What's Inside a Flower?

December 1, 2020
Learn the science behind your favorite flowers. In this book, readers will go on an educational nature walk where they'll learn the science behind the life cycle of plants. The lush, geometric illustrations are the superstars of this adventure, drawing in readers from the front endpapers to the rear. Occasional pages are illustrated on black backgrounds, pushing the floral illustrations forward. Smaller doodles and labels are interspersed between main illustrations, making the book a delight for detail-oriented readers. The text guiding the exploration starts out simply with one or two sentences per spread and slowly becomes more complex as the biology of plants is explained. Most sentences are limited to one- and two-syllable words with more-advanced vocabulary mixed in carefully, making the book engaging for a range of reading levels. The effort withers slightly in the backmatter; although many sources are listed for readers, there is no pronunciation guide or glossary to help readers with such terms as mineral and nematode. Thankfully, that's not enough to spoil the fruit, and the book will still be useful to a multitude of readers. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10.5-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.) A beautiful bloom for the nature shelf. (sources, further reading) (Informational picture book. 8-10)

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February 1, 2021
Grades 1-3 Flowers are everywhere, explains author and illustrator Ignotofsky (Women in Science, 2016), who shows that they are found as part of fruit-bearing plants, in fancy gardens, and elsewhere, and come in many shapes, sizes, and colors. What readers might be less aware of are answers to the questions posed next: How do flowers grow and bloom on plants, and what's inside them? The spreads that follow show how flowers work and impart the abundance of nature, as the pages overflow with life. Ignotofsky illustrates in bold shapes and colors with stylized but still recognizable detail, labeling not only flowers and their parts but elements of the ecosystems that both support flowers and that thrive off them. Related ideas, such as photosynthesis, pollination, and the movement of seeds are simply but effectively explained. The final pages make flowers personal to the reader, showing children enjoying flowers outdoors and reminding them of the importance of a happy earth. There's an abundance of detail in this attractive first work in the "What's Inside" series, but it's never overwhelming, making the book ideal for early childhood collections.

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