FANTASTIC FLOWERS

The unique shapes and patterns of 17 exotic and common flowers are exhibited in this optically striking display that points to the plants’ visual similarities to other objects, animals, or people.

Aided by melodic rhyming verse, large, boldly colored acrylic paintings reveal the ways the flowers mimic something else. “Flowers in shapes that surprise and delight. // Upside down pants, / a parrot in flight. // Prim ballerinas, / wild baboons. // Snakes standing guard, // and spiraling spoons.” A first look through the artwork will bring recognition for some of the comparisons, but the patterned arrangements and varying perspectives will invite re-examination to catch them all. The significant backmatter supplements the art with crisp close-up color photographs of each flower coupled with its common and scientific names, area of origin, and pollinators. It will crystallize the painted images for readers as they revisit the paintings and realize the associations, which are often reflected in the flower’s common names. For example “Bumblebees laughing” glosses the bumblebee orchid, while Australia’s red spider flower is represented as “skittering spiders.” This should encourage older preschoolers and early elementary children to look closely at nature’s wonders in the garden for their own comparisons.

This is a book to closely pore over—perhaps before a trip to the park or a botanical garden for real-life practice.