Pros: I'm a big believer that children's books are not just for children--they are for adults too! I find that children's nonfiction and poetry are great places for adults to begin when wanting to learn a new topic or try out a new genre. It seems that many adults think poetry isn't for them or that they won't understand it. I think adults (or middle grade age and teenagers) would benefit from reading poetry books marketed toward children. What is especially great about this book is that it incorporates lines of poetry by famous poets. I appreciated how the author included parts of these poems at the end of the book. I really liked the illustrations in this book. I also loved the note at the end of the book that the net proceeds of its sales would be donated to charitable organizations.

Cons: None. Just a suggestion that younger children read this with a someone teenage age or older to help with some of the bigger words and to read the longer poems at the end of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and VanitaBooks, LLC for the opportunity to read this book!

I received an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review from VanitaBooks, LLC via NetGalley.

"I'm Ivy Van Allsberg.
I'm waiting for spring."

Me too, Ivy, me too!

I loved the creative idea of combining lines from other poems and poets to create a new story. This concept could be a great introduction to the world of poetry for children.

Furthermore, having these poems collected at the end of the book is a homage to these poets. They could also be a new puzzle for the children. Using these poems, the kids could put together some new lines that would follow the illustrations and describe them differently.

The illustrations did a terrific job of bringing poetry to life. I loved the style, the beautiful colours, and the little Ivy.

This was a very cute children's novel. The illustrations were fantastic and creative. This was advertised as an adult poetry collection on NetGalley, so it was not at all what I was expecting.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Such a cute poetical little book. I liked the idea with all these poets and writers like longfellow, Dickens, Frost and so on and to put them all in a little book for kids. That was amazing and a wonderful job with the illustrations to help. Great job really. A little girl dreaming of spring while in winter, I liked it very much. A beautiful ode to spring.

This book is an interesting experiment in using lines from other writers to construct a new story. Unfortunately, if you didn't know where the words came from, or the technique the author was playing with, it wouldn't be a very good or interesting story.

It's a great effort, and I can absolutely appreciate it for that. I also think the illustrations were beautiful. Colorful, stylized scenes that really carried you from page to page.

I am considering the poems in the bibliography as part of the story, because I think that most parents would read on into it. The extracts from the other writers provide an excellent opportunity for parents to introduce names like Longfellow, Whitman, and Browning. For somewhat older children, it could be the inspiration for an activity in which they try to use the poems in the back to construct a different story that still goes along with the pictures.

This book follows a young girl who is tired of the long and cold winter. As the weather changes and winter slowly turns into spring, her world is filled with color and life again. It's written in short poems that are put together from poems by famous classical poets. They're simple but filled with meaning and they have a musical and pleasant tone.

It's a really sweet book that I'd definitely recommend for children. It's magical, pretty, hopeful, and beautiful. The illustrations are absolutely lovely which makes it a pleasure to read.

Ivy in Bloom by Vanita Oelschlager, 40 pages. PICTURE BOOK, POETRY. VanitaBooks, 2009. $16.
Content: G
BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
This winter is cold and gray, and all Ivy wants is for spring to come. With the help of some poets, Ivy talks about the joy of March and April.
Oelschlager’s idea of putting a story together with the words of past poets is appealing, but I think it was poorly executed. The illustrator did a beautiful job in bringing the poetry to life for readers, but the words don’t fit together nicely, confusing me as I read. Honestly, my favorite part was the bibliography, which is probably the least appealing part for the intended audience.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Adorable story and lovely poems. The illustrations were beautiful and the kids loved reading this aloud! I love that it has the entire poem at the end of the book for them to check out.

I don't often read poetry but this was a charming children's poetry book. About transitioning into spring told beautifully in verse

Ivy in Bloom is a girl’s wish for Spring. Told in verse, by both the author and classic poets, Ivy, actively and pensively, muddles through each very descriptive season, until Spring arrives. Beautiful illustrations put not only Ivy, but also the Seasons, in textured motion. This would be a well-read book in elementary classrooms.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3569939657?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

Beautifully written and illustrated children's book that explains about the build up to spring. I would love to see one about Autumn too!

