Oscar's Tower of Flowers

by Lauren Tobia, Lauren Tobia (Illustrator)

Overview

A wordless picture book for the very young—bursting with green!—celebrates community, gardening, and sharing beauty with the world.

Oscar’s mom has to go away for a little while, so Oscar is staying with his nana. He likes being with Nana in her apartment building, but he still misses his mom. One day, Nana has an idea, and together they carefully sow seeds—lots and lots of seeds! They water them and wait . . . and then the seeds start to grow and the flowers begin to bloom and there are plants everywhere. Luckily Oscar has a great idea for what they can do with the blossoms—share them! This brightly illustrated wordless picture book is full of graphic panels and sweeping spreads that evoke the urban bustle of a busy high-rise apartment and shows how each person can contribute to the spirit and vitality of a community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536217773
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	05/07/2021
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	9.06(w) x 11.38(h) x 0.38(d)
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

About the Author

Lauren Tobia is an illustrator and picture book creator known for her work on the award-winning Anna Hibiscus series by Atinuke, Happy in Our Skin by Fran Manushkin, and the Let’s Go . . . series by Caryl Hart. An avid gardener, she lives in the United Kingdom.

Editorial Reviews

The story is told entirely without words in a series of fully detailed, beautifully crafted, colorful vignettes of varying sizes. In them readers see and understand mom’s, Nana’s, and, of course, Oscar’s emotions in their faces and body language. . . . A lovely, joyful reunion with mom is comforting for young readers cuddled with their grown-ups. Warm and wonderful.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

An affecting and wordless tale of separation, growth, neighborliness, and love. . . Tobia’s visual narrative is full of lovely details. . . Share this warmhearted story with any preschooler experiencing separation from a loved one.
—The Horn Book (starred review)

[Oscar's Tower of Flowers] is an emotionally resonant story that will speak, in particular, to any child who has had to temporarily say goodbye to a caretaker.
—7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast

From the Publisher

★ 2021-03-17
A very young boy finds joy in a difficult situation.

When Oscar’s mom brings him to live with his grandmother for a while, he is frightened and lonely. After his painful, emotional goodbye to his mom, Nana hugs him and reassures him. That first tearful night is so very difficult, despite the companionship of his toy monkey, the photo of mom and him next to him on the pillow, and a comforting thumb to suck. The next morning there’s a lovely breakfast, a jigsaw puzzle, and drawing with Nana and the cat. When Oscar carefully helps to water a drooping plant, Nana takes notice and brings him to a special store to purchase seeds, soil, containers, and tools. With lots of patience and Oscar’s careful tending, Nana’s apartment and terrace fill up with greenery, vines, and flowers. So many, in fact, that they gift all the neighbors with the lovely plants, making lots of new friends. The story is told entirely without words in a series of fully detailed, beautifully crafted, colorful vignettes of varying sizes. In them readers see and understand mom’s, Nana’s, and, of course, Oscar’s emotions in their faces and body language. Oscar and his family present White, with beige skin tones; Nana is refreshingly youthful looking. There are lovely surprises in the views of the apartments and their very diverse occupants before and after Oscar’s triumph. A lovely, joyful reunion with mom is comforting for young readers cuddled with their grown-ups.

Warm and wonderful. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews