Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A miniature, line-drawn child named Amelie interacts with the letters of the alphabet, each of which represents a different flower. Photo illustrations are juxtaposed with the large, pastel-colored letters that begin each word, and bright flowers are set against crisp white backgrounds. Amelie is seen holding their stems or playing on or near the petals. Hilpuesch includes garden variety flora (rose and sunflower), but readers may not recognize others, including the purple Jacob's ladder and the fuchsia-colored kalanchoe. The X, Y, and Z entries close out the alphabet together as Amelie pulls a wagon full of xeranthemum, yarrow, and zinnia. A vividly photographed ABC book with a clean, sophisticated aesthetic. Ages up to 3. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Hilpuesch's fanciful line-drawn character, Amelie, frolics with brilliant photographs of blossoms representing the alphabet. Each page features a pastel, graphic-style letter and its blossom, from aster to zinnia. The letters' varied positions allow the diminutive figure of Amelie, and sometimes her young male friend or a pup, to engage by picking daisy petals, drumming on the underside of an evening primrose, or having tea atop a hibiscus leaf. The finale is a pretty spread, perfect for practicing letters and flora identification. The engaging mixed media artwork is done in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and Procreate. VERDICT Uplifting eye candy, and a venue for the author's Instagram cutie.-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The title says it allthis is an alphabet of flowers! Each page depicts a giant letter of the alphabet in a soft, flat color, superimposed with a color photograph of a flower beginning with that letter and the name of the flower printed in lowercase. Because there must be a flower for every letter of the alphabet, some of the flower names are rather obscure. A case in point is "ulex," which is the Latin name for a European genus of flowering plants; the one pictured is gorse, which will probably not be familiar to most North American readers. Similarly, "xeranthemum" is the word used for the letter X, and only one flower of this European genus of daisies is shown. This serious botany is lightened somewhat by decorative black-and-white line drawings of a tiny, presumably white, girl who introduces herself along with the letter A: "Amelie, that's me!" Amelie is depicted playing, dancing, climbing, swinging, and otherwise interacting with the relatively huge flowers. The line drawings are sweet, and a child might be captivated by Amelie's antics, but the connection between her activity and the alphabet letter is hard to discern. Unlike many other, similar titles, no additional information is given about the flowers beyond their names.Attractively designed but limited in educational value for beginning readers or botanists. (Picture book. 2-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
