Book Review: God’s Little Flowers
By Lindsay Schlegel; illustrated by Joy Laforme
Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor
Originally Published on CatholicMom.com
My 11-year-old daughter has developed a love for Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. When I saw that Lindsay Schlegel, a Catholic Mom contributing writer, recently published a book called God’s Little Flowers from OSV Kids, I knew exactly who I wanted to read it with, as I initially thought it would be all about the “Little Flower” herself. Both she and I were initially surprised to find that Saint Thérèse was not specifically mentioned within the pages of the book. However, her influence within the book is sprinkled throughout and a kid-friendly synopsis of Thérèse is included at the end of the book.
The Beauty of God
The first thing she and I noticed are the beautiful illustrations from Joy Laforme. The cover alone is filled with a bounty of colorful flowers that evoked a sense of welcome and beauty. As I was reading the book, one of the sentences jumped out at me and gave me pause as I took in its meaning: “God felt so close in all that beauty.” So often, I find myself rushing through the day-to-day life of routines and schedules, and this reminded me to not only stop and smell the roses, so to speak, but also to look for the beauty because God truly is in the beauty of the world around us.
Growing Our Gifts
The book follows the story of Gemma, a young girl who is discouraged because she doesn’t feel like she measures up to her other friends’ talents. Even as grown women, it is easy to fall into that awful comparison factor which only makes us feel inferior. As I continued reading, I was touched by how the author wove a beautiful message within the book through the conversations she had with her daughter about the uniqueness of each of the flowers. I was impressed with how easily Schlegel used the uniqueness of each flower to help her daughter see that our individuality is what makes us all beautiful in God’s garden. We are all given different talents and gifts that make us each unique in God’s eyes.
It reminded me of Psalm 139, that we are all fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God, each with our own unique talents, gifts, and beauty. As the mother in the book reminds Gemma, “If there was only one kind of soul in God’s garden, we’d miss out on everyone else’s gifts. When we each grow the gifts God has given us and use them to serve him and others, we add to the beauty of his kingdom, as if it were a garden!”
I would highly recommend this as a gift to the young girl in your life. With the simple yet meaningful story, it is a perfect addition to any girl’s little library of books and would make a wonderful gift for Baptisms, first holy Communion, Easter, or a gift given “just because.” As a lover of letter writing, my favorite part of the book is the very end when Gemma gives personal letters to each of her friends, including her mom. To quote my daughter, Emily’s review, “I really liked how it was illustrated and the words are very meaningful!” I couldn’t agree with her more.
Ask for God's Little Flowers at your local Catholic bookseller, or order online from Amazon.comor the publisher, Our Sunday Visitor.
