Lost Flower Children [Paperback]

Janet Taylor Lisle (Author), Satomi Ichikawa (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Motherless Olivia and Nellie go to live with their elderly Great-Aunt Minty, who knows little about children, but a lot about her overgrown garden. Then one day, Olivia finds an old teacup in a flowerbed-and, later, an old story about eight children transformed into flowers. Only the person who finds their teacups can bring them back. Now the two sisters know what they must do.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Lisle's blend of gentle fantasy and tough reality features two motherless children spending the summer with their dithering but well-meaning great-aunt," wrote PW. Ages 8-12.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6Starting with a conventional premisetwo children having to stay with an elderly aunt, to the dismay of both generationsLisle moves into a story set in her favorite area, the borderland between reality and fantasy. Her title is also the title of a story in Aunt Mintys childhood storybook, which becomes for nine-year-old Olivia and her very complicated little sister a sorely needed catalyst for change. In that story, angry fairies change some children into flowers and they can only regain their human form if every piece of china from their last ill-fated tea party is found hidden or buried in the garden. Adults will see what is happening as the search brings the girls new friends and interests, but for young readers, the results are magical. The three main characters are well drawn, particularly anxious, protective Olivia and her troubled little sister, who has retreated into ritual to keep scary reality at bay. In this short tale, Lisle has created a warmly satisfying story of lost things, and people, waiting to be found.Ruth S. Vose, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (April 23, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0698118804
• ISBN-13: 978-0698118805
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,591,666 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and touching story about love and loss, May 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Lost Flower Children (Novel) (Hardcover)

I read this book last night, having merely picked it up to see if my daughter would like it. I couldn't put it down. The style is so gentle, and much like the books I read in my own childhood, rather than those stories which feel so forced to demonstrate how cool they are in order to interest today's children. I imagine many very normal girls will be very interested by the excellent style of the writer, by the story of the flower fairies which takes place in a summer garden, and by the genuine love and emotion which is generated by the interaction between the main characters.

The story is about two sisters whose mother has just died. The older one is able to admit to herself how lonely she feels for her mother. Yet she is also able to sacrifice her own need to grieve in order to care for her younger sister whose response to loss has been to obey rigid self-imposed routines and to contol her life in a way her mother's death would bely, by keeping outsiders strictly out of her life. The girls spend a summer with an elderly aunt and pursue an old mystery they read about in one of the books in the aunt's ancient home. Much of the action is spent in a wildly unkempt but magical and charming garden, and the girls' journey from grief to a more peaceful acceptance of their loss is a somewhat magical journey. The story gives a very positive role to the elderly aunt whose home they spend the summer visiting, and also paints a beautiful picture of sisterly support and love.

It's an absolute treasure of a book and I highly recommend it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Bit of Magic, May 2, 2001

By 

"abookbug" (Dublin, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lost Flower Children (Novel) (Hardcover)

I enjoyed this fanciful, dreamy, and yet extremely "down to earth" story at least as much or more than Taylor's Newbury Honor book, Afternoon of the Elves, and felt this one deserved a similar honor. As usual, Taylor does a superb job of towing the line between reality and fantasy, lacing ordinary experiences with little hints of magic that seem so natural and believable that it makes you think twice. Satomi Ichikawa's wistful sketches also provide a perfect compliment to the text. This is a charming book for lovers of gardens or of fairy tales, for imaginative young adults, and for people of all ages who still want to believe in a bit of magic.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid work by a solid author..., January 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Lost Flower Children (Novel) (Hardcover)

This is a fine story for middle readers, readers of fantasy, those who like family stories... Janet Taylor Lisle's latest story blends fantasy and reality in this story of coping with death and loss. The characters are wonderfully crafted; Ms. Lisle's use of language is superb, and the story moves along quickly. Readers hardly notice the movement from reality to fantasy and back, as the story progresses from two little girls mourning their mother and missing their father to a story of girls who have a mission...finding the "lost flower children"...to the little girls who accomplish this mission, getting to know their "Great Aunt Minty" along the way. The surprise at the end fits, and the reader says, "I should have guessed" and then..."maybe I'm not really so sure"...