Quite an interesting read.
Firstly, the illustrations, and format - I think they were done wonderfully and it made the whole reading experience so much better,
Also, I think the method of compiling all these poems was very innovative. The bigger picture was a glimpse at ONE STORY told through various poems!
Overall, Ivy in Bloom was really sweet and cute and I think it was a great book!

What a clever way to incorporate poems from a variety of poets in a way that seems like one story altogether!
Great illustrations and enjoyable format to read!
I need to start using the word mud-licious! super cute. :)
a wonderful book to read in March when winter weaves itself into spring slowly but surely here in Sweden.

Ivy in Bloom uses catchy verses and beautifully done illustrations to tell the story of winter fading into spring. As a Canadian currently eagerly awaiting the coming of spring, I found this book sweet and relatable. My children enjoyed the pretty pictures as well as the engaging story. I have a feeling this is one we will be reading again soon.

*I received a complimentary copy of Ivy in Bloom through the publisher and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. My positive review is not required.

What a beautiful gift Ivy was to me today. It is a cold, rainy, February day, and I feel just like Ivy, yearning for springtime. The pretty pictures and imaginative poetry create a book that will be loved by many and cherished for years to come. Vanita Oelschlager's creativity beautifully combines present day poems with those of days gone by, allowing the reader to escape to a place as lovely as a gorgeous spring day.

This book is absolutely breathtaking! I was drawn to the gorgeous cover of Ivy in Bloom. The inside of the book was just as beautiful. The story follows a young girl who is patiently waiting for spring to arrive. Each page has poetic lines from great poets combined with new lines from the author. It makes for a charming story. The bibliography at the end is delightful. I love how each page shows what was written and by whom. This would be a great book to use to introduce children to poetry. The illustrations are spectacular and are a perfect fit with the writing on each page. This book would make a lovely edition to any home library.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book for an honest review.

Pros: I'm a big believer that children's books are not just for children--they are for adults too! I find that children's nonfiction and poetry are great places for adults to begin when wanting to learn a new topic or try out a new genre. It seems that many adults think poetry isn't for them or that they won't understand it. I think adults (or middle grade age and teenagers) would benefit from reading poetry books marketed toward children. What is especially great about this book is that it incorporates lines of poetry by famous poets. I appreciated how the author included parts of these poems at the end of the book. I really liked the illustrations in this book. I also loved the note at the end of the book that the net proceeds of its sales would be donated to charitable organizations.

Cons: None. Just a suggestion that younger children read this with a someone teenage age or older to help with some of the bigger words and to read the longer poems at the end of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and VanitaBooks, LLC for the opportunity to read this book!

I received an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review from VanitaBooks, LLC via NetGalley.

"I'm Ivy Van Allsberg.
I'm waiting for spring."

Me too, Ivy, me too!

I loved the creative idea of combining lines from other poems and poets to create a new story. This concept could be a great introduction to the world of poetry for children.

Furthermore, having these poems collected at the end of the book is a homage to these poets. They could also be a new puzzle for the children. Using these poems, the kids could put together some new lines that would follow the illustrations and describe them differently.

The illustrations did a terrific job of bringing poetry to life. I loved the style, the beautiful colours, and the little Ivy.

This was a very cute children's novel. The illustrations were fantastic and creative. This was advertised as an adult poetry collection on NetGalley, so it was not at all what I was expecting.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Such a cute poetical little book. I liked the idea with all these poets and writers like longfellow, Dickens, Frost and so on and to put them all in a little book for kids. That was amazing and a wonderful job with the illustrations to help. Great job really. A little girl dreaming of spring while in winter, I liked it very much. A beautiful ode to spring.

This book is an interesting experiment in using lines from other writers to construct a new story. Unfortunately, if you didn't know where the words came from, or the technique the author was playing with, it wouldn't be a very good or interesting story.

It's a great effort, and I can absolutely appreciate it for that. I also think the illustrations were beautiful. Colorful, stylized scenes that really carried you from page to page.

