Now | 2024 | Previous | Articles | Road Essays | Road Reviews | Author | Black Authors | Title | Source | Age | Genre | Series | Format | Inclusivity | LGBTA+ | Artwork | WIP |
|
Bloom: 06/05/17
Bloom by Doreen Cronin is a cautionary tale about losing touch with the natural world, and with building things from scratch. The Glass Kingdom is slowly falling to pieces after many years of severing ties with the Mud Fairy. They are desperate to gain her favor but they don't know how. The Glass Kingdom prides itself on its cleanliness and it's sparkle. But glass is fragile and years of use has left the kingdom with numerous cracks and many broken pieces. This world with it's crumbling glass castle and the restorative mud are all brought to life by David Small's watercolor illustrations. Remembering that the Mud Fairy used to keep the kingdom in good repair, the king goes to her to ask for help. The Mud Fairy is a girl of few words, preferring to show rather than tell. She offers him a bucket of mud. When the king fails to understand the fairy's response and the queen also fails, the kingdom send an ordinary girl. She has had so far in her life one task only: protect the only glass item not cracked and not broken. A common girl knows how to get her hands dirty — even if she's only in charge of holding a spoon. Rather than running away disgusted, the girl sticks around to learn the lesson of the mud. It's all about doing extraordinary things with ordinary things. It's how to use your hands and the tools and ingredients around you to rebuild and repair your world. It's about not being afraid to get dirty. Four stars Comments (2) Comment #1: Tuesday, June 06, 2017 at 09:21:16 Oh gosh. I couldn't resist this one. And thanks to kindle, my husband never has to know I bought another boook ;-) Comment #2: Tuesday, June 06, 2017 at 21:54:00 Pussreboots I borrowed a copy from the library. I'm glad you enjoyed the review. |