GRANDMA'S PURPLE FLOWERS

A young girl is saddened when her grandmother dies one winter, but by spring, she is able to get over her grief enough to let the purple flowers they enjoyed together remind her of their loving relationship. Bright graphics, which combine cut-paper collage technique with watercolor and acrylics, make some of the action veritably leap off the page as the girl tells of summer, fall, and winter visits to see her grandmother. Nature figures prominently with vivid details included for each time of year and with the action linked to the seasons. For example, the girl's sadness is mirrored by the cold, bleak atmosphere outdoors, and the death is foreshadowed when the girl questions the dying of the leaves in autumn and the grandmother tells her that everything has its time to go. During the girl's visits, the two enjoy corn bread, pecan pie, and other simple pleasures; their closeness is apparent. Burrowes illustrates the girl's happy outdoor times especially well. However, her use of realistic images that primarily incorporate the medium of cut paper beside impressionistic ones in which brush strokes predominate may be jarring for some. And Burrowes, who is making her debut as an author, sometimes uses words and word pictures that lack freshness or don't seem to fit, and due to the form, the girl's recovery seems a little too abrupt to be believable. A good concept that could be better executed, this will still have its audience. (Picture book. 7-10)