FLOWER GIRL BUTTERFLIES

Sarah’s aunt is getting married in this familiar story of a flower girl’s performance anxiety; the cover depicting a beaming Sarah foreshadows a happy ending. The first page of text expresses the momentousness of the invitation to be in the wedding party, accompanied by a close-up of Sarah’s clearly apprehensive little face. All the wedding preparations, up to and including Sarah’s ultimately triumphant trip down the aisle, are artfully and accurately described, which will also make the story enjoyable as a kind of primer on wedding traditions and expectations. Krömer’s expressive illustrations make effective use of watercolor, colored pencil, and collage to extend the text and animate the recognizable characters in this warm African-American family drama. One false note is a cloying greeting card moment, in Sarah’s dreams, showing bride and groom, astride white stallion accompanied by doves, flying off together into the heavens. But overall the effervescent, humorous quality of the illustrations successfully matches the warm mood of the festivities. (Picture book. 3-7)