Flower Girl Butterflies by Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard

(This book was reviewed digitally.)ĭestined to be a favorite bedtime read-aloud.Ī collection of poems follows a group of elementary school students as they prepare for and celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Text and art gracefully advance two themes-cooperation toward a goal and appreciation of nature’s magic-while also lulling restless readers toward naptime or bedtime. Before the animals arrive to view the northern lights, there is a gently humorous mishap as the sleigh capsizes, and Stag and Beaver valiantly get it back on track. Wolves pull the sleigh, and the text emphasizes that none of the animals are in danger (“no one hunter, no one prey”) during this expedition. Beginning with a falcon and ending with a mouse, a total of eight kinds of animals are introduced, each with their own contribution the drollest one comes from Bear, whose body provides cushioning for other riders. The text describes the animals’ actions readers will slowly be able to figure out what the creatures are making. As the creatures gather, they sense they need to do something. A sway and creak as pines bow low, / and then begins the song of snow.” On this initial double-page spread and throughout, simple but eloquent rhymes are complemented by stylized, appealing animal characters that move within a soothing world of pinks, purples, and blues, dotted with flecks of snow and points of light. “There’s magic in the winter air, / as all the creatures are aware.

3-7)Ī disparate group of animals constructs a large sleigh so they can travel together to watch the northern lights.

But overall the effervescent, humorous quality of the illustrations successfully matches the warm mood of the festivities. One false note is a cloying greeting card moment, in Sarah’s dreams, showing bride and groom, astride white stallion accompanied by doves, flying off together into the heavens. Krömer’s expressive illustrations make effective use of watercolor, colored pencil, and collage to extend the text and animate the recognizable characters in this warm African-American family drama. All the wedding preparations, up to and including Sarah’s ultimately triumphant trip down the aisle, are artfully and accurately described, which will also make the story enjoyable as a kind of primer on wedding traditions and expectations. The first page of text expresses the momentousness of the invitation to be in the wedding party, accompanied by a close-up of Sarah’s clearly apprehensive little face. Sarah’s aunt is getting married in this familiar story of a flower girl’s performance anxiety the cover depicting a beaming Sarah foreshadows a happy ending.

Flower Girl Butterflies by Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard