I don't really know what to write about this book. It was well-written, but I'm not sure I liked it. I didn't hate it, though. For me, it's one of those books that left me going, "Umm...OK...". I like the flower communication and all, but the whole story just sort of took some weird turns and ended up feeling like it wasn't going anywhere. And then it didn't. It just kind of ended. This is a soft and pretty book about various flowers that grow in a meadow and how they are cared for and supported by a bumblebee who lives in their midst. The concept of flower meaning may go over the heads of very young readers, but this is still a calm, soothing book for quiet time. If a student found the story engaging I definitely wouldn't discourage them--sometimes a book that appeals to a special interest can be just the right motivation to encourage a kid to practice their reading and language skills!

Oh, to read this book with a little just before lights are turned out and sleep calls. A beautiful story to send your little off to dreamland with.This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sourcesin this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( September 2023) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) This book had a great dreamy almost magical realism feel about it. And magical realism is my favourite kind of realism. I love the characters, even when I hated them, and the writing was just glorious without being too... wait for it.... *cough* flowery. Many people have shown her that they care about her, that they’re willing to help her, but she can’t accept it. I get that we’re supposed to believe that she’s so broken(she was an abandoned baby who never found a real forever home) that she sees herself as unworthy of anyone’s concern, but how it came off to this reader is that she’s too selfish and stubborn to do what’s right. This is when my connection to her broke down completely. Three stars means that the story had a good plot as well as good characters. Usually that's enough for me to like a book Speech Pathologist Shirt, SLP Speech Therapist Gift, Speech Language Pathologist Gift, Language Therapy Shirt, SLP Student Gift

When we first encounter Victoria, it’s the day of her eman- cipation from foster care, her eighteenth birthday. Emancipation couldn’t be a more ironic word for this moment. For Victoria, as for most foster-care survivors—myself included—freedom really means free fall. She has nowhere to go, no resources, no one who cares about her. She ends up sleeping in a public park, tending a garden of pil- fered blossoms and living on her wits. Only when a local florist sees Victoria’s special way with flowers is she given a means to survive. A woman also had to be pretty precise about where she wore flowers. Say, for instance, a suitor had sent her a tussie-mussie ( a.k.a. nosegay). If she pinned it to the 'cleavage of bosom', that would be bad news for him, since that signified friendship. Ah, but if she pinned it over her heart, 'That was an unambiguous declaration of love'." [10] The problems I have with this are that there isn’t any reason for any of the people who help this girl to want to help her. She snarls and sulks and is so hard and distant that I was left wondering why any of these people wanted to be around her let alone assist her. No one knows her sad/bitter/hostile history and she isn't talking so why should they feel anything for her?The book, though, is about more than what the flowers mean . It is about what it means to belong , to be loved , to be able to love. It's also about family and forgiveness . For eight years I dreamed of fire. Trees ignited as I passed them, oceans burned. The sugary smoke settled in my hair as I slept, the scent like a cloud left on my pillow as I rose. Even so, the moment my mattress started to burn, I bolted awake. The sharp, chemical smell was nothing like the hazy syrup of my dreams; the two were as different as Indian and Carolina jasmine, separation and attachment. They could not be confused.

The novel follows the fraught life of a Victoria Jones, who by the age of 18, had lived in 32 foster homes, and becomes a flower arranger. The novel was inspired by a flower dictionary, a type of Victorian-era book which defines what different types of flowers mean. Set of 5 Vintage Books Customizable by Color Authentic Books Farmhouse Wedding Table Decor Art Deco Literary Bookish Decor Bookshelf Set How about: “He sat in a chair. She pulled her feet beneath her. He slumped over in exhaustion. She bent over in pain. She curled herself underneath the bush.” I present you with a trilliam to represent modest beauty. I was prepared for this book to lose me completely because of high-brow, literaryness, and get too tangled up in a vine-like metaphor. But it didn't. It's a very subtle and quiet book and it's wonderful. Along with a beautiful visual depiction, each entry provides the flower’s scientific and common names, characteristics, and historic meanings and powers from mythology, medieval legends, folklore, and flower poetry.Abandoned at birth Victoria is now 18 years old and "emancipated" from being a ward of the state . Her narrative alternates between her life at age ten, when she is taken in by Elizabeth and is finally looking at a chance to have a mother and present day, as she turns 18 and is being released from a group home. We learn of Victoria's " gift " for helping people convey their feelings , hopes and thoughts , through flowers and we learn what happened when she was ten. I was hooked in early by this story of a foster child who suffered through the system until she was emancipated at 18. Once out of the foster care system she continued to struggle through homelessness, her own rebelliousness and feelings of not being worthy in any of her relationships in her young life. Through of all of this, she displayed such strength and will to carry on through her darkness. Her knowledge & passion of flowers sustained her through it all! The novel touches on many themes (love, family, forgiveness, second chances). Which do you think is the most important? And what did you think was ultimately the book’s lesson? The Complete Language of Flowers: A Definitive and Illustrated History (Volume 3) (Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia, 3)