It would be difficult to declare my one favorite book out of all of the wordless picturebooks I have read, but this one certainly makes my top ten list! It captured my heart on the very first reading, and my appreciation has grown for it exponentially with each subsequent perusal. Exquisitely detailed scenes of a bleak village start showing signs of light and hope when an elderly visitor arrives. He has purchased a run-down house in the midst of a grey, dreary area, surrounded by people that are in various stages of despondency. As he fixes up his place, color is restored, and a small gesture - giving a flower to a girl passing by - is the stimulus for the color to spread. The metamorphosis is breathtaking, and the ending reveals an unforeseen new beginning.
I was curious about why the book's creator chose to tell this particular story in a book without text, so I sent him an email and asked for his perspective. This was his reply: "simply put, a wordless book offers the reader an opportunity to discover their own story. Their investigation, be it limited or thorough, rewards them and the story becomes that much more meaningful - if indeed they uncover things that at first glance others might have missed. No text is instructing them on what to get and the author is hands off in the transaction."
The Flower Man by Mark Ludy. United States of America: Green Pastures Publishing, 2005. [9780966427646]
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