The Golden Glow, written and illustrated by Benjamine Flouw (translated by Christelle Morelli and Susan Ouriou) is a beautifully illustrated and charmingly understated tale that I highly recommend.

One night, Fox, an amateur naturalist, reads of the Golden Glow: "a plant from the Wellhidden family, It is very rare and only grows high in the mountains. No specimen has ever been described." That very night he packs for an expedition and sets off before sunrise for the mountain. Along the way he closely observes various plants and trees, meets several animals (Bear, Wolf, Marmot, Mountain Goat), and finally reaches the summit where he finds the rare plant. He reaches over to pluck it, but then realizes it would be "more beautiful here on the mountaintop than it ever would be in a vase in his living room," and so he instead painstakingly draws it. On his way back, he muses on how he'll sit in his armchair looking at his drawings and "never forget just how fabulously fascinating his golden glow is, high up on the mountaintop."

The artwork is visually captivating, all sharp angles and vivid, deeply rich colors, with almost a collage/three-dimensional feel to them. It's some of the best illustration work I've seen lately. It's also wonderfully precise when he devotes an entire page to a catalog of images, such as a page of his botanical observations, showing the reader what a fir tree looks like or an oak, both the full tree and its detailed leaf. In this fashion the book is subtly educational as well. This aspect also comes in when he seeks out marmot, and we get a listing of the sort of places marmots like to live, or as he climbs the mountain and we get an idea of the various eco-zones at various elevations.

The text is spare and simple. It doesn't attain the lyricism or impact of the artwork, but it's more than serviceable. And the underlying themes are excellent: a love of nature, the joy of close observation, and the idea of leave no trace. Especially that nature is not to be "owned," but enjoyed for its own sake, in its place, not ours. I especially like that Fox draws what he sees rather than takes pictures.

Beautiful art, strong but not heavy-handed messaging, and quietly effective text all add up to an easy-to-recommend book.

The Golden Glow is a really lovely book about a Fox who has a keen interest in botany who sets out to find a rare flower. Every night he reads through his botany book and one night he finds an entry about a flower called the Golden Glow, but there is no picture! It only lives on the highest peaks and it will be a difficult journey but Fox is well prepared.
The illustrations are beautiful and I love that several pages are set up like a guidebook. Fox is a wonderful character and I really like that he decided to record the flower in his book but leave it in nature where it belongs. That is a great message for little ones. .

Fox goes in search of a flower with no picture in his botany book. He has to go to the mountains and climb all the way to the top to discover his treasure. The story is nice, but the illustrations are amazing. I would hang almost any of them on my wall as art. The Goat reading a book on the rock is my favorite, but the others are just as spectacular. Plus i love the little extras that were put in. Such as altitude levels as you climb the mountain, and parts of a flower. Wonderfully done.

The Golden Glow by Benjamin Flouw follows fox on a journey to find one fantastically fabulous golden flower that nobody's been able to document. With the help of friends and family, he journeys farther than he's ever been before!

This book was a very solid kid's book. The art is great. I feel like the small packing "guides" and extra information such as the naming of plants, trees, and levels of mountains was an interesting touch. I know a lot of kids at my library would adore the exploration theme. The book also serves as a great way to get kids thinking about nature and observing the beauty in their surroundings.

Great read. 4/5 stars.

This is a very cute children's book about a fox that loves nature and plants and there is a picture missing from his book. He goes on a journey to find the Golden Glow and sketch it. The story is simplistic but the images are very detailed and show Fox on his adventure to find the plant he seeks. It has a good message about leaving nature for everyone to enjoy as well in all its radiance. I think parents and kids will like this one and it is a great way to talk about the plants and nature around you.

A fox who loves nature and botany goes on a quest for a rare plant to add to his collection. The Golden Glow is a plant from the Wellhidden family, and only grows high in the mountains. There's not even a picture of it; it's never been described. Fox packs his supplies and heads off to the mountains, meeting different animals and noting different plants and trees along the way. When Fox finally reaches the mountaintop, he waits... and discovers the Golden Glow! It's stunning! It's breathtaking! And Fox realizes that "the golden glow is more beautiful here on the mountaintop than it ever would be in a vase in his living room". Part story and part nature journal, The Golden Glow is just gorgeous and teaches a respect for nature. The angular art draws the eye in; there's so much to see on every page, every spread. Flouw creates detailed lists of Fox's hiking pack, plus trees and flowers that he encounters on his way, and a map of different zones on the way up to the mountain, from the foothill to snow zones, all in beautiful detail for younger readers to enjoy. Fox's decision to leave the flower where it is presents a love of and respect for nature that can lead to a great discussion on conservation. Bright red endpapers with angular design could be a topographic map of the area - talk about how different areas look from above! Caldecott contender

I'm sure this a fine book for someone who likes to read about journeys, but I hate journey books.

Having said that, this a quiet story of one fox's quest for a flower so elusive that no one has ever seen a picture of it. So, does he take his camera? No. He takes his note pad, because of course, that will be enough to prove he has seen the flower.

As he walks, we get to know about the animals and plants that he sees along the way. I'm not sure where this story takes place, but I recognize the plants he names, and have seen them growing, although some, like forget-me-nots are an invasive species that will take over.

