I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Blossom and Bud is a really adorable children's book about a very tall sunflower and a tiny bud. In the flower shop beauty blossoms all around, but the other flowers are mean to Blossom and Bud. They make fun of their height and size and both flowers feel sad, alone and unloved.
Blossom tries to shrink down to hide her height and Bud tries to make himself taller.
One day they are chosen for a very big surprise and this makes them feel more loved and confident.
This is a simple to follow and understand story which I feel gets the message across to children and grown ups.
Body image is starting to affect children much earlier in life now due to social media. They become worried, anxious and insecure about their weight, height, hair, skin and much much more.
We need to try and promote positive body image as much as possible and this book really does bring that across within the story.
At the back of the book is a section for parents and teachers about body image with some very helpful and informative information.

This book is written by a New Jersey psychologist and the illustrations are stunning. Blossom and Bud inhabit Mr. Baxter's flower shop. The flowers that surround them are spectacular with vibrant colours and robust perfection making the flower shop a very beautiful place indeed.

Blossom, a super tall and gangly sunflower, dislikes how she looks and tries to hide her height. Bud has not fully opened up yet so he feels very inadequate and tries to force his flower to bloom. The other flowers in the shop are mean and make fun of them making them feel like misfits and outcasts. Is there any hope that the two will finally accept themselves just as they are and feel that they too have a purpose to fulfill?

This is a wonderful story that can spark a discussion about positive body image. I love that the author includes the "note to florists". It encourages kids to love who they are no matter what size or shape. The moral of the story is to teach kids ( and adults ) that they are perfect just the way they are and their uniqueness is to be celebrated. I love the book and I highly, highly recommend it.

First off sunflowers are my favorite and second I absolutely love the anti bias theme in every way imaginable that this book offers. Great for teachers to use for ece to teach opposites and the being special/unique. Definitely one of my favorite and will be a classroom book

This was a very sweet book about a flower that feels too tall and another that feels too short. They are discontent with their appearance. The focus is very much on Blossom and Bud, but the flower shop owner helped the flowers see their unique beauty.

What an absolute delight!

This picture book, written by a New Jersey psychologist (and spectacularly illustrated by an amazing artist) tells the story of Blossom, a tall and gangly sunflower, and Bud, a little stem, not yet fully opened, who share space in Mr. Baxters floral shop with an abundance of breathtakingly beautiful flowers. So much beauty, in fact, that both Blossom and Bud, can’t help but fear they don’t fit in - each of them struggling with their own perceptions of visible “flaws”, that are only of course, present in their own flowery minds.

Too tall, too small, - it’s sad but true that our world is such that children, from a very young age, have already seen and internalized so many confusing messages about body type and “acceptability” that it can’t help but be difficult for them to love and appreciate the diversity exhibited in their own bodies, or those of their friends.

Even the tiniest tot will delight and relate to Bud and Blossoms journey to self-acceptance. It’s heart-warming and wonderful to see Mr Baxters joy in building his most special bouquet; one which can’t be built without the broadest inclusion- from the tallest flower to the smallest, each bud and stem adds perfection, in its own unique way, contributing to what has to be the most magnificent display of all.

A lovely, lovely story that needs to be read, enjoyed, celebrated and discussed with your little ones.

A great big thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author, for an advance review copy of this wonderful book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts presented are my own.

A beautiful book about self-love, respect for others and diversity! Blossom and Bud, with its beautiful illustrations and wonderful words, shows us we all belong in this world, wether we're tall or short and we must accept others for how they are.

An important book on body image, but I'm not sure if the story is as wow-worthy as I hoped. The story is just a bit flat for kids to follow and will take a lot of effort for the reader to help children really get the message.

This book focuses on body image in a unique way. I thought it was an interesting choice for the focus to be about the plants' height, normally height isn’t what someone thinks about when they think of body image. I was a fan of this take because I used to have body image problems regarding my height, I thought I was too tall so it’s nice to see this brought up in a children’s book. I also appreciated how there’s a note in the back of the book regarding body image and their children.

I really liked the pictures throughout the book. I loved how all of the flowers were drawn and the people were especially cute. I really liked how all of the couples throughout the book had a height difference. I didn’t notice it the first time around but when I went back to look at the pictures more closely I saw that each partner had some type of height difference which I think was pretty clever. Just a side note, I liked how one couple had tattoos, a wlw couple, one person with a prosthetic arm, one with an eye patch, and one with a hijab. It was great to see different people represented.

While I thought the premise was nice I did feel like the story portion was lacking. We only really get to see the flowers mention their body image issues once, barely twice, and then we also see the other flowers making fun of them. This all takes place in two pages and I just wish it would’ve gone a bit more in-depth.

