posted on 20 Sep 2021

Blossom by Laura Dockrill, illustrated by Sara Ogilvie

Thanks to her plant-loving grandparents, Tutu and Pops, ten year old Blossom has grown up surrounded by beautiful plants and flowers from the family market stall:

‘It’s like the plants don’t live with us, we live with the plants.’

I loved the way in which the author describes the ways in which the various plants overwhelm the house and how the illustrator adds to the feeling of powerful green claustrophobia. How on earth did they get to be so out of control?

We learn about the very special relationship that Blossom had with her grandparents who both died recently. The way in which she describes their need for mutual sustenance from one another is poignant: ‘people, like plants, need sunshine.’ Because they were so loved, how could her dad refuse to carry out Tutu’s handwritten request to take good care of the plants?

Blossom has selected one beautiful aloe vera plant to share her bedroom, and finds that she is talking to her a lot since her grandparents died. It seems that inheriting the market stall is becoming something of a headache for her parents, because she overhears lots of arguments about it. Her mum is trying to study at college as a mature student as well as helping to run the business, and is falling behind with her work ‘bent over her textbooks like a willow tree.’  It is quite unusual to read about student parents, even though there are plenty of them in the real world.Tension runs high as Blossom overhears her parents talking about their problems and she starts to worry. 

During the summer holidays she enjoys going in the van with her parents to Peacham Garden Flower Market early in the morning and soaking up all the familiar sights and smells. Along with fretting about her parents, she is trying hard not to think about going to a new secondary school in September, but feels scared about it. 

This is a story rich with layers relating to the impact of change, but more importantly, it is all about how memories of happy family times can help with on-going anxieties. Blossom keeps remembering how Tutu and Pops imbued the flower stall with their generous personalities. She describes her feelings of being part of a warm and friendly market community where everyone makes her feel cherished. It made me think about the many benefits of this kind of outdoor life, which I am sure could inspire plenty of classroom discussion. Even the regular market customers like ‘snoopy old Gilda’ play their part in keeping the predictable rhythm of the day.

All of this could be overly sentimental in the hands of a different author. Laura Dockerill takes a more socially realistic approach when it seems that running the flower stall might be what dad and Blossom want, but not necessarily what mum wants. Blossom has to come to terms with this as she finds out that she has very different ambitions for the future:

‘I was thinking she was the selfish one, but it really depends what bit of the story you are looking at.’

A solution needs to be found, and quickly! I won’t spoil the outcome which involves more strange but well- meaning people, again given tremendous character through the atmospheric  illustrations.

This is another triumph for the wonderful Barrington Stoke Publishing team in their ‘super readable’ series.

Strongly recommended.

 

Karen Argent

September 2021