PICK OF THE LITERATURE
— by Dr. Donna Phillips
O
ur April showers have fi-
nally brought May flow-
ers and with it books are
blooming, too! There are books that
celebrate all things that grow. There
are books to celebrate being outdoors.
There are books that celebrate imagina-
tion and information. There are books to
celebrate this time of year and things to
do. No matter where you look, there is
so much happening and there is always
a book to go with it!
What kind of flowers are you see-
ing? If you are not sure then An ABC
of Flowers (Philomel Books, New York,
2019, $16.99), written and illustrated
by Jitta Hilpuesch, might be the book
to help you out! This beautifully photo-
graphed book shows the delicate detail
and colors of flowers listed in alphabeti-
cal order. The addition of adorable char-
acters sketched onto each page helps to
tell a story and ties the pages together.
Children will love the close up images
of each flower and the sketches lead
naturally to storytelling by you or your
child, or you can both make one up to-
gether! It would be a great book for a
walk in the neighborhood to try to spot
some of the flow-
ers. You might
use it for ideas
for planning and
planting your own
garden, or even se-
lecting flowers for
that special mother
on Mother’s Day.
Mr.
Asher
had a beautiful
and unique garden
16 WNY Family May 2019
in which he spent his days quietly and
carefully tending to his plants. He would
plant and water and talk and tend to all
of his plants and new seeds. One day,
he discovered he had a very unusual and
unique plant growing in his greenhouse.
He called it Little Green Girl (Dial
Books for Young Readers, New York,
2019 $17.99), written and illustrated
by Lisa Anchin. He often found himself
talking to her more than the other plants
and, although she never spoke back, he
could tell she was listening and soon he
began to listen to her. He could tell what
she wanted just by watching her closely.
Soon he realized that what she wanted
was to see the larger world. But how
could he help her do that? This is the
delightful story of their travels together
and how coming back helped them ex-
pand their garden, their world view, and
their friendship.
With the weather getting sunnier
and warmer, it’s time to venture out-
doors. If your favorite springtime out-
door adventure is a trip to the zoo then
Peppa Goes to the Zoo (Scholastic,
New York, 2019, $8.99), by Neville Ast-
ley and Mark Baker, is for you! This
lift-a-flap board book will get everyone
ready for the day. Madame Gazelle is
taking the class to the zoo to learn about
what animals eat. While she told them
they’d be meeting wild animals, they
never expected them to be their guides!
This imaginative “feeding time at the
zoo” tale, with doors to open and sur-
prises behind each one, will get every-
one ready to look for animals, hidden or
not. There is even a special surprise for
Peppa and her friends at the end of the
story.
Spring is a special time for activat-
ing and heightening the senses. Rich
and vibrant spring colors, the sounds
of nature, the smells of the earth and
growing things, the feel of grass and
soft warm breezes, and the promise of
good tastes to come make this time of
year especially engaging and energiz-
ing. Animals are also feeling the same
things, but perhaps it is the smells of the
season that make them most curious.
Animal Noses (Arbordale Publishing,
Mt. Pleasant, 2019, $9.95) helps us un-
derstand just how important this sense
is to our furry friends. In simple terms
and detailed photographs we learn about
different kinds of
animal noses and
what they are de-
signed for. This
fascinating
and
informative book
will be a perfect
companion for the
questions that may
arise about the ani-
mals that are be-
ginning to stir and