Lucy's Blooms

by Dawn Babb Prochovnic, Alice Brereton (Illustrator)

Overview

A multigenerational story about a young girl who learns from her grandmother about the enduring nature of love, the strength in rejecting labels, and the wisdom in standing with those who are different.

Featured in Children's Book Council's Summer 2022 Showcase: Love Makes the World Go Round

"In this grandmother-granddaughter story from Portland author Dawn Babb Prochovnic, little Lucy takes up gardening with relish, eager to win a flower contest. When the judges see her precious plants differently than she does, she wilts—but only for a moment. Alice Brereton provides delightfully vivid and expressive illustrations."
—The Oregonian

"[Dawn] Prochovnic's prose gently anthropomorphizes Lucy's flowers [and] Brereton adds vibrant, textural digital spreads with an inclusive array of expressive cartoon-style characters. This gently encouraging tale will inspire young readers to garden—and maintain optimism while learning new activities."
—Publishers Weekly

"A nurturing, affirmative, happy tale. . . Pervasive theme of love."
—Kirkus Reviews

"This lovely and lyrical story is the perfect read aloud for themes of family, love, persistence, empathy and resilience."
—Writers' Rumpus

The town’s annual flower contest is coming soon, and a young girl puts her heart into growing a lively bunch of flowers she finds in a meadow. As her grandmother guides her in nurturing a garden, the girl learns that winning isn’t the true reward—it’s the special love found in caring for something or someone. Lucy’s Blooms celebrates the joy and happiness that the world has to offer, through the beauty of nature, the kindness and love of family, and the unique specialness in the most unexpected places.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781513267197
Publisher:	TURNER PUB CO
Publication date:	04/13/2021
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)
Lexile:	610L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Dawn Babb Prochovnic is the author of Where Does a Cowgirl Go Potty? and Where Does a Pirate Go Potty?, and has also written numerous sign language books for children. She is the founder of SmallTalk Learning and blogs about books, sign language, and early literacy, and loves to work with schools, libraries, and bookstores to customize educational offerings. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Alice Brereton is a children’s book illustrator of such books like Glacier on the Move and loves to incorporate colorful textures and shapes into her artwork. She grew up and still lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Reading Group Guide

Lucy wove her wagon through the meadow behind Gram’s house. She breathed in the soft, sweet smell as hundreds and hundreds of bright, yellow blooms danced tall and proud in the wild grass.
While Lucy wandered, she sang Gram’s gardening song.
“Load up the wagon and off we go.
Plant little seeds and watch them grow…”
A clump of blooms leaned in to listen.
Lucy stopped and smiled. “Hello there,” she said. “Would you like to enter a flower contest? We could surprise Gram with a new blue ribbon!”
The blooms swayed in the breeze as if to nod their approval.
“First, I need to move you,” Lucy said as she gently shoveled the blooms out of the ground and into a cozier spot. She scooped handfuls of soil until the flowerpot was full.
The blooms stood still.
“Now wait here,” Lucy said, patting down the last bit of soil. “The Flower Festival is in three days, but I’ll come back to visit you tomorrow.”
Lucy danced tall and proud, just like the blooms in the meadow, all the way back to Gram’s house.
“Oh my, what a lively show,” said Gram, clapping her hands. “You must be ready for a cool drink after all that whirling and waving.” While Gram poured the pitcher, she whistled a song. Lucy stood close to listen.
The blooms dug their roots into the soil and explored their new surroundings. But as day lingered on, the soil grew dry and the blooms began to fade.
The next morning, Lucy returned to find her blooms drooping over the side of their pot.
“Oh no,” she said. “You must be thirsty. Let’s get you some water.” Lucy lifted her watering can and sprinkled her blooms. While Lucy watered, she whistled a song. Her blooms perked up to listen.
“Much better,” said Lucy. “I’ll come back first thing tomorrow to give you another drink.”
Lucy skipped back to the house to draw pictures of her blooms for Gram.
“Oh my, what a cheery bunch,” said Gram. And I’ll bet they’re hardy too. Did I ever tell you the story about the daisies I knew that liked to play hide-and-seek?”
Lucy nestled next to Gram on the porch swing to listen.
The blooms tried to nap in the meadow, but the blazing sun was too bright.
The next day when Lucy returned, she found her blooms curled and crisp.
“Oh no,” said Lucy. “You must be uncomfortable. Maybe you’d like a shadier spot.”
She wheeled the wagon under the old oak tree and climbed onto Gram’s tire swing.
“Did you know that once upon a time Gram played hide-and-seek with some daisies?”
Her blooms peeked their sunny faces out to listen.
“Ah, much better,” said Lucy, when her story was finished. “I’ll come back first thing tomorrow to take you to the contest.”
Lucy skipped back to the house and snuggled under a blanket to watch the sunset with Gram.
“Oh my, this is my favorite part,” said Gram.
“Mine too,” said Lucy.
The blooms shivered in the cool evening air.
The next morning, Lucy’s blooms huddled together in the center of their pot.
“Oh no,” said Lucy. “You must have been too cold last night.”
Lucy brought her blooms out into the sun.
She sprinkled more water on her blooms.
She whistled more songs to her blooms.
She told more stories to her blooms.
Then she danced a little dance for her blooms.
Lucy’s blooms bobbed playfully as they basked in Lucy’s love.
“Much better,” said Lucy. “Now you’re ready to win!”
Lucy rolled her wagon down the path and into the town square.
The judges looked at Lucy’s blooms.
They sniffed at Lucy’s blooms.
They measured Lucy’s blooms.
Then one of the judges opened the rulebook and pointed to the small print.
“Ah-ha!” she said. “These are a bunch of weeds.”
“And as the rulebook says, ‘No weeds allowed,’” another judge said.
Lucy wilted.
“Tough break, kid,” said the first judge.
“Better luck next time,” said another, as they moved on to the prize table. Lucy watched as the winners were announced: “Most Beautiful.” “Most Fragrant.” “Most Colorful.”
She stood by her blooms and breathed in their soft, sweet smell. Their cottony tufts tickled her nose. “Don’t worry,” Lucy said. “You win the Grand Prize: Most Loved!”
Her blooms shimmered in the sun.
“C’mon,” Lucy said with a smile. “I’ll race you back to Gram’s.” She took hold of her wagon and ran.
A fantastic flurry of silky seeds swirled and twirled behind her.

