The Flower (Child's Play Library) - Hardcover

Light, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1846430720 ISBN 13: 9781846430725

Publisher: Child's Play (International) Ltd, 2007

Synopsis

Brigg lives in a small, grey room in a large, grey city. When he finds a book in the library labelled ‘Do Not Read’, he cannot resist taking it home. In it, he comes upon pictures of bright, vibrant objects called flowers. He cannot find flowers anywhere in the city, but stumbles instead on a packet of seeds. This sets off a chain of events which bring about unexpected results, continuing to grow and bloom even after we have turned the last page. John Light’s enigmatic story is told with utter simplicity, but resonates long after we finish reading this book. His increasingly optimistic vision is hauntingly captured by Lisa Evans’s beautiful and whimsical illustrations.

About this title

Review

There once was a boy called Brigg, who lived in a small grey room in a big grey city. Every day he walked to the library, which is where he worked. "Dangerous books" were stored in the library, and one day Brigg found some books that were labeled "Do not read." Brigg was curious, so he took one of the books home with him, and when he opened it he saw that it was full of pictures of beautiful colorful things called flowers. Brigg had never seen a real flower, and he searched the city, trying to find one. All he was able to find was a picture of a flower in an old junk shop. Briggs bought the picture, and when he went home, he discovered that his picture contained seeds. He followed the directions written on the back of the picture, and something wonderful happened.

In this evocative picture book, John Light takes us to a world where there are no flowers or green things. Everything is grey and grim and ugly. Brigg's discovery that flowers once existed, and his subsequent adventure is full of hope. Readers will have a wonderful time imagining what happens next in the story. The marriage of the text and the art in this book is perfect, and readers of all ages will moved by the powerful images that they see, and the thought-provoking ideas that the book explores. (Marya Jansen-Gruber Through The Looking Glass Children's Book Review 2011-04-01)

About the Author

John Light was born in London in 1943. For many years he taught chemistry at the University of London, but is now a full time writer, artist and publisher. He likes art, music, science, gardening and watching the sea. As well as stories for children, he writes poetry both for children and for people who used to be children. He also writes science fiction novels.

Edition details

• Publisher: Child's Play (International) Ltd
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1846430720
• ISBN 13: 9781846430725
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Evans Lisa
• Number of pages: 32