ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR Lori Mitchell is an award-winning illustrator whose first children’s book, Different Just Like Me, was an ABA Kids Pick of the Lists in 1999 and appeared on Oprah!.
Trang 2ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Nancy Parent is the author of over
75 children’s books including
Oh Bother! It’s the Easter Bunny
(PW Children's bestseller) She was the script supervisor on Disney’s
“The Little Mermaid” and worked
as Senior Editor of Disney’s Mouse Works imprint
where she wrote and developed several lines of books.
Nancy lives in South Pasadena, California.
Sarah Ashman is a writer and editor
specializing in comics and humor.
She was Director of Comic Art at United Feature Syndicate where she acquired and developed Scott
Adams’ Dilbert and Pat Brady’s Rose
is Rose, among others The many
comics she has edited include Peanuts by Charles
Schulz and Garfield by Jim Davis Sarah lives in
Tarrytown, New York.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Lori Mitchell is an award-winning
illustrator whose first children’s
book, Different Just Like Me, was an
ABA Kids Pick of the Lists in 1999 and appeared on Oprah! Lori also works as an editorial and advertising
illustrator, and lives in San Diego, California.
Late bloomer Holly yearns to be a great gardener but doesn’t seem to have the knack Despite suggestions and support from green-thumbed mom, Iris, and siblings, Rose and Bud, Holly just can’t get her garden to grow She waters and
fertilizes and uses all the right gardening tools, but her daffodils droop and her petunias look pathetic.
Holly, disappointed but not discouraged, is determined to succeed Armed with a positive attitude and unwavering persistence, she finally understands her artistic father’s creative advice, “There are many different kinds of tools You just need to find the ones that work for you.” This encouragement sparks a burst of inspiration, and Holly plants a garden that surprises everyone.
This inspiring story of perseverance and self-discovery is lush with luminous color illustrations Holly Bloom’s Garden teaches plenty about gardening, but more about the importance of being yourself and finding your own true talents – even if that makes you a late bloomer.
Flashlight Press New York
Trang 3Written by Sarah Ashman and Nancy Parent
Illustrated by Lori Mitchell
Flashlight Press
New York
Trang 4ISBN 978-1-936261-09-3 Print ISBN 978-0-972922-50-0
A special thank you to the Lipson Family, Susan, Barry, Elle, Ian, and especially Lainey, for posing for the book.
Copyright © 2004 by Flashlight Press Text copyright © 2004 by Sarah Ashman and Nancy Parent Illustrations copyright © 2004 by Lori Mitchell All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction, in whole or in part, in any form.
Printed at Hemed Press, Israel.
First Edition – April 2004.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2003116494
Editor: Shari Dash Greenspan Graphic Design: The Virtual Paintbrush Title Design: Dean Mitchell This book was typeset in Adobe Garamond.
Illustrations were created using black Prismacolor pencil and acrylic paint on Arches hotpress watercolor paper.
Distributed by Independent Publishers Group Flashlight Press • 3709 13th Avenue • Brooklyn, NY 11218
www.FlashlightPress.com
Trang 5To both Howards, big and little; to Ron and Michael and, of course, to the original Holly Bloom.
– Sarah Ashman and Nancy Parent
I dedicate this book to my mom, Snip, who has encouraged me to draw ever since I could hold a crayon.
– Lori Mitchell
Trang 6HOLLY BLOOM felt as grouchy as the thorns on a rosebush.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t make her f lowers grow
“Don’t worry, Sweetpea,” said Holly’s mother, Iris
“Some people, like some f lowers, take longer to bloom
They’re called late bloomers
Keep trying Your f lowers will grow soon.”
Trang 9“I’ll plant a garden for you,” said Holly’s older sister, Rosie,who had not been a late bloomer Rosie’s f lowers werefamous all over town.
But Holly did not want Rosie to plant a garden for her.She wanted to plant her own
Trang 10What I really need, thought Holly, is a green thumb.
Mama says people who can grow f lowers have a green thumb
So Holly took out her paint box,
mixed together some blue and yellow paint,
and gave herself a green thumb
Trang 13Then she went outside and planted some new f lowers.
Trang 14But Holly’s green thumb disappeared before dinner.And her dahlias drooped before she’d even had dessert.
Trang 16Maybe fertilizer would help, thought Holly.
But the fertilizer tickled Holly’s nose and her sneezes blew it all away
Trang 19Her brother Bud said, “You need to find the right tools.”
So Holly looked in the shed
First, Holly tried a hoe
She worked until she’d made a perfect patch of dirt.Then she dug some holes in the ground with a trowel.Into each hole she put a f lower
Trang 20Holly filled a watering can and carried it back to the garden
to give her f lowers a little drink But the watering can was
so heavy she accidentally soaked them
Trang 22In the morning, Holly ran to the window
to check on her f lowers
Her daisies had wilted and her petunias looked pathetic
“I guess I didn’t use the right tools,” thought Holly,
going back to the shed
“What’s up, Ladybug?” asked Holly’s father, Harold
“I want to grow f lowers like Mom and Bud and Rosie,”
Holly said, “but I don’t have the right tools.”
“Hmmm,” said her father “There are many different kinds of tools.You just need to find the ones that work for you.”
