Child's Play

Review of The Flower

There is a touchingly indelible beauty about this most remarkable book. With a seemingly simple text, John Light tells the story of a young boy who works in a bleak city's gloomy library whose dark cellar houses banned books. He sneaks one out to read at home in secret, and is enchanted by the picture of a flower, a rare treat in a flowerless world, a world which he now sets about seeking to change. Lisa Evans illustrations have a unique quality which captures brilliantly the poignancy, the bleakness and the final floral optimism of the text. Aimed at young children, this magical book will have a strong appeal well, well beyond the early years.

Trevor Dickinson, School Librarian Journal. 1st July 2007

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