legged tick with a sensitive feel, /Waits on the stalk for a blood-sucking meal. Whats a sensitive feel? And is it the meal that sucks blood, or the tick? Some word combinations are just awkward, such as the reference to invertebrates as bug-buggy critters, or a stinkbug as a smell-smelly critter. Readers attracted to the art are likely to be disappointed by the poetry."Karey Wehner, formerly at San Francisco Public Library"

Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.