My Friends the Flowers - Hardcover

William Lach is an avid gardener and editor who has worked with a number of botanical gardens on book and stationery projects. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. Doug Kennedy has collaborated on a number of books with his sister, Kim, including the Pirate Pete books and Hee-Haw-Dini and the Great Zambini. He lives in Monroe, Louisiana.

Kindergarten-Grade 2—An unnamed narrator loves to visit with flower friends. Employing a rhymed couplet, Lach addresses each one using the common name or nickname as he relates an endearing statement: "Apple Blossom loves the bees/and gives the breezes honey./But Cherry is Miss Popular as soon as spring gets sunny." Readers won't realize that a bumblebee is telling the story until the conclusion. Anthropomorphic sentiments are jarring ("They very much love me."). Bugs of various colors, reading books and playing musical instruments, cavort on each page. The illustrations of the flowers are pencil sketches painted in acrylic and then scanned onto the computer. The insects were digitally created directly and appear to stand out more sharply in contrast to the fuzzier lines of the flowers. The unappealing blossoms have saucer-size and goofy, cartoonlike eyes that are frequently crossed. The author tries to do too much in this text, resulting in the back matter becoming the stronger part of the book. The glossary is organized in the order that the flowers are presented in the story. Each glossary entry has a thumbnail color photo of the actual flower along with its scientific name. Helpful advice for planting marigolds, sunflowers, and morning glories is appended. This book is supplemental at best.—Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.