• Age: 4 to 8
• Grade: p to 3

An adopted bumblebee learns the language of flowers from her floral family in this enchanting picture book, inspired by floriography, that celebrates one of nature's most important relationships.

Deep within a magical meadow, some lonely flowers receive a very special gift: a baby bumblebee in need. The flowers name her Beatrice, they care for her and help her find her wings. And as she grows older, Beatrice learns the language of her floral family — messages of kindness and appreciation that she delivers between them. With each sweet word, the flowers bloom until the meadow becomes so big that Beatrice needs help delivering her messages and decides to set out in search of her own kind. But this little bee’s quest takes her beyond the safety of the meadow and into the dangerous swamp the flowers have warned her about, a swamp inhabited by strange plants with snapping jaws and terrible teeth . . . will these prickly plants let her pass? Could they just be in need of a little sweetness themselves?

A gently fanciful tale of the miracle of pollination and the important relationship between flowers and bees, this sweetly affirming story, inspired by the Victorian practice of floriography, suggests the secret to flourishing is kindness and appreciation.

DENA SEIFERLING est une autrice et illustratrice d’albums qui jouit d’une grande renommée. Elle est également artiste de feutrage à l’aiguille et titulaire d’un baccalauréat en beaux-arts et en communication visuelle de l’Université des arts de l’Alberta, où elle travaille maintenant comme enseignante. Elle a signé les illustrations de La souris qui devint roi, album finaliste au Prix littéraire du Gouverneur général.

DENA SEIFERLING is a highly acclaimed picture book author and illustrator and needle-felt artist who graduated with a B.F.A. and Visual Communications Degree from the Alberta University of the Arts, where she now works as an instructor. She is the illustrator of King Mouse, which was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award, and its companion book Bear Wants to Sing. The Language of Flowers marked her exquisite debut as both author and illustrator.

Dena Seiferling's profile page

• Short-listed, R. Ross Annett Award for Children's Literature
• Nominated, Ezra Jack Keats New Writer/Illustrator Award

One of CCBC's Best Books for Kids & Teens (Fall 2022)

"Soft graphite illustrations conjure a fairy tale-like atmosphere." —Booklist

"The graphite illustrations are well executed, representing the personality of each flower and a winsome Beatrice." —CM Reviews

"The gorgeous illustrations in this picture book help tell the tale of a baby bee who grows up among a garden of flowers." —Calgary Herald