A Rose Named Peace: How Francis Meilland Created a Flower of Hope for a World at War

by Barbara Carroll Roberts (Author) Bagram Ibatoulline (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade
Beautifully illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline, an inspirational biography of the Peace rose and its creator digs deep into world history, botany, and the rewards of perseverance.

From a young man’s experiments in cross-pollination to the rose that became an international symbol of hope, this gentle picture book biography, beautifully illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline, is a quiet epic of war and peace. Francis Meilland was passionate about roses. He loved their rich perfume, their buds unfurling in the summer sun, and their petals, soft as lambs’ ears. Like his father and grandfather before him, Francis cultivated flowers on the family farm in France. In his teens, he set about grafting and experimenting, determined to create a rose no one had seen before, and as the world braced for World War II, he rushed cuttings to rose-growing friends around the globe. Six patient years later, word reached him: his rose had not only flourished; people were calling it the Peace Rose. An ideal gift for science and history buffs and for gardeners of all ages, this life story of a special flower is also a love song to living a dream from beginning to end, through sun and through storm.
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Hardcover
$18.99

ALA/Booklist

Precise and detailed, Ibatoulline's captivating watercolor paintings help readers imagine the historical settings...lovely.

Kirkus

Poignant storytelling that absolutely blooms.

School Library Journal

Starred Review

Gr 3-5--On a small farm in the south of France, a beautiful collection of roses bloomed beside fruits and vegetables, all of which were carefully tended by the Meilland family in the early 1900s. Francis Meilland was born in 1912, and he was as passionate about roses as his father and grandfather before him. So, when he observed another gardener's cross-pollinated beauty, Meilland was inspired to try crafting his own unique rose. Patience and tenacity led him to his goal, but as war broke out in Europe, Meilland was left wondering what would happen to his precious creation. This narrative nonfiction picture book tells a lesser-known story about one man's involvement in World War II through beautifully crafted text and illustrations. The story itself unfolds in accessible phrasing that uses such elements as font sizes to punctuate aspects of the narrative. Words are artfully placed within and around the images to ensure that each piece has its own space while working in tandem to tell the story. Most striking of all are the illustrations; using watercolors, Ibatoulline has created tangible images of Meilland's life, and readers of all ages will be in awe of the realistic appearance of each one. At the end of the book is additional information to supplement the text and provide further context. VERDICT This is a stunning and provocative addition to biography collections for elementary school-age children.--Mary R. Lanni

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Publishers Weekly

In this informative, botanically leaning picture book, Roberts and Ibatoulline chronicle the efforts of French gardener Francis Meilland (1912-1958) to create "a new thing of beauty to give to the world," describing how WWII almost derailed his efforts. With realistic watercolors depicting an idyllic life on the Meilland family's farm in southern France, the story initially covers the rose grower's meticulous work cross-pollinating flower varieties. When at last he succeeds in creating something unique--a bloom characterized by ivory and yellow petals tipped in pink--he sends cuttings to colleagues globally just as war breaks out, and communication disruptions mean he must wait to learn how the new rose fares. Upon war's end, when Meilland receives news confirming the rose has thrived in America and been named "Peace," it's an uplifting conclusion to an otherwise straightforward biography of a botanist at work amid war. An afterword, glossary, and bibliography conclude. Ages 6-9. (May)

Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

Roberts offers a truly multi-disciplinary slice of history with child-accessible discussion of the aesthetic, scientific, and business aspects of 3-35-40's ascent, woven together with the uplifting subplot of how it acquired its name, Peace Rose. Ibatoulline's near-photorealistic watercolors, set into oversized trim, are well-suited to classroom sharing as well as leisurely examination.
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Exquisite watercolors by Ibatoulline starkly contrast sun-drenched rose gardens with smudged, fragile battlefields, highlighting the many strands woven into the flower's journey. . . a compelling combination of history and science. Poignant storytelling that absolutely blooms.
—Kirkus Reviews

Barbara Carroll Roberts
Barbara Carroll Roberts is a graduate of Hamline University's Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA program. She played competitive sports in high school and always wished there had been books in her library about athletic girls. That desire -- and the realization that there still aren't many books about girls who truly love sports -- inspired her to write this book. She lives outside of Washington, D.C. with her family and their many pets. This is her first novel. You can visit her at barbaracarrollroberts.com.
Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9781536208436
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Candlewick Press (MA)
Publication date
May 17, 2022
Series
-
BISAC categories
JNF007020 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography | Historical
JNF025130 - Juvenile Nonfiction | History | Military & Wars
JNF037030 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Science & Nature | Flowers & Plants
Library of Congress categories
France
World War, 1939-1945
Gardening
Roses
Gardeners
Meilland, Francis
Breeding

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