Florette, by Anna Walker

Anna Walker is a prolific and easily recognisable Australian illustrator. If you and your children are yet to read a book she has worked on I’d be very surprised. She does wonderful pictures and her stories really appeal to young children.

A few weeks ago we read ‘Little Cat and the Big Red Bus‘ (author Jane Godwin) for the first time and my girls in particular loved it. The story appears relatively simple (though I’m sure that is a tough thing to achieve), but Anna Walker’s images seemed to transport their little minds.

Then last week when I saw ‘Florette‘ on the library shelf I knew we had to read it. We were not disappointed. At the end of our first reading, right before bedtime, one daughter asked for it again immediately. First thing the next morning we were reading it again.

The story is about a young girl, Mae, who moves away from her garden and seeks out a new one whilst surrounded by buildings. Again, it is a appears to be a simple story. I’m sure it is the pictures that my little one fell in love with. The images are totally captivating.

I also think it reaches the ‘wild’ heart of a young child: the desire to make, to build, to explore, to create and to grow things.

This is a beautiful gift for a young girl. If you loved Rosie Revere for your girls, then I think this is a great companion book.