There was once a beautiful flower and a little girl who loved it.
She talked to it every morning on her way to school. The owner of the flower shouted at her. The next day, the flower did not open. The angry man didn't understand.
He tried watering it. He tried giving it shade and he tried talking to it. He told it how wonderful he was, how important his job was and how lonely he felt. But it still refused to open.
So, he asked the little girl. Why don't you tell it how wonderful it is and how much you love it? she said. As he did so, his own heart filled with love. And the flower bloomed.
Featured in The Guardian as one of the best picture books, and in The Sunday Times as children's book of the week.
Author
About Anne Booth
Anne Booth writes highly acclaimed children's fiction and picture books and is known for the exceptional warmth and authenticity of her writing. Her picture books include Refuge, illustrated by Sam Usher, and Little Cloud, illustrated by Sarah Massini.
Anne lives in Kent and has always wanted to bea children’s writer, but on the way to becoming one has worked in many jobs. Anne lives in a lovely village with her husband and four children– and the children's grandfather across the road. They have two hens called Poppy and Anastasia and two dogs called Timmy and Ben. Anne loves tea and once won a Blue Peter badge for writing a poem about two mice in a bucket of rice. Despite this, she does not own any mice. Anne’s debut novel Girl with a White Dog was shortlisted for the Waterstones Prize.
