Have You Ever Seen a Flower?

by Shawn Harris

One child experiences a flower with all five senses—from its color to its fragrance to the entire universe it evokes—revealing how a single flower can expand one's perspective in many ways.

Genres: Picture Books, Nature, Childrens, Art, Fiction, Storytime, Juvenile

48 pages, Hardcover

First published May 4, 2021

About the author

Shawn Harris is an artist and musician who began his career by doing record and poster art for his band, the Matches, in 2003. Since then he has created art for musicians such as Adele, Snoop Dogg, and 311. His first picture book, Her Right Foot, was written by Dave Eggers. Shawn Harris lives in Morongo Valley, California.

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the suspension of the Goodreads Choice 2021 Picture Book category, I was of mixed feelings; first, my family yearly rates all the nominees, but we had in recent years been less impressed with the nominees (which Rod Brown found were often published by Amazon subsidiaries). So I consulted a couple sources for likely Caldecott Award nominees, and I asked a few people to read them with me; in general they are so much better than, for instance, last year’s GR bunch. As my kids get older, they have mostly dropped out of the reading, but I still have anywhere from 2-4 readers with me this year.

#11 is “Have You Ever Seen A Flower?,” by Shawn Harris. The question is about whether you have ever REALLY seen a flower, and so you use all of your senses to really dig down and experience and appreciate the universe.

R (retired librarian): (3 stars). Unique illustrations, but trying too hard. Some pages are a little confusing, and the ending is a bit abrupt.

T (electrician): (4 stars). Well, of course I liked the drawings. Color! So pretty, imho. Liked.

Dave (teacher) (3.5 stars). The answer to all the questions here is bright colors! The perspective is nothing new, but the illustrations sort of make you stand up and take notice, crayon-like texture and lively.

Harry (16) (4.5 stars). I love the drawings. I’ll admit I didn’t read the story very carefully, because I was like woah, that’s a cool flower, man.

[Calista · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I'm amazed by this book. The illustrations are done with pencils and colored pencils. The colors are so vibrant and joyful. The blending of color is amazing and it's almost like pointillism in the way the colors are blended so beautifully together.

The cover on my copy from the library is different than the thumbnail on Goodreads and I couldn't find a different edition to use.

The story is fairly simple. A girl leaves the cities and goes to explore flowers in nature. The simple rhymes encourage the reader to imagine themselves as a flower with roots and petals. I love that idea.

I must admit, I took a look at the cover and I wasn't excited to read this. I was wrong. I loved this story and the colors brightened my attitude for the day. I feel it improved my day. Caldecott is about the art and I think this was a worthy book to chose as an honor choice. What a joyful experience.

[Théo d'Or]

Have you ever seen a flower ?
Oh, yes ? What did she say ? Did she tell you secrets, while singing in the rain? Did she tell you of the sun's warm kiss, of the moon gentle light, of the stars that shine so bright ? Did she tell you of the rain, that nourishes her soul, or of the thunder's distant rumble and the lightning's fleeting goal ? Did she share her joy of blooming in the warmth of summer's sun, or the quiet peace of autumn, where her time is nearly done ? Did she tell you of the winter, when the world is cold and still, of the snow that blankets softly, and the frost that brings a chill ?
So tell me, what did she say, this flower you have seen ?

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars basically as soon as I opened the thing. The vibrancy of the colors contrasted with the crayon-like lines and texture, and the use of negative space, it is all absolutely stunning. I want to live in this world.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best introduction to meditation that I think I’ve seen. The author wants you to experience a flower with more than just the sense of sight. Also smell, touch etc. Beautiful! I can’t tell you why, but the crayon drawings simply are perfect for this book! Highly recommended. 2022 Caldecott Honor Award.

[Ms. B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bright, colorful illustrations that make me think of springtime. The illustrations will draw you into this story about observing nature.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some really beautiful illustrations and intentional design choices made here. The message itself is both age-appropriate and existentially disturbing. I read through it twice because the illustrations really did distract from the message the first time around.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 3 out of 5]

A child leaves the city and arrives in a field of bright beautiful flowers. The child moves in closer, closer, closer, using all the senses to experience the flower, ultimately to become the flower.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me remember the time that I was a little girl, with rainbow crayon hair, crouched in some flowers, looking so closely at the little petals and parts and seeing a whole other world of bugs, queens, and color!

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Major Caldecott contender, in my opinion.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the colored pencil illustrations and negative space. Story is a bit trippy.

[Serenity · Rating 3 out of 5]

*I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher *

An interesting take on mindfulness, being observant, and connecting with nature. I think I would have enjoyed it a little more if there hadn’t been random things like “dancing babies at the royal jelly jubilee” but overall it was a worthwhile read. I look forward to sharing it with students and seeing what they think.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Harris challenges readers to look more closely at life with the analogy of looking at a flower. The neon colors create abstract art to go along with the text that encourages readers to look at life. The concept is terrific but the text falls flat.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is there such a thing as TOO weird? Maybe sometimes, maybe for kids. I really love the prose here, the meditative focus on the life that exists in a flower and in ourselves, but man I do not think this art works for little kids.

[Jenn Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so BRIGHT! The colors are amazing! I've never seen anything like it.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful colored pencil illustrations.

