A Rose Named Peace: How Francis Meilland Created a Flower of Hope for a World at War

In this informative, botanically leaning picture book, Roberts and Ibatoulline chronicle the efforts of French gardener Francis Meilland (1912–1958) to create “a new thing of beauty to give to the world,” describing how WWII almost derailed his efforts. With realistic watercolors depicting an idyllic life on the Meilland family’s farm in southern France, the story initially covers the rose grower’s meticulous work cross-pollinating flower varieties. When at last he succeeds in creating something unique—a bloom characterized by ivory and yellow petals tipped in pink—he sends cuttings to colleagues globally just as war breaks out, and communication disruptions mean he must wait to learn how the new rose fares. Upon war’s end, when Meilland receives news confirming the rose has thrived in America and been named “Peace,” it’s an uplifting conclusion to an otherwise straightforward biography of a botanist at work amid war. An afterword, glossary, and bibliography conclude. Ages 6–9. (May)