“Have You Ever Seen a Flower?”
By Shawn Harris.
Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 2021, 48 pages, Pre-school through Kindergarten
This is a beautifully drawn picture book for children aged 4 through Kindergarten. The main characters—a young girl and her dog—leave a dull, grey city for an outing in the country. The girl’s one wish is to be surrounded by flowers. She quickly discovers fields filled with various types of blooms.
The experience is overwhelming for her and she desires to experience them with all of her senses. The colors are so lovely that the visual experience fills her with delight. The flowers have different colors and draw her to look more closely.
As her dog runs through the blossoms, the child begins to experience more and more parts of the plants. She looks inside the buds and sees drops of water on the leaves. The girl tastes the dewdrops and finds they are as delicious as honey. Who would have ever thought?
More experiences soon follow. She sees bees landing on the center of the flowers. As the child moves the foliage, she is stunned to see one bee is much larger than any of the others. It is the queen bee, in all of her imperial splendor.
Continuing her exploration with her pet, more wonderful encounters happen. The girl begins to see the connections between herself and all the plants in the garden. Everything is alive and trying to spread beauty and joy. As her dog happily runs beside her, the child’s heart begins to grow with happiness. What had started out as a dark, grey urban landscape has been transformed by the beauty of the natural world.
More adventures follow as the girl uses all five of her senses to wrap herself in the fields of beauty. How does she learn so much in such a short time? To find out, go to the library and check out the exquisitely drawn picture book, “Have You Ever Seen a Flower?” by Shawn Harris.
This book is beautiful and will be quite attractive for young readers. Reading this book in a group setting could be very effective. Harris describes all five senses while the girl joyfully romps through the fields of flowers. The colors are vibrant and attractive. Best of all, readers will likely experience a spirit of joy when reading the story.
“Have You Ever Seen a Flower?” won the Caldecott Honor Award in 2022. So if you are looking for a pleasurable book to share with the youngsters in your family, this is it. Enjoy!