It is a quiet sort of story. I'm not sure if I could walk 6000Ft in one day, but then I am not a fox.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

The Golden Glow, originally published in French, is a quiet and beautiful story about Fox who loves botany. One day he embarks on an adventure to find a rare plant, "the golden glow," that has never been described. On his trip he encounters many plants, trees, and flowers that he's already seen before. When Fox finally reaches the rare flower, he decides not to pick the flower and instead draws it carefully in his notebook. There are beautiful information spreads on various topics: camping essentials, trees, flowers, and mountain elevation zones. The colors are bright and the angular drawings are very appealing. This stylish picture book has a very Wes Anderson feel to it and demonstrates the value of observing nature as well as caring for and respecting its place.

Interesting book. It contains botany lessons and scientific facts in a light introductory way. The artwork has an amazing sense of light in it.

Good story about leaving nature alone! Nothing wrong with just taking or drawing a picture of something in nature and leaving the real thing there for the next person to enjoy! Good for the fox! Nice lesson for young kids. I loved the illustrations, such as they are shown on my Kindle.

The Golden Glow is artist Benjamin Flouw's first foray into both writing and illustrating picture books. His vibrant illustrative style with long lines and crisp angles creates a unique visual appeal in "Golden Glow". The story follows a fox with a keen interest in botany and his search for the illusive blossom known only as the golden glow. As the fox prepares for his hike and makes observations along the way, Flouw dedicates pages spreads to representing and labeling the various supplies and specimens the fox encounters. When fox finally reaches the peak of the mountain and discovers the golden glow flower, he must make a decision between picking the flower for his home and leaving it to thrive on the mountain. Of course fox decides to leave the flower to it's home, instead meticulously sketching and labeling the specimen for his botany book back home. While The Golden Glow may not have universal appeal, observant readers will enjoy absorbing the details and information presented in the book. This would work well as an independent read or as a one-on-one share between adult and child. Fans of contemporary illustration with a vintage flair will especially appreciate this one.

ARC Copy...Beautiful geometric, colourful, iconic style illustrations of a nature walk both about discovering the wonders of nature and...its best to leave nature as it is to preserve its beauty. I liked the fact, diagrams of the flora and the topography of the natural world that Fox encounters are given in details that are simple to understand for the kids. Highly recommended to encourage kids on their own nature walks.

The Golden Glow is a very good allegory for leave no trace. This picture book was a cute and fun read. Fox goes on a camping trip to find and collect a flower that he doesn’t even have a picture of. His friends help him along the way. When he finally discovers the flower he has to make a decision whether to collect the flower or leave it. The illustrations that accompany the story are absolutely beautiful. The colors are bright and the geometricity of the characters and scenery are very appealing. The Golden Glow is a great story for any little (or even big) outdoors person in your life.

THE GOLDEN GLOW follows Fox's adventure to find a special plant to add to his new collection, as he is an avid botanist. I really liked that every few pages the book broke things down specifically, so that children could imagine they were going on the adventure with Fox. (As in, there's a page where a map, a snack, a notebook, and a pencil are all drawn and labeled as things he'd need to make sure he had in his backpack, and pages similar to this throughout the book.) My favorite part, though, was that when there was only one of the special plant he had gone in search of, he did not pick it but instead drew it, so others would know what it looked like but it would have a chance to grow. It's something we should be teaching children about nature as our resources dwindle.

I cannot really give this an honest review due to so much of the actual book is missing.

The Golden Glow is a story about a fox who loves botany (originally published in French). One day he goes off in search of "the golden glow" -- a very rare flower, which (he is eventually told) can only be found at the very top of the mountain.

The story takes its time in reaching this destination (though it's not draggy or overly wordy), including informational pages here and there featuring topics such as items for hiking preparedness, common flowers, trees, mountain elevation zones, etc.

I liked the illustrations, especially the color palette, though the "angular" way that most things are drawn is interesting considering how sleekness and curves seem to be the order of the day.

Ultimately I appreciated the message of the story, which is that nature appreciation doesn't need to mean possessing everything we find, especially items that are rare and beautiful. I also thought this story avoided the common pitfall of presenting important ideas in a didactic way.

(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)

The Golden Glow was a quiet, beautiful story of a fox on a mission to find the golden glow flower to keep for himself. As he went on his trek, he passed through many trees, mountains, flowers and friends. When he finally reached the golden glow flower, he realized that it needed to stay where it was and he drew it carefully in his journal instead, so he could remember it and his journey always instead of for a short period of time in a vase. The story offered multiple teaching points including parts of a flower, zones of a mountain, flowers, trees, animals and more. I could think of many ways to use this book during a school year.
This is a book that I can see just sharing for fun, but also being able to have teachable moments ingrained in it. It demonstrates the value of caring for nature and respecting it's place.

As fox rests in his den he is shocked that his botany book does not include an illustration for the rare golden glow flower. He plans an expedition to find it. It takes him across various ecosystems where he can identify all the trees and flowers. With the help of other animals he reaches the elusive flower and records it for his botany book.

I love that Fox decides to leave the flower in its habitat. I wish more people left nature alone.