Interviews

”This book was inspired by an experience in my own garden, many years ago when two additional plants grew in my carefully prepared flowerbeds. More experienced gardeners informed me that these plants were actually weeds, and I was advised to pull them. This vigorous and lively pair of weeds brought me such joy, I couldn’t fathom the idea of discarding them. Instead, I nurtured them and admired them as they grew…and grew…and grew.

I considered the impact of socially constructed labels, such as beauty and worth, and how these labels impact our everyday actions. I became fascinated by dandelions, in particular, because they are widely considered to be an invasive nuisance that should be controlled/eliminated, and yet, every part of a dandelion (root, leaves, petals, etc.) is edible, they are rich in nutrients, and they are known to have healthful, curative properties. Plus, they are easy to grow, resilient, wildly familiar to (and beloved by) children, and in my view, absolutely beautiful.”

Editorial Reviews

04/26/2021

When Lucy, who has freckled tan skin and long black hair with two buns, finds a sunny clump of dandelions in “the meadow behind Gram’s house,” she hopes to enter them into the Flower Festival contest in three days and “surprise Gram with a new blue ribbon!” With her grandmother’s encouragement, Lucy nourishes her blooms, adding water, whistling to them, and moving them into the shade or sun when needed every morning. But when the judges disqualify Lucy (“The rulebook says, ‘No weeds allowed’ ”), she must find a way to pick herself back up from disappointment. Prochovnic’s prose gently anthropomorphizes Lucy’s flowers (“The blooms tried to nap in the meadow, but the blazing sun was too bright”). Brereton adds vibrant, textural digital spreads with an inclusive array of expressive cartoon-style characters. This gently encouraging tale will inspire young readers to garden—and maintain optimism while learning new activities. Ages 6–9. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

2021-03-02
An optimistic little girl’s in for a surprise when she enters a flower contest.

Discovering “hundreds and hundreds of bright, yellow blooms” growing behind Gram’s house, Lucy decides to enter a clump of them in the upcoming Flower Festival, hoping to win a blue ribbon for her grandmother. After transferring blooms into a flowerpot, Lucy returns to Gram, who’s whistling a song. Next morning, Lucy notices her thirsty blooms drooping and whistles as she waters them. That night, Gram tells Lucy a story about daisies, and the following day, when Lucy finds her blooms “curled and crisp” from too much sun, she repeats Gram’s story while shifting them into shade. On the day of the festival, Lucy finds her blooms shriveled from cold, and she revives them with sun, water, whistling, stories, dancing, and love. She enters her blooms in the contest only to learn they’re disqualified as a “bunch of weeds.” Lucy’s disappointed, but her blooms remain winners in her eyes. Using flat patterns, textures, and bright colors, the illustrations reveal Lucy as a dark-haired, wide-eyed, freckled, tan-skinned, smiling girl whose energetic, upbeat personality radiates off the page whether she’s dancing in fields of dandelions, nurturing her pot of dandelions, sharing sunsets and stories with silver-haired Gram (who presents White), or celebrating the shimmering beauty of dandelions going to seed. Close-ups of Lucy reinforce the pervasive theme of love.

A nurturing, affirmative, happy tale. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews