Thank you so much to Capstone/ Picture Window Books and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review

This was really cute, I loved that JC wanted to be with both his grandparents and his best friends, he didn’t want to let either of them down. He became so stressed that he couldn’t have both his events together in the same day. Then he gets the best surprise and his Nana made sure it happened and he could have both. It was really sweet and I loved how it all turned out in the end.

I loved seeing a story with a child and flowers you don’t see books showing kids having an interest in flowers so that was really cool, he genuinely seems interested in his Nanas favourite thing which was really cute.

JC was such a sweet little boy who wanted to have a fun day but everything felt like it wouldn’t happen, he was so kind to his sister, his grandparents and to his friends it was so sweet.

The book also had really adorable illustrations and a lots of activities at the end to continue after the story is read if you are using for education purposes. I really enjoyed this book it was super sweet.

Friendship Flowers is a short beginner chapter book (about 20 pages) with colourful pictures on each page. The story follows J.C. as he visits a flower festival with his family and then goes to the zoo with his friends. J.C. and his friends appear to all be people of colour and J.C.’s family are black. It is nice to see another book with a diverse set of characters, even without being a book about diversity. It is important for young children to see themselves represented in the books they are reading.

The words are mainly sightwords/high frequency words, with some decodable words and occasional more challenging words. It is probably an appropriate fit for someone reading at a Grade 1 or 2 level though that can very child to child and text to text! There is a glossary for more challenging words however there was no bold writing or indications that the words could be found later in the book. Teachers often have to teach young children about text features, so having bold words would be more in line with non-fiction texts. The book also has some discussion questions and writing prompts, which I think is great for both teachers and families reading with young readers.

Overall I think this is a great beginning chapterbook or picture book with chapters. I think that the creators did a great job finding a subject that is fairly interesting while still being accessible for young readers. I definitely recommend this for early years classroom teachers and parents of children in the age 4-8 range.

I really appreciate the opportunity from Netgalley and the publisher to read and review an advance copy of this book! I am looking forward to purchasing a copy for my students in the future!

I loved meeting J.C. and his family! I was very excited to see this Early Reader with a Black main character. There are dreadfully few Early Readers that feature the various identities that make up the real world. The story was simple, but also quite sweet. I look forward to reading more of J.C.'s adventures and I will definitely be recommending this one for readers that are getting ready to read first chapter books.

Thank you, Capstone, for the advance reading copy.

I just love the presentation of the characters and the storybook! The way new words have been introduced alongwith the glossary towards the end of the book is quite impressive.

The story gives a glimpse of a community taking part and enjoying at the Spring Flower festival. All the spring feels in colours! Love the multicultural representation as well as the introduction of some flower plants.

The artwork is neat and refreshing.