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geekwayne's review against another edition
5.0
'The Golden Glow' by Benjamin Flouw with translation by Christelle Morelli and Susan Ouriou is a wonderful picture book about nature and finding the unusual.
Fox enjoys looking through his botany books looking for new plants to add to his collection. One day he finds a plant called the Golden Glow and he must add it to his collection, so he gathers up supplies he'll need for the hike and sets out in search of the elusive flower. Along the way, he meets friends like Bear and Marten who will guide him to the elusive flower. Will he find the flower and what will he do once he finds it?
The book is filled with delightful papercut illustrations. I liked the category pages of the supplies Fox takes and the pictures of various trees and flowers. The story is wonderful as well with its gently unfolding story.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Tundra Books, Penguin Random House Canada, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
Fox enjoys looking through his botany books looking for new plants to add to his collection. One day he finds a plant called the Golden Glow and he must add it to his collection, so he gathers up supplies he'll need for the hike and sets out in search of the elusive flower. Along the way, he meets friends like Bear and Marten who will guide him to the elusive flower. Will he find the flower and what will he do once he finds it?
The book is filled with delightful papercut illustrations. I liked the category pages of the supplies Fox takes and the pictures of various trees and flowers. The story is wonderful as well with its gently unfolding story.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Tundra Books, Penguin Random House Canada, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
madhamster's review against another edition
4.0
A book about enjoying nature, without destroying it.
rkiladitis's review against another edition
5.0
A fox who loves nature and botany goes on a quest for a rare plant to add to his collection. The Golden Glow is a plant from the Wellhidden family, and only grows high in the mountains. There's not even a picture of it; it's never been described. Fox packs his supplies and heads off to the mountains, meeting different animals and noting different plants and trees along the way. When Fox finally reaches the mountaintop, he waits... and discovers the Golden Glow! It's stunning! It's breathtaking! And Fox realizes that "the golden glow is more beautiful here on the mountaintop than it ever would be in a vase in his living room". Part story and part nature journal, The Golden Glow is just gorgeous and teaches a respect for nature. The angular art draws the eye in; there's so much to see on every page, every spread. Flouw creates detailed lists of Fox's hiking pack, plus trees and flowers that he encounters on his way, and a map of different zones on the way up to the mountain, from the foothill to snow zones, all in beautiful detail for younger readers to enjoy. Fox's decision to leave the flower where it is presents a love of and respect for nature that can lead to a great discussion on conservation. Bright red endpapers with angular design could be a topographic map of the area - talk about how different areas look from above! Caldecott contender
beths0103's review against another edition
4.0
A fox goes in search of the holy grail of mountain flowers: the golden glow.
mat_tobin's review against another edition
4.0
There are a lot of texts arising these days which bend the picturebook concept. These fusion texts, which bring together aspects of literary forms, offer us new windows into the shape and style of children’s literature. With The Golden Glow, Flouw presents a synergy between picturebook, information text and picture book in exceeding the 32 page format through longer stretches of narrative (well translated by Morelli and Ouriou).
The Golden Glow tells the story of an anthropomorphic botanist fox who seeks out the forenamed plant missing from his botany books. On his journey up the mountain, he encounters several anthropomorphic guides who point him upon the right path. Much like the scene in which the keyhole reveals itself to Bilbo in the Hobbit, Fox discovers the Golden Glow much to his delight and instead of plucking it and taking it home to place in a vase, he chooses to sketch and study it knowing that its place there is more important.
A celebration of the nature lover which one hopes resides in all of us, The Golden Glow invites us to take in deep breaths as we walk through the pine mountains of Flouw’s polygon world. Whilst white spaces envelop the inside, plenty of earthy, warm colours flood the pages when we go outside. The fusion text presents us with single and double page spreads alongside informative, labelled spreads which display Fox’s expeditionary inventory, flower sketches, heights of mountains and list of plants. The book becomes part imaginary field-guide and part story.
I found this a wonderful ode to respecting the natural world and discovering it too. A book for our times.
The Golden Glow tells the story of an anthropomorphic botanist fox who seeks out the forenamed plant missing from his botany books. On his journey up the mountain, he encounters several anthropomorphic guides who point him upon the right path. Much like the scene in which the keyhole reveals itself to Bilbo in the Hobbit, Fox discovers the Golden Glow much to his delight and instead of plucking it and taking it home to place in a vase, he chooses to sketch and study it knowing that its place there is more important.
A celebration of the nature lover which one hopes resides in all of us, The Golden Glow invites us to take in deep breaths as we walk through the pine mountains of Flouw’s polygon world. Whilst white spaces envelop the inside, plenty of earthy, warm colours flood the pages when we go outside. The fusion text presents us with single and double page spreads alongside informative, labelled spreads which display Fox’s expeditionary inventory, flower sketches, heights of mountains and list of plants. The book becomes part imaginary field-guide and part story.
I found this a wonderful ode to respecting the natural world and discovering it too. A book for our times.
koikoi97's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
kellyjcm's review against another edition
Gorgeous illustrations - a mixture of digital painting and hand-painted textures that almost give a feel of cut paper collage. The illustrations also depict scientific information - diagram of flower, topography map, and elevation levels, for example. The story imparts a great lesson about enjoying nature where it is - instead of picking it for your home enjoyment. Will enjoy rereading this until returning to library.
widfarend's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0