THE BIG BOOK OF BLOOMS (THE BIG BOOK SERIES), by Yuval Zommer, Elisa Biondi, et al., Thames & Hudson; 1 edition, May 5, 2020, Hardcover, $19.95 (ages 4 and up)
With millions of people stuck at home right now, many of us are taking a renewed interest in our own yards/ gardens/ pots/ windowsills. The Big Book of Blooms takes things a bit further, introducing children — and the adults in their lives — to flowering plants from around the world.
I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am for this book. I’ve been looking for things to supplement/ change up my daughter’s school work, and The Big Book of Blooms is just the thing for my nature loving 6-year-old.
The book opens with sections on flower families, flower anatomy, pollinators, flower colors, and flower powers. What follows are full-page spreads featuring flora and their various habitats. It also covers endangered flowers and carnivorous and poisonous flowers. And hidden in 15 places throughout the book is a golden bulb.
You may recognize Yuval Zommer’s distinct style from The other books in Thames & Hudson’s The Big Book Series (The Big Book of Blue; The Big Book of Bugs; The Big Book of Birds). And like Zommer’s other books, The Big Book of Blooms is bold, brilliant and beautiful. Glorious illustrations are paired with snippets of informative text sprinkled throughout, making it a joy for readers young and old.
As for supplementing school, we’ll be using this for 3- to 5-sentence reports (she’s in kindergarten) paired with her own versions of botanical drawings. It’s a great jumping off point for lots of learning opportunities.
