Book review: The Night Flower

By

Winner of the 2020 CBHL Annual Literature Award of Excellence in Children and Young Adult Literature

An exquisitely illustrated non-fiction picture book about a desert flower that blooms for just one night a year.

More about the book…

As the summer sun sets over the Arizona desert, wildlife gather to witness a very special annual event. The night flower is beginning to bloom...

This celebration transforms the quiet desert, for just a short few hours, into a riot of colour and sounds as mammals and insects congregate from miles away to take part in this miracle of nature. From pollinating fruit bats to burrowing owls, howling mice and reptilian monsters, join these animals on their journey to visit the flower in this beautiful nature-inspired story.

Based on the Saguaro cactus in the Sonoran desert, Arizona, this is a magical real-life tale from the natural world.

The gentle lyrical text coupled with Lara Hawthorne’s illustrations is perfect for young readers.

More about the author…

Fresh new talent Lara Hawthorne graduated from Falmouth University in 2013. Her first picture book, Herb was published in 2014 and she was selected to illustrate Carol Ann Duffy's The King of Christmas. Inspired by nature, myths and legends, Lara creates wonderful small worlds with her distinct watercolour style. Lara currently lives in Bristol.

My thoughts…

Soooo…. this is only the most beautiful book I’ve had the pleasure of reading this year! The ‘official’ target audience of The Night Flower is between the ages of 4 and 6 but my daughter loves it – and she’s just over 2 years old. True, she might not understand the finest details but I think it’s a book that can be read on various levels. I mean, my other daughter is only 3 months old and she still enjoys looking at the pictures! Plus, my wife and I learnt a ton of facts we didn’t know. So I would revise that statement and say that the ‘ideal’ target audience is found more between the ages of 0 and 41 years old. Minimum!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“Italy in books” - reading challenge 2011

By
Image
Why this challenge? This year I’ve decided to host a reading challenge because I think that they are a brilliant idea. They help to make reading a more collective experience and are a great way to find out more about any particular author / genre / topic and get to know about books you might never have come across. I chose this topic because - as an Italian who has been living abroad for many years now - I feel the need to learn more about my home country and I’m curious to see the difference between the way it is portrayed by native Italians and others. The details of the challenge The challenge will run from January, 1st 2011 to December, 31st 2011 . The aim of the challenge is to read at least 12 books that are set in Italy. Whether written by Italian authors or not, it doesn’t matter. They don’t have to be set exclusively in Italy but this country needs to play a significant role in the book. The challenge can include non-fiction books about Italy. You can also review Italian lea
Read more

Book review: She’s Never Coming Back

By
Image
By Hans Koppel Translated by Kari Dickson Published by Sphere It is safe to say that my choice of reading material is not usually truculent. That’s why I surprised myself when I decided to read a novel whose front cover prominently displays a quote describing it as a ‘terrifying crime novel’. I started to read expecting the worse and - it being impossible to put the book down - a few hours later I was trying to understand what had hit me. Let’s be clear: I loved this book and I’m grateful to Sphere for publishing this Swedish novel by author Karl Petter Lidbeck who, being a children’s literature author, decided to have it published under the pen name of Hans Koppel. I can see why he doesn’t want to have the two genres mixing on the bookshelves! The plot is simple enough: one day after work, Ylva does not return home. When she hasn’t returned 24 hours later, her husband Mike starts to worry and calls the police. Ylva seems to have disappeared without a trace and, month after month, Mike
Read more

Blog tour: Forgotten Women

By
Image
Welcome to the blog tour for Forgotten Women by Zing Tsjeng! More about the book…  A compendium of women who shaped and were erased from our history. Forgotten Women  reaches around the world and its history to rediscover, retell and reinstate the lives of over 190 important and significant women. From Neolithic times to modernity, Zing Tsjeng has traced the women who have shaped their age and revolutionised society. In this book lies the strength, lives and sacrifices of women who have refused to accept the hand they’ve been dealt and have changed the course of our futures accordingly. More about the author… Zing Tsjeng is the editor in chief of VICE UK and the author of the Forgotten Women book series. She specialises in women’s and LGBTQ rights, politics, culture and lifestyle. She is also a documentary host and podcaster, her recent podcast for the BBC was entitled Forgotten Zingdom and she interviews for publications such as Vogue, Dazed, and The Guardian. My impressions… What a
Read more