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A ROSE NAMED PEACE by Barbara Carroll Roberts

A ROSE NAMED PEACE

How Francis Meilland Created a Flower of Hope for a World at War

by Barbara Carroll Roberts ; illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline

Pub Date: April 12th, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0843-6
Publisher: Candlewick

The story of an intrepid rosarian who cultivated not only a new variety of rose, but also a glimmer of hope when the world needed it most.

Born in 1912, Francis Meilland grew up on his family’s farm in southern France, where they grew fruits, vegetables, and roses. After becoming fascinated with cross-pollination, he began experimenting to create a new rose of his very own. He tried for many years and finally grew “an enormous rose—five inches across in full bloom—with petals that shaded from pale ivory at the center through creamy yellow to a fringe of deep pink at their outer edges.” Tragically, the world was thrust into World War II soon after. Meilland rushed to send clippings of the new rose to growers. The rose thrived and was given many different names around the globe, none more apt than Peace, the name given to the flower by U.S. grower Robert Pyle. Exquisite watercolors by Ibatoulline starkly contrast sun-drenched rose gardens with smudged, fragile battlefields, highlighting the many strands woven into the flower’s journey. The narrative adeptly adds botanical information (with more facts appended in an afterword), making for a compelling combination of history and science. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Poignant storytelling that absolutely blooms.

(glossary, bibliography) (Informational picture book. 6-10)