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Blue Flower

CBCA shortlisted picture book 2022
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( 96 ratings, 17 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Blue Flower by Sonya Hartnett is a children's book that explores themes of family and coping with feelings of being overwhelmed. The story follows a young girl who seeks comfort and understanding as she navigates her emotions through a journey involving imagination and companionship. Set against a backdrop of tenderness and gentle storytelling, it offers insight into addressing feelings of anxiety and finding solace in unexpected places.
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Format: Hardback
$3000
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate stories that explore themes of individuality and the beauty of nature through the eyes of a young protagonist. With its enchanting narrative and vividly described settings, it captures the wonder and imagination of childhood, making it a delightful read for children who love tales that inspire and entertain.

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Blue Flower

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A beautifully told picture book about self-esteem, resilience, and the discovery that being different can be something wonderful. From award-winning author Sonya Hartnett, with stunning illustrations by Gabriel Evans.

Blue Flower was shortlisted for the CBCA 2022 picture book award. It is a gentle exploration of a child's realisation that it is her individual differences and creativity that make her special. With stunning illustrations by the talented Gabriel Evans, the book delicately and sensitively conveys the child's emotional journey.

A young child describes her qualms about going to school and how hard she finds asking the teacher for help. She feels shy about making friends, not being funny, or a fast runner. However, through her love of art, a conversation with her mother, and her observations about nature, she comes to see that being different might not be a bad thing after all.

I lay down and put my nose in the grass. The grass was dotted with yellow flowers, but blue ones grew there too. I rolled over and looked at the trees and the clouds and thought about things for a while.

'Not all clouds are white,' I said, and Piccolo looked at me.

'Not all trees are tall. Not all birds are brown. Not all cats are tabby like you, Piccolo. Some are black. Some are orange. Some are calico.'

Piccolo swished his stripy tail. I plucked a flower and showed it to him. 'This flower isn't yellow, but it isn't wrong. It is what it's supposed to be. No one would want it to be yellow. Everyone would say it's lovely just the way it is.'

A beautifully told story about being happy in yourself for who you are, from one of Australia's finest writers.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781760894450

Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 02 March 2021

Country: Australia

Imprint: Puffin

Contributors:

  • Illustrated by Gabriel Evans

Audience: Children

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 10.0mm

Width: 237.0mm

Height: 296.0mm

Weight: 463g

Pages: 36

About the Author

Sonya Hartnett (Author) Sonya Hartnett's work has won numerous Australian and international literary prizes and has been published around the world. Uniquely, she is acclaimed for her stories for adults, young adults and children. Her accolades include the Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Of A Boy), The Age Book of the Year (Of A Boy), the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize (Thursday's Child), the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year for both Older and Younger Readers (Forest, The Silver Donkey, The Ghost's Child, The Midnight Zoo and The Children of the King), the Victorian Premier's Literary Award (Surrender), shortlistings for the Miles Franklin Award (for both Of a Boy and Butterfly) and the CILP Carnegie Medal (The Midnight Zoo). Hartnett is also the first Australian recipient of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (2008). Golden Boys, Sonya's third novel for adults, was shortlisted for the 2015 Miles Franklin Literary Award. She also published her fourth picture book, Blue Flower, illustrated by Gabriel Evans, in 2021 and it was shortlisted for the CBCA Picture Book of the Year Award. Gabriel Evans (Illustrator) Gabriel Evans is a Western Australian children's book author and illustrator. Working primarily in watercolour and pencil, he creates books from a small studio on a big hill. Gabriel's books are published internationally in more than twelve countries, have been reviewed in The New York Times, translated into ten languages and read on ABC-TV's Play School. Blue Flower by Sonya Hartnett, his first picture book with Penguin Random House, was shortlisted for the CBCA Picture Book of the Year in 2022. His second picture book with Penguin, A Friend for George, was published in 2023, followed by Listen, Hippo! released in 2024.

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