Overall, it was a cute book with a nice message about how you are unique and have your own purpose. I think it would be a book to include in a library with other books about uniqueness and body image.

This story has a great theme and beautiful illustrations. As an educator, I would read the book aloud to my students. It opens the door to discussions about self-worth and acceptance of everyone for their own strengths.

I did expect there to be more in the plot of the book though, I feel as if the story could have developed the plot more about Blossom and Bud.

Let's sing "Just the Way You're" by Bruno Mars and celebrate who we are!

This book is so meaningful, specially for someone who's been told to become "better" and change their appearance all the time. Leave the kids alone. They are beautiful the way they are.

For god's sake, the adults are doing them more harm by constantly telling them these things. Celebrate them in your life. They will build confidence by themselves when you do.

Let's be a little kinder to our kids. Just like the florist in the story, let's celebrate the uniqueness in each of us.

Love the vibes. Love the story. Love the illustrations.

Thank you , authors and the publisher, for the advance reading copy.

Blossom and Bud is a tale about two special flowers who don't feel good about their bodies, Both feel they stick out due to being too tall or too small, and see that as a bad thing. This book is a celebration that everyone is perfect just the way they are, that the things that make us stand out are what make us shine in our roles. With adorable illustrations, short text, and a lovely story about being proud of who you are Blossom and Bud would make a great storytime read,

A book about body image told through a big sunflower ashamed of her height, and a small bud ashamed of it's small stature. I love the visual of it takes all types of flowers to make a beautiful bouquet.

Plants and loving yourself in a children's picture book? This book is such a lovely combination of very important topics! To boot, it also has fantastic illustrations that are bright, colourful and engaging. What more can a children's picture book lover ask for?

Seriously, the illustrations ALONE make this book a five star, let alone the incredible moral of this story. Give this illustrator an award for how beautiful it is.

Then add in these wonderful little plants. Blossom is a tall sunflower but she doesn't like that about herself. She's too tall! Bud keeps trying to be as tall as Blossom, but he can't do it and doesn't like that about himself. The other plants make fun of them, which isn't nice at all! They eventually learn to love themselves for who they are, because everyone is different and special for a reason!

Lovely moral about body image. Incredible illustrations. Small blurb in the back about body image and how to talk to kids about it - education!! Definite must read!

Five out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and American Psychological Association for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."
This was a sweet little book. I liked the lesson of "though we might be different, we all have a purpose". Everyone is important and this is a good interpretation of that.

This is a sweet book to teach the lesson there is a place in this world for everyone. Bloom is big and beautiful but uncomfortable with its size. Bud is small and insecure because he has not bloomed. The wedding scene at the end sweetly depicts Bud in the bride’s bouquet and bloom has his own special place on the groom’s lapel.

Blossom and Bud feel like oddballs at the flower shop because of their sizes. The other flowers aren't very nice either, as they tease Blossom and Bud about their sizes. Luckily someone who loves all flowers finds the perfect places for Blossom and Bud, respectively. All of a sudden their sizes are just perfect.

A very sweet book for children about body image, with extra educational bits for grownups. Loved the art and coloring - I could see opportunities for grownups to ask extra seek & find questions with each picture. My only negative comment was that it seemed quite short, but maybe that was just me reading it on an iPad. ARC from Netgalley. :)

Blossom and Bud is a charming story about two flowers in a flower shop that are worried that they'll never be picked because of the way they look. Blossom is "too big" and tries to make herself look smaller. Bud is "too small" and tries to force himself to bloom.

This is a wonderful short story for you to read to your children and use it as a conversation starter about positive body image. My favorite part was the "note to adult florists" which helps break down body image pressures that children may be experiencing and suggestions on how to discuss how we're all different sizes, shapes, and colors.

Review from a child/SPOILER?: The pictures were really cute and I loved what Blossom and Bud did. Everyone wanted to see them at the end and they were happy.

Blossom and Bud is just the cutest book. The 2 flowers were ashamed of themselves because they were different from the others. Blossom was tall and bud wouldn't bloom. The other flowers teased them until they ended up being the perfect size for a wedding. Be yourself.

An amazing book for children and to teach them and make them aware about body image.
When we talk about the distortion of the body image, the studies show that the most affected are the girls. Other studies showed that, in general, adolescents tend to have a much more negative self-image than adults. The same studies concluded that negative self-image is a predictor of depression in girls, physical inactivity in boys and obesity in both sexes.

The main message of this book is: “How can we help our children have a healthy self-image?” The graphic and images speak more than words and the two main characters address to all types of fears a child may experience when we speak about body image.
It is very useful that Dr. Frank J. Sileo added at the end of the book some steps for parents on how to nurture a healthy body image for their children. I highly recommend this book.