I am considering the poems in the bibliography as part of the story, because I think that most parents would read on into it. The extracts from the other writers provide an excellent opportunity for parents to introduce names like Longfellow, Whitman, and Browning. For somewhat older children, it could be the inspiration for an activity in which they try to use the poems in the back to construct a different story that still goes along with the pictures.

This book follows a young girl who is tired of the long and cold winter. As the weather changes and winter slowly turns into spring, her world is filled with color and life again. It's written in short poems that are put together from poems by famous classical poets. They're simple but filled with meaning and they have a musical and pleasant tone.

It's a really sweet book that I'd definitely recommend for children. It's magical, pretty, hopeful, and beautiful. The illustrations are absolutely lovely which makes it a pleasure to read.

Ivy in Bloom by Vanita Oelschlager, 40 pages. PICTURE BOOK, POETRY. VanitaBooks, 2009. $16.
Content: G
BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
This winter is cold and gray, and all Ivy wants is for spring to come. With the help of some poets, Ivy talks about the joy of March and April.
Oelschlager’s idea of putting a story together with the words of past poets is appealing, but I think it was poorly executed. The illustrator did a beautiful job in bringing the poetry to life for readers, but the words don’t fit together nicely, confusing me as I read. Honestly, my favorite part was the bibliography, which is probably the least appealing part for the intended audience.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Adorable story and lovely poems. The illustrations were beautiful and the kids loved reading this aloud! I love that it has the entire poem at the end of the book for them to check out.

I don't often read poetry but this was a charming children's poetry book. About transitioning into spring told beautifully in verse

Beautifully written and illustrated children's book that explains about the build up to spring. I would love to see one about Autumn too!

Beautifully written, a compelling story captured in the pages and illustrations. This story has a place on my “living books” shelf.

**I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

This was a cute kids book that talks about being excited about spring through old poems. At the back of the book you can see what lines were from what poems and who wrote them. The illustrations were also very cutesy. If you are teaching kids about the seasons or they are longing for spring this is a cute read.

This book is BEAUTIFULLY illustrated. For each illustration there are a few lines from poems by Dickenson, Milne, Shelley, Whitman, Dickens, Cummings, Morley, Frost, Nashe, Millay, Wordsworth, Browning, Longfellow, Bryant, and Whittier. I’m sad to be the only one to grouse, but the format did not speak to me. Why detract from something beautiful? Each poem is short. Why, oh why, did the author choose to show only two or three lines of each poem alongside each illustration, instead of the full poem on each page? For some unfathomable reason, the full texts of the poems appear merely as an afterthought in small print next to icons of the illustrations at the end of the book! How can you have a meaningful discussion with a child about a poem when only one or two lines of the poem are shown out of context? The poems and illustrations are brilliant. This book would have been five brilliant stars (with no reservations), if not for the presentation. Thank you NetGalley And VanitaBooks,LLC for this beautiful read that filled my heart with joy twice – once when I sighed over the beautiful illustrations and once when I read and reread the beautiful lines of the poems, in context, at the end of the book.

I was charmed by this book, and I think it will be easy to use with younger readers. You can transition from the primary poem to the other classics included in the second half. It is nicely illustrated and designed.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a digital ARC for the purpose of an unbiased review.

Ivy in Bloom is an adorable little story, great for read-a-loud with your children. This book is a great gateway into the reading of poetry. This book melds together the poetry of famous poets into the story of Ivy waiting for the spring to return after the long and hard winter.
The cute story is interwoven with the likes of Charles Dickens, Emily Dickinson, and Robert Frost to name a few. Under each of the famous poems are biography descriptions of the poet themselves further teaching children about the poets mentioned.
The illustrations were cartoon-like and watercolor based and added depth to the story. Ivy in Bloom is enchanting and whimsical. This is a great book to bring poetry to the forefront where children's books almost never go.
I would recommend this book children's book for the read-aloud ages 5-8 and for older children up to 10 years old.