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| She's so cute! |
May 1st 2014, Coliloquy LLC, Interactive book, Demo copy
Summary from the press release
"Mind the seeds you plant, and the flowers
that you tend," advises Aunt Maeve as she hands a packet of magical seeds
to her little niece.
From that mix of seeds sprouts a mesmerizing,
magical journey for one little girl.
Each day, the girl plants a different seed, only
to see flowers bloom into botanical allegories of her own behavior: The bright
seed of Cheerfulness grows towards the light. The seed of Patience grows slowly
and blooms after many moons. In the garden are virtues: Kindness, Hope,
Generosity, Humor and Gratitude. But also failings: Fibs, Misery, Tattle Tale,
Vanity and Argument. Each flower represents a quality that the little girl
cultivates (or battles) within herself.
Mother and daughter authors J.C. Herz and Eve
Scott take readers on a vivid, interactive adventure whose literary language
and exquisite animated illustrations are deeply evocative. The narrative and
imagery opens the door for even young children to reflect on their own behavior
and moral choices.
Nayuleska's thoughts
Today's review is a little different, as it is an interactive book. I had to put down my herbal tea when I opened the email and clicked on the link - it is so COOL! Watching the seeds grow is quite something, and has to be seen to be believed. If this is the future of some ebooks, well, just WOW! I'd have loved this kind of read when I was little - I most definitely like it now.
Books with a moral message either work well or they sound preachy. This book is the former. The way the story reads makes me really feel for the girl at every emotion she encounters, as they are ones we all feel at one time or another. As part of the tour I've opted to pick one seed and talk about it.That is a really hard thing for me to do. I'd love to talk about the Vanity seed, because I really like the feel of the picture, but in Islam we are discouraged from sharing our faults because God often keeps them safe and helps us work through them. So instead I'll talk about the seed of humor/humour. Seeing the girl with a flower over her head made me laugh, as did all the multicoloured sprinkles raining from the flower - it reminds me of all my feel good anime, and funny tales that I share with my friends.
The reason why this didn't get full marks is because not all the illustration styles are to my liking, some are quite gross and scary and something I'd avoid rather than click on. Also I'd have preferred something more positive or all-encompassing for the title, as the flowers can by happy and sweet too. That said, the rest is rather ace!
Suggested read
Another fab read exploring emotions is Twee' & I Am Twee' by Susie Charon (Children's, Picture book, 10E/10E)
Competition time!
For those who fall in love with the pictures here's an opportunity to get a print from one of the illustrations in the book like this one!
This competition is now closed
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