Member Reviews
A beautiful re-telling of the fairy tale Thumbelina. As always I am overwhelmed (in a very good way) by the illustrations this author produces. There is such richness in both text and illustrations. This is a book that needs to be read and re-read to discover something new on each page with each turn.
*received for free from netgalley for honest review* really beautiful childs book! The artwork is amazing and the story is very cute as well!
Wildflower by Briana Corr Scott is a visually lovely picture book retelling of the story of Thumbelina. The artwork is lovely, with a heavy emphasis on the natural world, and the story itself deals with love and personal freedom and the beauty of nature. While I appreciate a story trying to include diversity in its illustrations, I’m more than a little uncomfortable with the imagery of a lonely white woman being magically granted a little brown baby to love and raise. And the depiction of Wildflower/ Thumbelina veers towards “magical Indigenous” stereotypes. As pretty as the book is, I’m not sure I would recommend it because of these probably unintentional subtexts to the story.
Thanks anyway to #NetGalley and Nimbus Publishing for granting me a temporary digital #advancedcopy of Wildflower in exchange for my honest review. #CantownaWildflower
Wildflower is a beautiful retelling of Thumbelina about a small girl only referred to as Wildflower. Although it's based on a story we've all heard before, it's a worthy retelling with gorgeous pictures, a flowing rhyme scheme, and a beautiful message.
I have a lot of respect for children's book illustrators, but I've seen my fair share of "realistic" looking art styles that have slightly creepy-looking human faces. Not only are the illustrations in Wildflower beautiful, but the people are too. Visually, the whole book is very appealing.
I guess maybe it's been too long since I've read the original Thumbelina, but the mole who proposes to the main character and then kidnaps her caught me off guard. I've never believed that picture books can't have serious themes, I think kids are a lot smarter than we give them credit for, but that part was just a little dark for my personal taste. It was only 2 pages though, and I can't fault the author for including it if it was part of the original story.
This is a retelling of Thumbelina. I was first drawn to the book by the cover and title. Once I learned that this was a retelling of one of my favorite fairytales, I knew I had to read it. The illustrations are so good. I loved all of the little details. This was a quick read, but I enjoyed reading about the relationship between the mother and child as well as the relationship between the child and nature.
I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.
Wildflower is a stunningly beautifully illustrated picture book for children that will stir their imaginations and send them off to sleep with a beautiful tale.
This book is a Thumbelina retelling about a lady who is lonely and longs for a daughter of her own. She receives one in the form of a tiny girl inside of a flower. But the girl is part of nature and longs to be free amongst the nature around her and the old lady has to give her back to the land.
This book is so pretty and cleverly retold in a whimsical way with poetic verses.
I was first drawn in by the beautiful cover, then when I read it was a modern reimagining of Thumbelina, I was sold.
𝑺𝒚𝒏𝒐𝒑𝒔𝒊𝒔: 𝐴𝑛 𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑤𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛'𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑡ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑏-𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑑 𝑔𝑖𝑟𝑙 𝑏𝑜𝑟𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑎 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟. 𝑇ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑗𝑜𝑦, 𝑊𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒; 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑔𝑜 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑠. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑓 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑔𝑜.
A whimsical, sweet, poetic story that explores love, kinship, and bravery. Your child will get lost in the beautiful illustrations as they listen to a story sure to send them off into a blissful dreamland..
This book is gorgeously illustrated and visually utterly stunning. The story, a retelling of Hans Christian Anderson's 'Thumbelina' is retold is unforced and gentle verse. It is a quick read, but a beautiful and poignant one, exploring the relationship between a mother and a child - the gift it is to nurture a child, and the loss of letting one go. I love the idea of the child as a butterfly, exploring in ever increasing circles but always coming back to the safety of home. This book would make a wonderful gift for mothers of all ages and stage of life to draw hope from, treasure, and share with their children.
A beautiful Thumbelina retelling told in prose accompanied my the most gorgeous illustrations. I'm excited to share this with my girls when they are a tad older
#netgalley #cantownawildflower
Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC
I adored this story – it was such a wonderful read!
It was well written and I liked the ending too, one that left me with a little smile on my face and it was a pure delight and pleasure to read.
It is 5 stars from me for this one – very highly recommended!
You cannot own a wildflower.
This book is a reimagining of Thumbelina. I was also reminded of Studio Ghibli's Secret World of Arrietty. If you've liked those stories, then you will adore this book as I did. Wildflower, a thumb-sized girl, is born inside a flower, mothered by an old woman who wished for a child. But, she is a Wildflower and must explore the world. She adventures through the wild, going where the wind goes. The author used her own illustrations, and they are beautiful. She's done a fantastic job in capturing the colours of nature and the joys of Wildflower. I have given it four stars as I felt the ending was rushed.
Thank you NetGalley and Nimbus Publishing for giving me the opportunity to review this.
Not often I sat it but WOW. What a beautifully illustrated lyrical retelling of Thumbelina. This is a stunning book, beautifully crafting the traditional tale into a poetic and delightful trip-off-the-tongue story perfect for read aloud and discussion or bedtime soothing.
The illustrations are totally captivating and will provide hours of entertainment just poring over them.
A beautiful book that would grace any bookshelf.
This was a pretty good retelling of a classic. The illustrations were vibrant and quite pretty. I loved the rhyming and flow of the story.
A gorgeous modern retelling of Thumbelina! Featuring gorgeous artwork and a great environmental message from the author/illustrator! This is a great read for anyone who loves fairytales, retellings, or just a magical story.
*Thanks Netgalley and Nimbus Publishing for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*
A really strong visit to the world of fairy, with a lonely woman gifted the birth of a tiny humanoid 'daughter' in the bowl of a wild flower. But wild proves to be the key part of her name and nature, and she's not one destined to settle down and do little at home when there's a much greater world out there to explore. Artwork that never shies away from the graft of presenting the colours and patterns of nature, and really nicely poised poetry to deliver the narrative, make for a quality volume, that deserves to do very well indeed. Four and a half stars.