Sun and rain and all kinds of flowering plants surround us in the Northern Hemisphere during the month of May. This year seems especially bountiful in May-perfect picture books to share.
Anne Booth’s Bloom, illustrated by Robyn Wilson-Owen (Tiny Owl Publishing) has been praised by The Sunday Times, a large number of other critics, and families who have discovered the positivity served up along with a compelling gardening tip: tell your plants how wonderful they are! Not only is talking to them good for gardens, it also helps to remind us that our gardens bring us pleasure and joy.
The latest from cartoonist Liniers is also winning high praise from many quarters. Wildflowers (Toon Books) celebrates imagination, children’s friendships, the magic of story, and, of course, wildflowers! This one is perfect for emerging readers and it’s also a read aloud you’ll enjoy again and again.
There are new editions of a couple of classic favorites available this May, too. From Gerda Muller, A Year in Our New Garden (Floris Books) combines the story of a family who plan and work in a new garden they plant after they move to a new home with gardening tips readers can use when creating and nurturing their own home gardens. Michael Garland’s A Season of Flowers (Tilbury House) was 
published as a picture book in 2018. In a new edition, it’s also available as a board book, allowing the very youngest readers to explore all the colorful blossoms that appear in spring, from those that poke through the snow to those that bloom as spring edges toward warmer days of summer.
Coming very soon from Tereza Němcová and Štěpánka Sekaninová, with illustrations by Magda Andresová and Linh Dao, be on the lookout for Learning about the Garden with Sleeping Beauty (Albatros Media). Combining the traditional fairytale with lots of information about gardening, this book will keep everyone exploring connections between stories and information. Take a peek:
May your May days blossom with all sorts of flowers and the many opportunities the season brings to enjoy being outdoors!