Bloom: An Ode to Spring

PreS-Gr 1--This sweet story opens with an illustration of a brown-skinned girl with pigtails and her white-skinned mother kneeling in the grass beside a patch of brown earth. The words, "Do you remember when we planted those flower bulbs together?" float on a white background. Imagery-rich text describes the autumn day that the two spent planting bulbs together. The first-person narration pairs nicely with the airy illustrations and shows the two throughout the year--first day of school, holidays, happy times, and tears. Meanwhile, the bulbs are beginning to grow under the soil. In the spring, when the pair return to see what has bloomed in their garden, readers discover that the flowers were not the only thing that grew. The child has also changed over the course of a year. The delicate watercolors enhance this simple narrative and clearly illustrate the love between the girl and her mother. VERDICT This tender offering is a fine addition to the array of mother/daughter books already available. Moms especially will find this tale about the passage of time most heartwarming.--Kimberly Tolson, Concord Free Public Library, MA

In an uplifting story about growth, change, and a mother's love, Diesen draws a gentle parallel between the growth of bulbs--planted by a mother, who is white, and her brown-skinned daughter--and way the daughter's has herself developed. So much happened throughout the year (school days, holidays, a family vacation) that the mother had almost forgotten about their plantings: "But the bulbs did not forget. Their roots pushed deep. Their stems grew strong. They heard the call of the sun. They decided how to answer." Diesen's (the Pout-Pout fish series) understated, verselike text speaks to the beauty of everyday moments, while Lundquist's (One Little Two Little Three Little Children) airy images depict the year's milestones with tenderness, including a moment during which the mother comforts her daughter in her arms--"the time that we cried." Children won't miss the connection between the way the bulbs "grew steadily. Surely. Day by day, each day a bit bigger" and the way that they are doing the very same thing. Ages 2-6. Illustrator's agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Mar.)

"Paralleling the planting of a garden in the fall and its blooming is the growth of a young girl and all the milestones that happen between fall and spring. Diesen never makes the comparison overt, which makes this book all the more delightful . . . The seemingly watercolor illustrations capture both the family members' love for one another and the beauty of the natural world. A lovely way of looking back on the year with a child who may not realize he or she has 'bloomed.'" —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Diesen's tender text captures whimsical moments during the seasons . . . Lundquist's warm and
welcoming familial scenes, rendered in freewheeling brushstrokes of pastel tones, culminate in a lovely two-page spread depicting the progressive growth of the bulbs over the course of the year, followed by a burst of bright flowers when they finally bloom . . . This sunny paean to growth, both of the girl and the bed of flowers, is a heartwarming pick for a springtime read-aloud." —Booklist

"The delicate watercolors enhance this simple narrative and clearly illustrate the love between the girl and her mother . . . Moms especially will find this tale about the passage of time most heartwarming." —School Library Journal

"In an uplifting story about growth, change, and a mother's love, Diesen draws a gentle parallel between the growth of bulbs . . . and way the daughter has herself developed. Diesen's understated, verselike text speaks to the beauty of everyday moments, while Lundquist's airy images depict the year's milestones with tenderness." —Publishers Weekly