An ABC of Flowers

January 15, 2019
The title says it all--this is an alphabet of flowers! Each page depicts a giant letter of the alphabet in a soft, flat color, superimposed with a color photograph of a flower beginning with that letter and the name of the flower printed in lowercase. Because there must be a flower for every letter of the alphabet, some of the flower names are rather obscure. A case in point is "ulex," which is the Latin name for a European genus of flowering plants; the one pictured is gorse, which will probably not be familiar to most North American readers. Similarly, "xeranthemum" is the word used for the letter X, and only one flower of this European genus of daisies is shown. This serious botany is lightened somewhat by decorative black-and-white line drawings of a tiny, presumably white, girl who introduces herself along with the letter A: "Amelie, that's me!" Amelie is depicted playing, dancing, climbing, swinging, and otherwise interacting with the relatively huge flowers. The line drawings are sweet, and a child might be captivated by Amelie's antics, but the connection between her activity and the alphabet letter is hard to discern. Unlike many other, similar titles, no additional information is given about the flowers beyond their names.Attractively designed but limited in educational value for beginning readers or botanists. (Picture book. 2-5)

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April 1, 2019

PreS-Gr 2-Hilpuesch's fanciful line-drawn character, Amelie, frolics with brilliant photographs of blossoms representing the alphabet. Each page features a pastel, graphic-style letter and its blossom, from aster to zinnia. The letters' varied positions allow the diminutive figure of Amelie, and sometimes her young male friend or a pup, to engage by picking daisy petals, drumming on the underside of an evening primrose, or having tea atop a hibiscus leaf. The finale is a pretty spread, perfect for practicing letters and flora identification. The engaging mixed media artwork is done in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and Procreate. VERDICT Uplifting eye candy, and a venue for the author's Instagram cutie.-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA

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