[Laura Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the finest picture books of 2021. I would be thrilled if it won a Caldecott in 2022!

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounded up because of the illustrations and imagination.

A child tells how to fully experience a flower.

Caldecott Honor

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

So incredibly imaginative, and the colors were amazing. Great read to remove yourself from daily life and reflect.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Giving this 4 stars strictly based on the illustrations. The story itself was just okay.

[Sunday]

I'm reading this thinking about interactive read aloud titles for transitional kindergarten. Hmmmm... I think as teachers we'd have to have some idea what this books means for us and what it might mean for our students. While I'd strongly encourage teachers to give, "What do you think?" or "What are you thinking?" a go during an interactive read aloud and follow the lead of the students (in other words, you don't have to know what it will mean for them) and to find joy in how the kids surprise you with their deeper thinking, I also believe there are some pretty sophisticated ideas that will be a big leap for some students. On the other hand, the illustrations could just be the text and there's a lot you could discuss beyond the superficial "That's so pretty!" Surprised the age range is listed as young as two-years-old.

[Michelle (FabBookReviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

You may think you have seen bright and colourful in picture books, but once you read Shawn Harris’s Have You Ever Seen A Flower? your perspective might be forever altered. One of the most deeply, gorgeously, intensely vivid picture books I have ever seen and read, Harris’s latest is a bold, effervescent ride. Have You Ever Seen a Flower? opens on a gray cityscape, with just a tiny burst of colour courtesy of our protagonist. As our protagonist and their dog are driven away from the gray city, readers soon find themselves surrounded by peaks, mountains and fields of colour- of life- of flowers so bright and achingly beautiful. AS readers are asked: “have you ever seen a flower using nothing but your nose” or really explored a flower “way down in the clover with your face down in a flower”, Harris takes us on a visually stunning adventure of the surreal and real, exploring the possibilities that might await us inside of a flower, or the experiences we might face when we really, truly try to become and feel just what a flower might feel when we get watered and bloom. Incredibly vibrant and eye-opening pencil and coloured pencil illustrations, pared with conversational text and contemplative questions for readers, Shawn Harris’s picture book is a true delight. And it may just inspire readers of the book to “breathe deep”, listen, feel, wonder, and test their senses and imagination in the natural world around them. Readers who enjoy picture book authors and illustrators such as Cindy Derby, Raissa Figueroa, Sarah Jacoby, or Brendan Wenzel might be especially captivated by the lush experience of Have You Ever Seen A Flower?.

I received a copy of this title courtesy of Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and comments are my own.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

***Actual Star Rating: 2.5 Stars***

The title of this book is actually quite simple and that is what caught me into reading it to see how this particular author was going to unfold the story. And so it was with some surprise that I found a brightly colored world with text that puts me on the fence post as to whether it was an okay book or did I like it.

First of all I love how the book starts off in the city and to ensure the reader knows that it is a place to escape the city is made dark, crowded and quite gloomy. The road to escape is long and full of twists as if it is trying to keep you inside. And yet within this mobbed space there is a drop of color as the child rushes out to find a field of wildflowers.

From there the book unfolds into a story that explores the senses of the body, especially from a child's imaginative self, and to explore the world of nature at one go. For the most part I can say that I rather enjoyed the first part of the book with the exception of the fancy lady and babies at the royal jelly jubilee although now that I am writing that I know they are loose translations for honeybee society. Pretty clever if I may say so.

Then the story lost me yet again when it got to the part where it asked whether you had seen the brilliant color of your life. From that point on the story changed from absorbing the flowers by smell, audio and sight to being a rather sensory experience, which in turn leads the child to becoming one with a flower.

These illustrations are brightly colored, full of details and rather quite whimsical. I can understand the fact that if you were on something they may not only be abstract but a bit trippy along with the way the story also meanders along its telling.

In the end it is a book that I struggle to know whether I like it since it reminds me of my own childhood and the bright mesmerizing colors. But in the end my actual struggle would be if I had a physical copy of this book would I want to keep it or would I be wanting to give it away to the next curious reader who chooses to pick-up this book.

[Cindy Dobrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much to love about this book: the rare neon color scheme; the use of negative white space to create images like the dog and to separate the many flowers and plants so that the reader sees them individually and not just as a mass of flowers; the call to really look closely at something in nature; the invitation to imagine; and more. If ever there was a book for Chronicle to publish, with their tagline "We see things differently," this was it. Well done Harris, Chronicle, and the 2022 Caldecott Committee.

[Peacegal · Rating 5 out of 5]

For all of these simple things and much more, a flower was born
It blooms to spread love and joy, faith and hope, to people forlorn...
--Minnie Riperton, "Les Fleur"

Looking at these startlingly vibrant pages, I am reminded of those multiple-color "Clowny" crayons. A rainbow of colors and stunning fantasy flowers burst from each page. This is a celebration that can't help but catch your eye.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was bright and gorgeous, with text that really makes you think with all of your senses. Lovely.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and strange just like life

[Tara Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well of course I loved the drawings. Color!

[Shari (Shira) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 2022 Caldecott Honor Book! It is more than distinguished illustrations.

[Kris Dersch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting visually but text wise I'm still not sure what we were supposed to get.