Wildflowers Around the Year [Hardcover]

Hope Ryden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 19, 2001

While snow was still on the ground, noted naturalist/photographer Hope Ryden set out to find and document the wide variety of wildflowers that bloom each season. In conversational essays accompanied by stunning full-color photographs, she introduces readers to more than thirty wildflowers found in backyards, vacant lots, and swamps across the country, from the common dandelion to the rare and delicate nodding ladies’ tresses. She also tells the story behind the name of each flower and describes the relationship each has with its specific winged pollinator—bird or insect.
Informative and beautiful to look at, Wildflowers Around the Year will inspire young readers to start their own search for these often hidden treasures. Bibliography.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 4-8-Ryden opens her book with the statement, "Everyone loves wildflowers," and then makes a case for enjoying and protecting them. Her large, incredibly sharp, full-color photos of 38 species are stunning. The text accompanying each picture is both informative and personal. Readers find out how the flower got its name, where to look for it, how it is pollinated, how it has been studied by scientists or used by people, and what meaning it has to the author. Occasional slight personification ("The Canada lily prevents this from happening by hanging its head") adds to the affectionate tone of the writing, inviting youngsters to care about these flowers. This is not a field guide. Although the entries are arranged generally by the months in which they bloom in the U.S., there are no maps; the size of the book eliminates easy portability; and the small number of flowers covered limits its use in identification. See it instead as a luxurious invitation for children to take a close look at wildflowers in their part of the country.

Ellen Heath, Orchard School, Ridgewood, NJ

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-6. There's nothing about the design of this handsome book of wildflowers to indicate that it was written for children; it's the short, simple text that makes it accessible. Each spread includes a white-bordered page featuring a clear, colorful photo of the plant in the wild. The facing page offers the plant's common and botanical names, its season for blooming, and a few paragraphs of information, which might include the derivation of its name, details of the plant's fertilization, and interesting facts about the plant and its uses in food or medicine. Occasionally, a double-page spread will include two close-up photos of flowers. Although not quite avuncular, the formal yet conversational tone of the writing is reminiscent of a chatty, well-informed aunt guiding the reader through forest and meadow. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books (March 19, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395858143
• ISBN-13: 978-0395858141
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 8.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,564,045 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Wildflowers, July 16, 2011

By 

Ohioan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wildflowers Around the Year (Hardcover)

The photographs in this book are gorgeous, one per page, and the writing that describes each wildflower is fun and informative, printed on pale green paper while the photos are on white paper. The book is of high quality, nicely designed. The organization is from the earliest blooming wildflowers (March) through the last (November). Fun and informative: a book to read for pleasure and for reference.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for the young reader..., August 21, 2005

By 

PAUL C. Laincz "natickindian" (Kutztown, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wildflowers Around the Year (Hardcover)

We purchased this book for our niece as a birthday gift. We were very pleased with the quality of the book's writing and photography. We especially appreciated the fact that it did not talk down to the young reader.