I might have reviewed the title The Weedflower by Elizabeth Davaze and illustrated by Marianne Ferrer before, but I don’t remember. However, I do remember reading it before. And I must have been in two very good moods those days. Usually, a book that is a bit “extra sweet” and a bit “overly modern” is not my usual thing. Therefore, maybe it is because I am trying to keep some plants on the front porch (again) this year, and there is a flower box with two Mother Nature Plants in it. Or Mystery Plants. They don’t look like they’ll have blooms, but they have some great height and the “ground stuff” is very unique. I’ve nicknamed the box Audrey’s Box.
Okay, so now onto the book. The Weedflower is a dandelion. It is small and at first nobody but one girl sees it. And she’s not telling. She cares for it, and more kids notice and help. It grows taller than the smallest kid, and turns into a puff flower. Then adults notice and say Nope, three strikes you’re out! The kids protest, but are out muscled by the principal, and they rid themselves of The Weed. The next year, something magical happens and the cycle starts again.
Take the book at face value, which is a flower the kids love and adults don’t. Or take it as the metaphor it probably is, which is that there is beauty in small things. Everyone can care. And though you see a weed, it is still a flower (by the way, if you see my dad, tell him that dandelions are our friends and really are dandelion flowers and that yellow really is artistic looking against the green grass… Besides, if you keep them, no mowing and less work for him!) Anyway, the story is sweet and the second reading really gave me the happy feels.
The artwork is simple. There are minimal details (what is not there and/or what space isn’t filled is just as important as what is) and the colors, while having a bit of a kick are not overly bright or bold, but they are solid. It is artistic, classically feeling but also modern. Read via an online reader copy, out summer of 2024.