Bloom: An Ode to Spring

by Deborah Diesen, Mary Lundquist (Illustrator)

Overview

From the New York Times Bestselling author of The Pout-Pout Fish series

Dig holes in the autumn soil.
Drop the bulbs in one by one.
Cover them with dirt.
Come spring, the bulbs will flower!

In this lushly illustrated story from Deborah Diesen that celebrates life and growing up, a mother and daughter plant a garden to see how something small blooms into something as beautiful and strong as their love.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781466896871
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	03/07/2017
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	60 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	2 - 6 Years

About the Author

Deborah Diesen is the author of the New York Times bestselling Pout-Pout Fish series, illustrated by Dan Hanna. She lives in Michigan with her family.

Mary Lundquist is the author and illustrator of Cat&Bunny. She graduated with a B.F.A. from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and now lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband and son.

Deborah Diesen is the New York Times bestselling author of The Pout-Pout Fish, named by Time Magazine as one of the Ten Best Children’s Books of 2008, and The Pout-Pout Fish in the Big-Big Dark. Diesen grew up in Midland, Michigan, and started writing poems at a young age. She has worked as a bookseller and a librarian, and now works for a small nonprofit organization, but her greatest joy comes from writing for children. She lives with her family in Grand Ledge, Michigan.
Mary Lundquist is the author and illustrator of Cat&Bunny. She graduated with a BFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and now lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband and son.

Editorial Reviews

03/06/2017
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.)

Publishers Weekly

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

From the Publisher

03/01/2017
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

School Library Journal

★ 2017-03-20
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. "Do you remember when we planted those flower bulbs together?" In a flashback that lasts until the final three spreads, a white, redheaded mother recounts the fun of that fall day spent with her mixed-race daughter (dad has brown skin and black hair). Vignettes capture the passage of time and all the things that have happened since then: the first day of school, a family vacation, a swimming medal, a lost tooth, several holidays, a broken arm, a birthday, a snowstorm. The mom had almost forgotten about those bulbs. But under the ground, as the seasons turned, they were pushing down roots, sending up stems, and blooming. (Lundquist's spread illustrating this is gorgeous and captures both the changing seasons aboveground and the underground growth.) The final three spreads show the mother and daughter venturing out in a spring rain in their slickers and boots to see what has grown. 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." (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews