Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Flower Girl by Amy Bloom is a heartwarming tale of resilience and self-discovery. With charming illustrations, it celebrates the beauty of embracing one's uniqueness. A delightful read for young minds.

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
The book is a short sweet book about how Nicki will be her Aunt's flower girl. Her only problem is that she doesn't wear dresses. Fortunately, her parents understand.

I really enjoyed this picture book! A very simple story with a good message- particularly for kids who want to dress the way they want

This is a cute and short story reminding us to always be ourselves. I read this with my 10 year old son and he liked it also. Such a great message for not only girls, but boys as well!

THIS WAS SO SWEET.

I loved this so, so much. I thought it was such a great look at how kids are totally within their rights to admit that hey, dresses make me uncomfortable. I still want to participate, but in a way that makes ME comfortable too. I think that autonomy is super important to teach kids early on and this does such a great job doing so!

This book has a great message that is a lesson to children and adults alike. Nicki is excited to be a flower girl, but she's "not really a dress kind of girl". Instead of pushing her to wear a dress, her family helps her to find the outfit that will make her shine. I love the way Nicki's family embraces her individuality. Wonderful story with a wonderful message.

Five stars for a wonderfully inclusive picture book about Nicki, who has been asked to be the flower girl in her aunt's wedding but just doesn't like dresses. I loved that Nicki wasn't brave enough to speak up and say she didn't want to wear a dress - just stayed quiet as kids will do when facing a tough situation and eventually told everyone she doesn't want to be flower girl after all - teaching a wonderful lesson to parents everywhere to listen to what your child is *not* saying just as much as you listen to their words, try to offer alternative solutions to their problem, and ultimately support their decisions (especially when it's something as simple as wearing a suit as a Flower Girl). Bonus points for depicting a natural haired woman living her best life in the last panel :-)

This beautiful children's book tells the story of Nicki, a little girl who is very excited for her aunt to get married. When her aunt asks her to be a flower girl, she excitedly agrees, although she doesn't actually know what a flower girl is. When she finds out she has to wear a dress, she doesn't feel like being a flower girl is such a great idea any more. Then Nicki's dad takes her to a men's wear store and they pick out a suit for Nicki, this feels much better. In the end she enjoys herself at the wedding. I love that this book shows that gender norms around clothing do not need to impact people on their wedding day. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book! I would definitely recommend it.

This book was very sweet and cute. It was filled with great illustrations and a great story, showing kids it's okay to be themselves. All the characters were really nice and supportive. My kids ages 6,4,2 all enjoyed the book and we would read it again.

This book is wonderful. A little girl is excited to be her aunts flower girl. That is until she learns she has to wear a dress. She would rather give up the honor than wear a dress. It’s just not her. Luckily, she has an understanding family, who find the perfect suit for their flower girl on the big day.

I love the premise of this story and the pictures are great. I read it on a devise so the formatting was off. I imagine the print version will be better.
I like how energetic and relatable Nikki aka Tiger is. Every kid feels special being asked to do something important like participate in a wedding but it can be uncomfortable telling people what clothes we feel best in, especially in traditional settings. It might have been fun to see Big Dave and Dad helping pick out suits and an array of choices like with the dresses. But over all a very sweet story.

Nicki reminds me of me when I was around 2nd grade. Nicki is asked to be the flower girl for her Aunt's wedding. She gets really excited... until she finds out she has to wear a dress. I, myself, was paraded around in frilly lacy girly outfits as a young child. But, as Nicki's dad does for her, my mom finally bought me my first pair of nongirly pants (in my case jeans) and I never looked back. So besides the beautiful message and illustrations of Flower Girl, this story brings some nostalgic joy. I wish all families were so accepting. And I hope many other readers of all ages find pieces of themselves in silly little sentimental stories.

***Thank you to Netgalley and Norton Young Readers for providing me with a review copy.***

Nicki and her Aunt Carmela have a special bond so when Carmela tells Nicki she gets to be the flower girl at her wedding to "Big Dave," she is ecstatic. She says she's all in for love and pretty petals! After a special outing where Carmela, Nicki, and her mom go looking for dresses, though, Nicki realizes she's not "all in" on dresses... But she isn't able to express that at first and says she doesn't want to be a flower girl!

With a comforting conversation with her dad--and Super Blueberry Pancakes--Nicki is finally able to express the dress is the thing she isn't comfortable with, and she and her dad find a compromise! This is a sweet story of acceptance and celebration with cute characters and a soft color palette that brings it all together!

I love to read books to students that meet a diversity of needs and interests. This book does a great job of honoring the main character's perception of self with support from the grown-ups around her. Illustrations were fun and engaging. Would absolutely add this our school's library collection.

I cannot wait for this book to come out May 2, 2023 so I can recommend it to everyone! I absolutely adored this picture book, and think it should be in every library and on home bookshelves everywhere. The love and acceptance in this book reminds me of Julian is a Mermaid, another affirming and powerful picture book I love. What a great message about finding yourself and what makes you comfortable. The supportive adults in this were fantastic, and the message was straightforward and beautiful. The illustrations were also fantastic (particularly loved the hairy legs on one of the female presenting wedding guests in the end). I loved the representation in this, and all children, and everyone really, will benefit from reading this.

Thank you to NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company for an advanced copy to review.

This is an excellent book with much needed thoughts. Nicki is a cute, bubly character as is evident from the first POV story. The pretty, eye-catching illustrations are brilliant and perfect for kids. Though the story is very short and to the point, the message easily comes across as 'Be who you want to be, and dress as per your liking'

I think children will benefit from Nicki's experience in today's world of peer pressure and traditions. Parents too, please accept you children's wishes and let them express however they want to! Definitely recommend you to buy this book for your loved little ones.

Thank you to NetGalley and Norton Young Readers for the ARC in exchange of an honest review!

Flower Girl tells the story of Nicki, a girl who loves her Aunt Carmela so much and can’t wait to be her flower girl in her wedding. The only problem is Nicki realizes she’s maybe not a dress type of flower girl. This sweet story shows us that we can be who we are even if that looks a little different than what people expect.

This is such a sweet picture book

Nicki is a little girl who loves to her aunt, and her future uncle, so when she is asked to be a flower girl at the wedding, she thinks that is perfect. That is until they try to get her in a dress. She does not wear dresses. That is not who she is. She still wants to be a flower girl, but the thought of having to wear a dress depresses her.

So, her father gets it, and takes her shopping for a suit. And that solves the problem.

It is so great that her father figured it out. There are many parents that might not have gotten it. That would have forced a screaming and crying child into a dress because that was the way it was done.


It is good that there are books out there that show it is ok not to always fit in a mold, and where what you want to wear.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

This book followed Nicki finding out that she is going to be the flower girl at her aunt's wedding and finding the clothes that best express herself. Nicki is excited to be the flower girl at her aunt's wedding, but her excitement dwindles when she is only shown dresses. Nicki doesn't feel that dresses are showing her "true self." Nicki wants to be able to express herself at her aunt's wedding in a way that is comfortable and fun. In order to do that she needs to speak up for herself and her needs. This story and the art is fantastic. Self expression is a hard topic for some children and this book addresses it well! I would recommend it for ages 5+. #NetGalley #NetGalleyARC #ARC