Beautifully written, a compelling story captured in the pages and illustrations. This story has a place on my “living books” shelf.

**I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

This was a cute kids book that talks about being excited about spring through old poems. At the back of the book you can see what lines were from what poems and who wrote them. The illustrations were also very cutesy. If you are teaching kids about the seasons or they are longing for spring this is a cute read.

This book is BEAUTIFULLY illustrated. For each illustration there are a few lines from poems by Dickenson, Milne, Shelley, Whitman, Dickens, Cummings, Morley, Frost, Nashe, Millay, Wordsworth, Browning, Longfellow, Bryant, and Whittier. I’m sad to be the only one to grouse, but the format did not speak to me. Why detract from something beautiful? Each poem is short. Why, oh why, did the author choose to show only two or three lines of each poem alongside each illustration, instead of the full poem on each page? For some unfathomable reason, the full texts of the poems appear merely as an afterthought in small print next to icons of the illustrations at the end of the book! How can you have a meaningful discussion with a child about a poem when only one or two lines of the poem are shown out of context? The poems and illustrations are brilliant. This book would have been five brilliant stars (with no reservations), if not for the presentation. Thank you NetGalley And VanitaBooks,LLC for this beautiful read that filled my heart with joy twice – once when I sighed over the beautiful illustrations and once when I read and reread the beautiful lines of the poems, in context, at the end of the book.

I was charmed by this book, and I think it will be easy to use with younger readers. You can transition from the primary poem to the other classics included in the second half. It is nicely illustrated and designed.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a digital ARC for the purpose of an unbiased review.

Ivy in Bloom is an adorable little story, great for read-a-loud with your children. This book is a great gateway into the reading of poetry. This book melds together the poetry of famous poets into the story of Ivy waiting for the spring to return after the long and hard winter.
The cute story is interwoven with the likes of Charles Dickens, Emily Dickinson, and Robert Frost to name a few. Under each of the famous poems are biography descriptions of the poet themselves further teaching children about the poets mentioned.
The illustrations were cartoon-like and watercolor based and added depth to the story. Ivy in Bloom is enchanting and whimsical. This is a great book to bring poetry to the forefront where children's books almost never go.
I would recommend this book children's book for the read-aloud ages 5-8 and for older children up to 10 years old.

Ivy in Bloom was a wonderful poem book! I loved the illustrations, and it was written very nice.
I loved how it included different poets like, Charles Dickens, Emily Dickinson, John Greenleaf Whittier, Robert Frost, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I thought it was put in there very nicely, and it flowed with it beautifully.
My only complaint, is I thought it could've been a little longer. I just thought it made a very cute children's book, and it just needed more. But besides that - I think I would make an awesome children's book, especially children who like reading poetry! Or even those who don't, this might get them to be interested in it! 😄

*Thank you to the publisher and author for providing me a copy of this book on NetGalley. I was not required to write and honest review and all opinions are my own.

This was such a cute book! It had great illustrations and a fun voice. This would be perfect to use in the classroom when teaching about seasons. It incorporates poetry into a children’s picture book beautifully!

This was a beautifully illustrated book told through a poem. I really liked the descriptions and the way the pictures complimented the poetry lines. This was a great overall story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Vanita Oelschlager for gifting an ebook copy of Ivy in Bloom.
What a fabulous book. Great text and illustrations. As a teacher, I immediately saw so much potential in this book as a teaching aid, not just for young children, but for older ones due to the reference of classic poets and poems. The author used poems from the past to write the story of Ivy Van Allsberg, a little girl waiting for spring and all the fun things she can do outdoors.
The story is told using excerpts from poems written by some of the great poets such as Longfellow, Browning, Dickinson, Frost, and others. At the end of the book, each of the poems that were part of the story are shared in their entirety, highlighting the line that was used in the story
I loved the illustrations and although I am a grown-up now, would have lovely to be Ivy, all that fun, without an adult.
I requested it before realising it was children’s literature, but this did not put me off and would recommend it for everyone young or old.