On a sunny day, Cat chooses a lovely bench to sit on to have a picnic.
Dog chooses the same lovely bench to sit on to read his book.
Cat and Dog keep to themselves until a drifting blossom changes things.
What will they do when they realise the potential of the company that sits next to them on the lovely bench?
With magical pared back text, this is a book where every single word has been carefully chosen to convey meaning. The illustrations, too, do much of the story telling, forcing readers to explore the relationship between words and pictures to interpret meaning, and sometimes to pull meaning from illustrations alone.
But read it with any child, and they will ‘get it’ with little to no prompts. Youju Cheon’s stunning and delicate illustrations deliver so much character through Cat and Dog’s expressions, positioning and actions, every child will know exactly what they are thinking just by looking at them.
This is a magical picture book children (and adults) will adore. It will spark important discussions about friendship, kindness and overcoming differences, and it provides so much opportunity for readers and an audience to interact with the book as it is read aloud.
I highly recommend finding a copy of In Blossom. It is a perfect example of how text and illustrations can be perfectly balanced to tell a story with so much meaning in so few words.
Author/Illustrator: Yooju Cheon
Publisher: Frances Lincoln, $24.99
Publication Date: January 2019
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781786037282
For ages: 3+
Type: Picture Book
