A Flower is a Friend
by Frieda Wishinsky, Karen Patkau (Illustrator)

3 out of 5 stars

Flowers have many friends among birds, insects, and small animals. Bees and butterflies help to spread pollen. Snails eat old dead plant material. Spiders and frogs eat insects that are harmful to the flowers. A little field mouse might fall asleep inside a tulip and then carry pollen to other areas. Even ladybugs eat the little aphids that would kill the plants, and dragonflies eat mosquitos and gnats.

I really like the idea of this book, showing the connections between animals, insects, and plants in an ecosystem. However, the information is not very well organized.

There are two sections to each page; a description of what flowers do, and then a question at the bottom about insects or animals.
So the text is broken up in a weird way, and you don’t get an answer to any of the questions until you read the answer section at the end of the book. It would have made a lot more sense to put the questions and answers together on each page. By the time I got to the end of the book, I had forgotten what all the questions were anyway. The layout is very badly designed.

I loved all the pretty illustrations of beautiful flowers! And all the butterflies, ladybugs, hummingbirds, and bees are all so delicate! The artwork is vibrant and colorful, making every page a delight.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.