I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This was such a beautiful picture book. Can't wait to send a copy home with our kids here at the library.

This children's book reminds me of the books I read as a child. A little nostalgic, just beautiful And such a cute story about friendship!

Okay, I want this author/illustrator to go work at Pixar and turn this story into an Oscar winning animated short. It can be done. The story is quite simple. A cat goes for a walk and eats her lunch under a blooming tree. A dog comes along to read his book. They sit together under the tree and start a sweet friendship when a blossom falls from the tree and is batted back and forth. A simple but beautiful story that has beautiful illustrations to match.

I truly enjoyed the illustrations and the short story. It was very simple and sweet. I really enjoy short stories with strong illustrations because I believe it creates more dialogue between the tiny reader and the parent, and that is exactly what this book with do.

Great story for kids about friends and sharing! We enjoyed reading the story together and each of my kids loved that it was from the cat and dogs perspective.
Perfect story for spring!

This was fine and sweet and positive, but nothing mind blowing. Animals that are this intensely anthropomorphized in a 'realistic' manner weird me out just a bit.

3.5~4★
The illustrations are five-star. Absolutely gorgeous, with blossoms that could almost set off a bout of sneezing! The cat and the dog are individual characters, unlike each other but something like people.

The story, such as it is, is simple. On the cover is a small bench with one tiny bird under clouds of pink blossoms.

A cat goes for a walk on a beautiful day, taking a basket with food. She spreads out a cloth on the bench next to her to lay out her lunch. The bird is now in the tree.

Along comes a studious-looking dog wearing glasses and carrying a book. He notices the bench is full.

"'Oh, I'm sorry' he said.
'I can find somewhere else. . . '

'It's OK,' said Cat.
And she moved her lunch to make room."

As they sit quietly, under the tree which now has two birds, a breeze flutters the blossoms and one lands on Cat's nose. She sniffs and blows it off.

It flies over and lands on Dog's nose! He sniffs and puffs it off, too, landing in her sushi.

Then she offers him a bit of lunch, he accepts, and they enjoy their time together.

If you look, you will see here and there in the air and the trees, two little birds. They are almost hidden. But at the end of the book, after Cat and Dog have left, they are sitting snuggled together in the middle of the bench.

The artist loves Spring and the blossoms, and it is a beautiful book to browse. I don't know what I'd expect children to make of it. I would ask them to find the birds, I think.

It's nice to make a new friend, but we don't encourage children to accept food from strangers, particularly sushi. The illustrations and the tone of the book are too beautiful to give it less than four stars, but I have misgivings about the food I'd have been more comfortable with a piece of fruit, I think!

I included several pictures in my Goodreads review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Frances Lincoln Children's Books for the preview copy.

A lovely book told in a minimalist way about a dog and a cat sharing the space and enjoying the day. It was a sweet book.

I didn’t feel like this book had enough of a plot to make it a worthwhile read with my 1.5 and 6 year olds. I also think it ended rather abruptly - I didn’t even realize it had ended until it said something about the author.

A sweet, simple and stylish book about friendships that can blossom from anywhere and anything.

I think the most important thing about this book is the stunning illustrations. They are so beautiful and words are almost not needed. The story can be told through watching the illustrations. They almost come to life as you read this book.

A brilliant book to read and share with younger children. Also great to share and study the illustrations with older children.

One for the bookshelf for sure!

Poetic ~ Sparse ~ Sweet

tl; dr: pleasant friendship in the light of a spring day

I could wax poetic, or hack waxenly, about Chinese influence on Korean art, and the ways that Daoism, Confucianism, and ink painting influence contemporary Korean art. But, gees, this ain't no class. Instead, I will just say that if I was still teaching Asian Art, I would use this book to show the poetry of white space and brushstokes can be evocative, even for young children. This tale shows friendship can occur across species and types of beings. It is simply made, but in the best sense of that expression. Plus there is a cat eating sushi! I loved this little book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In Blossom is an odd little duck of a book. There's not a whole lot of plot here -- cat and dog share a bit of spring peace on a bench under a cherry tree. There's a little hint of a manners lesson included, but not much else. I usually prefer a little more story than you'll find here, but in this case the amount of plot was somehow just right.

The illustrations are muted but lovely. They convey a real sense of peace. I don't think this will appeal to kids who enjoy a lot of action or bright colours on the pages, but I do think it would be the perfect book to read when it's time to wind down. This is the kind of book that leads you to your internal quiet place.

4.5 stars for this lovely little bit of polite, shared solitude.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lincoln Children's Books for providing me with a DRC of this book.

It was a cute photo book with beautiful illustrations and a short story. I felt some stillness while reading the story.

This is a sweet, but not syrupy, story about the beginning of a friendship. Beautiful pictures and short story.

This was a delightful minimalist story of a cat and dog becoming friends on a lovely spring day beneath a Japanese cherry tree in full bloom. Strangers at the outset, they share a park bench, and after having the shared experience of a blossom landing on their noses, they acknowledge each other. I just found it weird (maybe it's just me) that Cat offered to share her food after the blossom landed on it - like, here Dog, since you eat everything, you won't mind that it's contaminated, right? :-P I know I'm being picky; it's a lovely story of springtime friendship with beautiful illustrations capturing the soft grace of a cherry tree in bloom!

In Blossom is a lovely children's storybook that was both written and illustrated by Cheon Yooju. The tale of the dog and the cat in this book is quite simple yet its simplicity makes it more charming, while how the two characters are drawn is absolutely adorable! However, young kids prefer vivid or colorful books, hence, I assume that they will not be that focus while reading this. That is the only flaw I found in this picture book but as a whole, the story of sharing and the simple act of kindness will teach kids that it is the perfect way to meet a new friend.

The art!!!!!!!!!

This was such a beautiful book. It was so breathtakingly refreshing and pretty I wish the one I read wasn't an ebook.

The story was cute too, a little simple but still really cute. The art definitely made it worthwhile.

Would definitely get for a younger child in my life.

This is a quiet book that make me feel calm when I read it. The illustration, the setting and everything really makes me happy. The kind of happy that is quiet but fill your heart the most. I adore this book and I think it would be an amazing read for parents and their kids. It teach you about friendship, and how it can appear in the most random places as long as you open your heart :)

A simple story about the beauty of spring and the beginning of a friendship, In Blossom is a short, easy read for beginner readers. Don’t be deceived though, the short nature of it doesn’t mean there isn’t things for children to appreciate and learn from it. An appreciation for nature, being polite, and learning to make friends can all be gleaned from this beautiful book.

The illustrations feel clean, crisp, and delicate. A bit like a clean white linen sheet that you’ve dried on your clothesline for the first time of the year. They’re beautiful! I really appreciated the time that went into drawing the flora on all the pages.

It’ll be interesting to see this book in print. Because of the simplicity and the low volume of pages, I feel like a conventional hardcover picture book will be overwhelming for it, despite that being the best format for the artwork. I would definitely use this book for Ana, who is beginning to read. It has a good mix of simple sentences and uncommon words that would be a good starting point for her without being overwhelming, which is why I kind of hope its printed in a beginning reader size as well!

In Blossom by Cheon Yooju
Overall, this book would make a gorgeous addition to ANY shelf and we can’t wait to get our own copy! This book happens to be available in Korean as well!

Such a magical book! Illustrations are very spare, but so effective! They match the mood of the story to perfection. I'm not sure kids will get it, but one on one perhaps. beautiful story. A good one to read about friendship on Valentine's Day! Not mushy or gushy, just sweet!