Flora and the Flamingo

by Molly Idle

Overview

A 2014 Caldecott Honor Book

In this innovative wordless picture book with interactive flaps, Flora and her graceful flamingo friend explore the trials and joys of friendship through an elaborate synchronized dance. With a twist, a turn, and even a flop, these unlikely friends learn at last how to dance together in perfect harmony. Full of humor and heart, this stunning performance (and splashy ending!) will have readers clapping for more!

For more feathery fun, pick up Flora and the Penguin, Flora and the Peacocks, Flora and Friends Matching Game or, coming soon, Flora and the Chicks.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452127934
Publisher:	Chronicle Books LLC
Publication date:	02/05/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	44
File size:	16 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Molly Idle began her career as an artist working for DreamWorks Feature Animation, and from there she leapt into the world of children's books. She lives in Tempe, Arizona.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A perfect amalgamation of wordless storytelling.. as emotional as it is visual" - Elizabeth Bird, A Fuse #8 Production, a School Library Journal Blog

"The seamless grace of the flamingo's dance contrasts humorously with Flora's faltering steps, but by the end of the story, they swoop, plunge and soar together like old ballet partners." - Kirkus Reviews

"Seamless and dynamic visual storytelling" - Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Editorial Reviews

Without providing a backstory for the eponymous pair’s curious meeting, Idle (Nighty Night, Noah) imagines a wordless encounter between a lithe, sultry flamingo and a pudgy little girl in a bathing suit, swim cap, and flippers. The call-and-response nature of their dance—the flamingo poses in a series of sinuous movements on the left, Flora does her awkward best to mimic them on the right—produces a series of beautifully lighthearted tableaus. At first, Flora models her movements on the flamingo’s, unbeknownst to the bird. A series of stumbles draws a sharp reaction from the flamingo and a sulk from Flora, but the flamingo relents and the two collaborate on a graceful duet that ends with a joyous flourish. Inset flaps add drama by revealing new poses, and Idle’s crisp, confident drafting produces a reading experience akin to flipping through a series of animation cells. There’s an undertone of a growing-up story, too, as Flora almost seems to shed childhood self-consciousness and take her first tentative steps into womanhood. It’s seamless and dynamic visual storytelling. Ages 3–up. Agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"Cinematic, comedic, and balletic."-The Horn Book Magazine, starred review"

An absolute delight."—School Library Journal Extra Helping"

A perfect amalgamation of wordless storytelling.. as emotional as it is visual" - Elizabeth Bird, A Fuse #8 Production, a School Library Journal Blog

http://www.reading.org/general/Publications/blog/BlogSinglePost/reading-today-online/2013/12/11/diverse-and-impressive-picture-books-of-2013#.UrM99uL2JTa

School Library Journal Best Books of the Year

New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing 2013

BookPage Best Books of The Tear"

This delightful romp... will appeal to flamingo and ballet fans alike." - School library Journal, starred review"

The simplicity and elegance of each drawing is awe-inspiring." - Sweet on Books"

The seamless grace of the flamingo's dance contrasts humorously with Flora's faltering steps, but by the end of the story, they swoop, plunge and soar together like old ballet partners." - Kirkus Reviews"

Shows the power of friendship." - Mother-Daughter Book Club"

Seamless and dynamic visual storytelling" - Publishers Weekly, Starred Review"

One of my favorite books of 2013" - Colby Sharp, Sharpread"

Like a classical music masterpiece, this book starts as a quiet story and cuminates with great power."—Young Children"

Irresistible." - San Francisco Chronicle"

In stunning shades of pink with bright yellow accents, squat little pear-shaped Flora tries to emulate a proud and graceful flamingo. It takes a while for the flamingo to realize that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but when the two reconcile their relationship, a double-page foldout is barely large enough to contain the joy."—Carla Kozak, San Francisco Public Library"

I was entirely swept away." - Design of the Picture Book"

Flora and the Flamingo is so perfect there really are no words to describe it." - Virgina Beach Public Library"

Fanciful and beautiful." - Reading Today"

A great story of friendship and forgiveness." - Erik, age 11, ThisKid ReviewsBooks.com

From the Publisher

In this wordless delight, a pink flamingo flies in on the title page spread under pink, blossoming branches. On the next double page, while it occupies the whole left page, a flippered foot appears in the right lower corner. On the following double page, the flamingo stands erect, mirrored on the right by a yellow-capped, flipper-footed, appealing young girl in a pink bathing suit. When we lift the flap on the left, the flamingo looks over its shoulder; so does the girl under her flap. And so they interact and dance together across the double pages on a white background under the blossoms, with more flaps to lift. When the girl falls and is upset, the flamingo seems to sympathize. It takes her hand and they dance together, with more flaps of their joyous abandon and a dignified bow at the end. There is a dance-like elegance to the slightly stylized illustrations of the graceful bird and the somewhat tubby girl trying to emulate its movements. The pace quickens, as do emotions as they cannonball together into a pool. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

Children's Literature - Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

PreS-Gr 2—This charming story begs to be an animated short-unsurprising, given the author's animation background-yet it works remarkably well as a wordless lift-the-flap book. Sparely illustrated, its full-spread white backgrounds with delicate pink-blossom borders emphasize the actions of the two protagonists. A lone flamingo lands onto the nearly blank expanse of the title page. Soon, it is joined by little Flora, who provides a sweetly round counterpoint to the angular bird. She furtively imitates the flamingo's moves with utmost concentration and extremely comical poses until it catches on and squawks angrily, driving her away in a sulk. Friendship triumphs in the end, and the unlikely couple dance together and joyously cannonball into water on the last double foldout page. As neither flamingos nor little girls are known for their inherent elegance, the duo's surprisingly graceful moves are reminiscent of dancing hippos and ostriches from Disney's Fantasia. This delightful romp is a worthy addition to most collections and will appeal to flamingo and ballet fans alike.—Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY

School Library Journal

Klutzy but endearing Flora (dumpily clad in swimsuit, bathing cap and flippers) and a dancing flamingo are the protagonists of this whimsical, wordless tale, which will have special appeal for budding ballerinas. Initially playing hard to get, then gradually warming to her overtures, the flamingo literally takes Flora under his wing and teaches her to dance. The story of the evolving camaraderie between this unlikely duo is told with humor and compassion through the use of a delicate flowing line and a limited, subtle color palette (mostly pink). The occasional simple rectangular fold-down flap cleverly allows each character to reveal a quirky new gesture or change of mood when the story demands. Illustrator Idle's prior experience as a DreamWorks animator is evident in the flowing, musical quality of the illustrations; one can almost hear the 3/4 beat of a waltz in the background. The seamless grace of the flamingo's dance contrasts humorously with Flora's faltering steps, but by the end of the story, they swoop, plunge and soar together like old ballet partners. Courageous use of white space--several pages contain a solitary waterlily--and a confident animated style are used to good effect in this sweet story of a young girl and her unlikely mentor. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews