Oscar's Tower of Flowers

by Lauren Tobia

A wordless picture book for the very young--bursting with green!--celebrates community, gardening, and sharing beauty with the world.

Oscar's mom has to go away for a little while, so Oscar is staying with his nana. He likes being with Nana in her apartment building, but he still misses his mom. One day, Nana has an idea, and together they carefully sow seeds--lots and lots of seeds! They water them and wait . . . and then the seeds start to grow and the flowers begin to bloom and there are plants everywhere. Luckily Oscar has a great idea for what they can do with the blossoms--share them! This brightly illustrated wordless picture book is full of graphic panels and sweeping spreads that evoke the urban bustle of a busy high-rise apartment and shows how each person can contribute to the spirit and vitality of a community.

Genres: Picture Books, Family, Childrens, Gardening, Fiction, Urban, Plants

40 pages, Hardcover

Published May 4, 2021

About the author

Lauren Tobia is the illustrator of several books for children, including the Anna Hibiscus books, written by Atinuke, and Baby's Got the Blues by Carol Diggory Shields. She lives in a tiny house in Bristol, England.

Reviews

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great wordless book!

Oscar's mom goes away. While she's gone, his aunt/grandmother/babysitter/other mom is there with him.

He plants flowers and waters them carefully. We see them grow (and through the window we can see a building being constructed nearby). Then Oscar gives them away to the neighbors and makes a friend in the process.

Finally, his mom comes home. Oscar has made a difference in the neighborhood and kept himself busy when he was sad and missing his mom.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wordless picture book tells the story of Oscar and his love of plants and flowers. Oscar’s mother has left him with a relative and his favorite picture of him and his mother is full of flowers. At first, they grow just one little plant in a pot but soon after a visit to a garden store, Oscar has much more. He selects seeds to plant, potting soil and tools. Back in the apartment, they fill all sorts of containers with soil and seeds, placing them on the sunny windowsill. Then they all sprout! The apartment fills with plants, including the bathroom. It all gets a little too crowded, so Oscar gives the plants away to their neighbors. With his mother back, she and the reader can see the way that Oscar transformed not only one apartment but the entire neighborhood.

Tobia creates a warm and lovely story here filled with an adult empowering a child to follow his interest. Oscar communicates through his drawings of plants, showing his desire to grow something. The woman taking care of him, who may be an aunt or a rather young grandmother, dives in with him, getting him the tools and items he needs to truly grow plants. The solution of sharing his success with everyone is transformational for the entire apartment complex. The diverse urban setting changes from stark to vibrantly green and growing in the course of a few months, thanks to one little boy.

A wordless picture book about sharing, community and the impact a child can have. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wordless picture book about a little boy who is missing someone really important to him (his mom?) and decides to grow plants and share them with their neighbors while she is gone as a way of dealing with his emotions. Sweet story.

[Regan Mayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Oscar’s Tower of Flowers” by Lauren Tobia is a wordless picture book. The main character, a young boy named Oscar, turns to gardening with his grandma to cope with his sadness after his mom leaves for a trip. He plants several seeds in many different containers, and soon he has turned his grandma’s apartment into a greenhouse. Having so many plants, Oscar and his grandma decide to share them with the other people and families in their apartment building. Oscar’s plants represent his kindness, and the illustrator shows the presence of Oscar’s kindness through the first page of the book and the last one. In the first page of the book, the viewer can see an inside view to Oscar’s apartment building with all the different families. The picture is plain-looking. On the last two pages of the book, the same view is shown, but this time with Oscar’s plants in every apartment with the families enjoying their plants together. Oscar’s plants symbolize his kindness and how kindness brings people together. To show the time lapse of the growth of Oscar’s seedlings, Tobia frames each image and uses a grid layout on one page. Each picture shows a different time of day or weather condition through the window, telling the reader that time is passing. As William Moebius states in his article “Introduction to Picturebook Codes”, a framed illustration “provides a limited glimpse ‘into’ a world” (Moebius, 1986). The framing of these pictures allows the viewer to see a very controlled, limited view of Oscar’s experience, rather than his whole life.

[Lorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wordless picture book is almost like a graphic novel for young children. Oscar's family member (probably a parent) is shown going away on a trip and he is sad. Oscar paints a picture of a flower and waters a very thirsty plant. This gives them an idea to pass the time waiting, they go to the garden store and plant lots of new plants. When the result gives them more than they can handle, they delight in going around and giving one away to each apartment in their building. Oscar also makes a new friend along the way.

Originally published in the UK and brought to US market by Candlewick, this charming wordless book would be appropriate for sharing one on one with preschool children or great for an emerging reader to read on their own. The colorful images tell the story in a visual sequence which varies in image size and how the images are read some horizontally and some vertically. There are great touches of empathy and humor with a satisfying reunion in the end.

I would recommend this book for purchase for any public library.

This book was provided by the publisher for professional review by SWON Libraries

[Selena Ayala · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Oscar's Tower of Flowers" follows a boy named Oscar who has to part ways with his mom while she goes on a trip. Oscar is staying with his grandma and they bond while gardening flowers. The flowers begin to grow and transform how his apartment and the community buildings around him look. Themes in this book are community, creativity, and resilience. I would add this book into my library and I would read it to a kindergarten class.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oscar is sad when someone he loves has to go away for a little bit, but he stays busy by planting and sharing those plants with everyone in his apartment building. This is a great one to talk about staying busy while you are waiting and how sad it is when someone we love is away. Kinda like a combination between Thank You, Omu! and If You Plant a Seed.

[Jared White · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who has, hmm, 16 houseplants or more, I heartily approve this message. :) A cute wordless picture book about growing potted plants and sharing them with friends and neighbors.

Let's just call this magical-realism and ignore the fact that some of these plants would take months and months to grow (I don't think Oscar's mom was gone that long).

[Children's Literature Centre at FSU · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful wordless picture books that states the beauty of cultivating plants, compassion, and friendships. One little boy is missing someone special who went away on a trip. While his beloved is gone, he decides to bring kindness to neighbors, where he meets a good friend.

[Ellie Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent wordless picture book. There are so many lovely details that tie the story together and take a second read to find. I love books like this that seem to reveal more and more every time you read them.

[Mari]

Wordless picture about a boy spending his day with his mom and without his sister who went to school. Sweet story and illustrations, it features hijabis! He grows flowers and gives it to his neighbors

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wordless book about a little boy who starts creating a garden to stay busy while his mother is away on a trip for a while. He creates a huge garden of house plants inside the apartment where he's staying while she's gone, and when she returns everyone enjoys the "garden."

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oscar's mom has to go away, so Oscar stays with his Nana (Grandma). I wasn't huge into the illustrations because they reminded me of a highlights magazine, but I liked the idea that Oscar grew plants and shared them with his neighbors.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful wordless picture book celebrating the joys of growing flowers, sharing, and community.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read this to a baby so many goddamn times this weekend that i’ve decided it counts as one of my 2021 books. it’s very cute

[Thomas Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, but a little too ridiculous. I do like comparing the pictures of the neighborhood at the beginning and ending though.

[Jae · Rating 4 out of 5]

a millenial fever dream

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bower of flowers. Oscar spends his days missing a loved one and tending to plants in the meantime, then brings joy and plants to his neighbors.

Very sweet.

[Dedra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely sweet and lovely. I can kids getting inspired to do their own planting after reading this book.

[Y.Poston]

such a delightful wordless picture book about missing someone and keeping busy and making new friends in between; lovely illustrations

[Aarvik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice read for imagination!

[Jessica Mercado · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book are PHENOMENAL! It’s such a warm uplifting tale with no words. My son and I absolutely loved it and 100% recommend it!

[Natalie Tate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quality wordless picture book that champions plants and their ability to bring people together. Fun stuff.

[Alyssa Gudenburr · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wordless picture book about a boy who decides to grow ALL the plants while his family member is on a trip. Best on one on one due to the wordless and small comic style artwork.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Be still my heart. Oh this is just lovely. If only I could grown anything, I would do the same in my neighborhood. I've never been more frustrated by my 'black thumb' than I am right now.