Holly nodded, but she didn’t know what other tools to try
Trang 25Holly walked sadly through the garden
looking at all the pretty f lowers that her mother,sister and brother had planted Their bluebellswere brilliant, their gardenias were glorious andtheir daffodils were simply dazzling
Wherever Holly Bloom lookedsomeone else’s f lowers were blooming
Trang 27That night, Holly’s parents tucked her into bed.
“Good night, Ladybug,” said her father, kissing Holly on the forehead
“Sleep tight, Sweetpea,” said her mother, turning off the light
But Holly wasn’t ready to sleep
She had thought of a way to make her garden grow
Trang 29When everyone had gone to bed, Holly tiptoed into
her father’s art studio His brushes and paint tubes were
all over the room, but Holly found what she needed
in the special corner her father had made for her
Holly worked in the studio all night without making any noise
Trang 31In the morning, Holly’s father put breakfast on the tablewhile her mother arranged some snapdragons in a vase.
“Wake up, Holly! Time for breakfast!” her father called
Holly’s muff led voice came from inside her father’s studio
“Just a minute,” she replied
"Holly!” her mother cried “Were you in there all night?”
“Come on out, Ladybug,” said her father with a grin
Trang 33Slowly the door opened and there stood Holly Bloom,
surrounded by f lowers Oh, what a garden she’d grown!There were tissue paper tulips, crepe paper chrysanthemumsand pipe cleaner pansies Her f lowers were made of paperand paste and sparkles and paint They were full of life, andguaranteed to last forever
Trang 34And best of all,they were grownespecially byHolly Bloom.
Trang 35ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Nancy Parent is the author of over
75 children’s books including
Oh Bother! It’s the Easter Bunny
(PW Children's bestseller) She was the script supervisor on Disney’s
“The Little Mermaid” and worked
as Senior Editor of Disney’s Mouse Works imprint
where she wrote and developed several lines of books.
Nancy lives in South Pasadena, California.
Sarah Ashman is a writer and editor
specializing in comics and humor.
She was Director of Comic Art at United Feature Syndicate where she acquired and developed Scott
Adams’ Dilbert and Pat Brady’s Rose
is Rose, among others The many
comics she has edited include Peanuts by Charles
Schulz and Garfield by Jim Davis Sarah lives in
Tarrytown, New York.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Lori Mitchell is an award-winning
illustrator whose first children’s
book, Different Just Like Me, was an
ABA Kids Pick of the Lists in 1999 and appeared on Oprah! Lori also works as an editorial and advertising illustrator, and lives in San Diego, California.
Late bloomer Holly yearns to be a great gardener but doesn’t seem to have the knack Despite suggestions and support from green-thumbed mom, Iris, and siblings, Rose and Bud, Holly just can’t get her garden to grow She waters and
fertilizes and uses all the right gardening tools, but her daffodils droop and her petunias look pathetic.
Holly, disappointed but not discouraged, is determined to succeed Armed with a positive attitude and unwavering persistence, she finally understands her artistic father’s creative advice, “There are many different kinds of tools You just need to find the ones that work for you.” This encouragement sparks a burst of inspiration, and Holly plants a garden that surprises everyone.
This inspiring story of perseverance and self-discovery is lush with luminous color illustrations Holly Bloom’s Garden teaches plenty about gardening, but more about the importance of being yourself and finding your own true talents – even if that makes you a late bloomer.
Flashlight Press New York
Trang 36ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Nancy Parent is the author of over
75 children’s books including
Oh Bother! It’s the Easter Bunny
(PW Children's bestseller) She was the script supervisor on Disney’s
“The Little Mermaid” and worked
as Senior Editor of Disney’s Mouse Works imprint
where she wrote and developed several lines of books.
Nancy lives in South Pasadena, California.
Sarah Ashman is a writer and editor
specializing in comics and humor.
She was Director of Comic Art at United Feature Syndicate where she acquired and developed Scott
Adams’ Dilbert and Pat Brady’s Rose
is Rose, among others The many
comics she has edited include Peanuts by Charles
Schulz and Garfield by Jim Davis Sarah lives in
Tarrytown, New York.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Lori Mitchell is an award-winning
illustrator whose first children’s
book, Different Just Like Me, was an
ABA Kids Pick of the Lists in 1999 and appeared on Oprah! Lori also works as an editorial and advertising
illustrator, and lives in San Diego, California.
Late bloomer Holly yearns to be a great gardener but doesn’t seem to have the knack Despite suggestions and support from green-thumbed mom, Iris, and siblings, Rose and Bud, Holly just can’t get her garden to grow She waters and
fertilizes and uses all the right gardening tools, but her daffodils droop and her petunias look pathetic.
Holly, disappointed but not discouraged, is determined to succeed Armed with a positive attitude and unwavering persistence, she finally understands her artistic father’s creative advice, “There are many different kinds of tools You just need to find the ones that work for you.” This encouragement sparks a burst of inspiration, and Holly plants a garden that surprises everyone.
This inspiring story of perseverance and self-discovery is lush with luminous color illustrations Holly Bloom’s Garden teaches plenty about gardening, but more about the importance of being yourself and finding your own true talents – even if that makes you a late bloomer.