Florette

Mae is lonely after her family moves from the countryside into the city, and she misses growing things: “There was no room among the crowded buildings for apple trees and daffodils.” Soon Mae and her mother find a park—and then they stumble on a magnificent florist’s window dense with lush, tropical greenery. (“Florette” is the name of the store; readers may expect it to take a more central role, but Mae and her mother never return.) A small plant Mae finds nearby provides her with the start of a garden of her own—a garden that grows, and that draws, little by little, many new friends. Walker’s carefully drafted watercolors capture the charm of Parisian streets (her biography attributes the story’s inspiration to a Paris vacation). Stately, classic facades tower over the doll-like figures of Mae and the other children. On one level, it’s a story that reminds readers that getting used to new places takes time. But it’s the artwork that commands attention, and the way the florist’s window offers Mae inspiration for the garden she creates. Ages 4–7. Agent: Stephen Barr, Writers House. (Feb.)