Title: The Golden Glow (Die Goldene Funkelblume)
Author/Illustrator: Benjamin Flouw
Age Group: Ages 3-8
Synopsis: Fox reads about the rare Golden Glow flower and has to see it for himself. He ventures through the wilderness and discovers it with the help of friends.
The Lowdown:
When spring shows up Bug finds it hard not to dart about and pick every flower. Something that we’ve carried over from my childhood is to say: “Leave it for everyone to enjoy.” So instead we point to the flowers that spring up along our path to school and say: “That one’s for you!” That is part of the essence of The Golden Glow. This book invites the reader on an adventure for a rare beauty and also includes some really well thought out pages that educate and engage along the way.
Fox is a botany enthusiast and so upon reading about this rare flower decides to head out and see it for himself. He meets friends along the way and with their help eventually discovers the Golden Glow on the highest peak. Fox basks in the moment and then leans down to pick this stunning plant when he stops and decides to sketch it out instead. He realizes that it is more beautiful there on the mountain than it could ever be in his home.
Flouw matches his text with informational pages that have Fox identify specific plants and trees or scour a map for the different mountain zones, and identify the parts of a flower. Bug likes to try and guess the items before we read them and he’s not too bad. Our favorite page though is when Fox packs up for his adventure. We all chose what to bring along: a compass, tent, coat, hat, water bottle, or tasty snacks. There’s a geometric chunkiness to the illustrations that makes them charming, attractive, deceivingly simple.
The end result of this sweet, informative story is a gem that we read again and again. It’s also a great lesson that we don’t need to possess everything beautiful. Because the flowers that we point at along the path can be enjoyed for more than a week.
Story Tips:
- Choose your favorites on each info page. Kids will get excited to choose a specific item on each page and it will lead to more of a discussion.
- Use your new found knowledge out and about!
I need more!
Benjamin Flouw has more books but unfortunately they’re in… you guessed it French! I seem to feature a lot of french author/illustrators. If you want more info about his work please check out his website: http://www.benjaminflouw.com/
