Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, Everyone!

Spring is coming – really and truly!  The dogs and I took a ramble around Blueberry Hill yesterday and my little pink beauty is blooming, and tiny purple flowers are poking their heads out from between the rocks, and the trees are putting on their white blossoms.  Look!

(Do not ask me what they are…!  With the exception of the pink one which I think might be a hyacinth I have absolutely no idea! 🙂 )

In addition, tomorrow is Earth Day.

So what better day to celebrate a book about mud?! 🙂

(Tomorrow is also my dad’s birthday, which has nothing to do with mud, but I’d like to take a quick moment to wish a very happy 88th birthday to the best dad I could ever have hoped to have!  Happy Happy Birthday, Dad! 🙂

So without further ado, today’s Perfect Picture Book!

Title: Bloom

Written By: Doreen Cronin

Illustrated By: David Small

Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, February 2016, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: girl power, appreciation/gratitude, encouragement, believing in yourself

Opening: “Once upon a time, in a beautiful glass kingdom, there lived an unusual fairy named Bloom.  Her boots were caked with mud.  There was dirt between her teeth.  Beetles rested in her wings.  Bloom’s magic could spin sand into glass, turn weeds into blossoms, and grow a trickle of rainwater into a racing river.  Bloom was a helpful creature, but her footsteps were HEAVY, and she left a trail of tiny cracks and mud wherever she went.”

Brief Synopsis: A glass kingdom is a tough place to be a Mud Fairy. Bloom and her mud fairy magic can turn weeds into flowers and spin sand into glass, but all the people of the kingdom do is complain about the trails of dirt and puddles of mud she leaves behind so, feeling unappreciated, she leaves.  When the kingdom falls into disrepair, the King and Queen search out Bloom, but it takes the most “ordinary” girl in the kingdom to restore the magic.

Links To Resources:  April is Kids’ Gardening Month (which is a little like playing in mud 🙂 ) so here are some resources to get kids outdoors to celebrate earth and gardens.  Plant A Family Butterfly Garden, Big Seeds For Little Hands, Information & Resources For Gardening With Children

Why I Like This Book:  This story has the delightful “Once upon a time” opening that creates the delicious anticipation of a fairy tale about to unfold.  Bloom is an unusual fairy – dirty, willing to work hard, not traditionally “girly”.  Genevieve, the “ordinary” girl whose only job has been to polish the queen’s crystal sugar spoon has never had the opportunity to discover what she’s capable of.  Working alongside Bloom, she learns that she is anything but ordinary and that she can save the kingdom.  Favorite line: “Tell them there is no such thing as an ordinary girl!” said Bloom.

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific links (and any other info you feel like filling out 🙂 ) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!

Oh!  And a short note!  I’ve decided to experiment with letting you guys fill in your themes, so I’ve added a field to the form.  In an effort to keep the theme list tightly focused and not let it get too out of control, I’ve asked that you limit your themes to a maximum of 3 main themes per book.  I thought we could try this for a few weeks and see how it works… 🙂

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!!

(And I look forward to seeing any of you who will be at NESCBWI this weekend!!! 🙂 )