The title is a bit on the misleading side in both the bold print name and the secondary portion. The idea sounds beautiful enough but I just felt like the author didn't write it the right way.

The story starts off giving the reader an idea that it is suppose to be a poem and to introduce you to our protagonist who will take us through Spring. Charming, original and quite relatable but after that it waives in its power of telling.

The story itself afterwards is a combined collage of lines and bits of lines from famous poems. As such although this type of poem can be quite a hit if executed well this one failed to even hold semblance to its actual poetry origins even though the poets themselves and their works are pretty well-known.

The illustrations were pretty and well done while I think they caught the feeling more or less of Spring. The "caption" that was given was either a hit or miss.

All in all what I truly enjoyed from the book was the inclusion of the actual poems and their poets in the back. They took me back to some of the works that I have heard before and it was heartbreaking in a sense to see what the reader was given instead.

For those who like classic poetry I would suggest staying away from this book. As for children they may enjoy it, especially if you ask them what they may enjoy about the season.

***I received a free copy to read of this book in exchange for an honest review.***

Beautiful artwork and lovely poems by a variety of poets make this an adorable read for the littles in your life. The illustrations are a great accompaniment and go from grey to colorful along with the poems as it moves into spring.

A very good introduction to poetry for children, with beautiful illustrations and a good use of colors.

Ivy in Bloom by Vanita Oelschlager.
Original Publication Date: May 1, 2009

Description from NetGalley...
“Ivy In Bloom captures the weariness of a young girl tired of a long winter. "I stare out the window," she says on the first spread of brown and gray, "looking for birds or flowers/or even warm showers/but I don't see any such thing." But then Spring comes when "March is out of breath...snow melting to flowery waters and watery flowers...spring rose from its wintry rest." And Ivy's "heart dances with daffodils." As these words also dance across each spread, Ivy's world erupts into a riot of color.”

Thank you to @NetGalley and VanitaBooks LLC for the digital ARC in return for my honest review.

My thoughts...
I love, love this book. It’s a unique book where the author combines her poetry and excerpts from famous poets such as E.E. Cummings, A.A. Milne, Dickinson, Longfellow, Browning, Frost and many more, to make a new poem about the coming of Spring. The poem describes exactly how you would feel, especially when you don’t think it could possibly snow anymore, and then it does! It’s such a wonderful book to introduce young readers to poetry and poets. The book includes the original poems where the extracts came from, as well as some notes on the poets..

My six year old daughter and I loved this book. The mix of different poets’ poems put together to make a children’s book was a super fun idea. The pictures were super cute and nicely drawn.

This book would be a great intro for kids to read poetry.

We live in Minnesota so we understand the spring struggles and the long wait for spring to happen. We did wish for he book to be a little longer since it felt like it came to an abrupt halt.

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for my eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was a cute, quick little read. Beautifully illustrated, I would love to read more from the author.

This is a darling book. The poetry is sweet and the drawings are wonderful. Truth be told, I feel the same way about long winters and get just excited about the hope of spring!

This is such a unique book, an original narrative mixed with lines from well known poetry. The illustrations are very fun, as is the idea behind the book. I love that the longer sections of the poetry used are at the end of the book. It was fun to read those as well! A nice way to introduce children to poetry.

**I received 'Ivy In Bloom' through NetGalley and Vanita Books, in exchange for an honest review**

'Ivy In Bloom' is such a beautiful volume of poetry, capturing a child's urgency to enjoy the warmth and excitement of spring. The illustrations in this book are stunning, revealing Ivy's joy as she appreciates the dawning of spring while enduring the brisk coldness of the long winter months. 'Ivy In Bloom' provides the reader small bites of insight from noted poets like Dickinson and Frost. Being a lover of poetry myself, I see this as a wonderful poetry book to read to young children!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was cute. I love the concept and the illustrations were good. However, the words and the illustrations often felt at odds. They didn’t go together as well as I would have liked. I liked the section where they highlighted the lines in the famous poems used for this book. It’s a nice way to introduce the poets and poems to younger readers.

Overall I felt this book was just okay. The illustrations in the beginning were fantastic. By the end, they too were just okay.

I love the illustrations! They are so inviting and the transition from winter to spring is flawless. This would be a perfect read for those almost spring days when you're still stuck inside. I do wish the whole poems were on the corresponding page, but I am happy they were included in the back of the book.

The artwork is absolutely amazing and beautiful. The writing and poem itself is kind of clunky and I feel it could have flowed better.

What a beautiful woven story of classic poetry with a new narrative in the form of a picture book. The illustrations are delightful, the stanzas chosen connect perfectly, and the multitude of poetic elements present make this a great teaching tool. In the future, I plan to use this text to teach my students elements of poetry and inspire their own creations.

Ivy in Bloom is a pictorial taste-testing of poetry. The illustrations were evocative of spring and paired perfectly with the text of the poems chosen. Artistry blossoms in this book, with its initial block prints underlying lush digital illustration. However, this book glaringly lacks diversity in its highlighted poets.

This short poem is a small poem about spring. Ivy is waiting for spring to come as she describes how boring fall is, how cold winter is, and the moment when spring arrives. It is short and charming for all ages.

Ivy in Bloom is a cute rhyming story with lovely illustrations, about a girl waiting for the delights of spring. Each line of the book is taken from a poem about nature or one of the seasons, and it flows pretty well. It's nice to have the index at the end to see where the line came from, and to reach each poem in its entirety.

Thank you to NetGalley and VanitaBooks, LLC for the free copy of in exchange for an honest review.

A delightful collection and expansion of poetry excerpts told alongside lovely illustrations. The section at the back with the sources for each excerpt and additional verses was an excellent addition.

ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchanged for an honest review.

Friends, this was a simple and delightful read! While is starts out with the winter blues, the scenes quickly turn into spring filled frames! This book was such a fast read and honestly, I wish we had so much more. I really loved how things transitioned and it's perfect to put you in the mood for spring time.

Our story follows Ivy, who is waiting for spring to finally come. Winter has her stuck in the wintery blues and all she wants is April showers to finally come. As our story progresses, we watch Ivy play in the snow and slowly transition into the beautiful scenery of spring. Finally ending with our main character swinging in the sunlight and enjoy the view of spring.

What I truly loved most about this book wasn't just the art, but also the fact that all the poems are referenced in the back of this book. I love when books pull inspiration from other creators, but also leave the sources or the inspirations for them where the reader can easily find them. As for the art, the art is truly beautiful and almost has a water color look to it. Perfect for anyone who needs something eye pleasing to read.

Overall, I truly enjoyed this. It was very eye pleasing and such a quick read. Not to mention, it gives you a break from more dense books that may be draining your focus or might be too intense at the moment. I do wish it had been a little bit long though. I feel this book have benefited with ten more pages or so, but regardless, it was an enjoyable read. Perfect for those who are itching for spring to finally be here.

Oh! I must be Ivy right about now, after a long winter waiting for Spring! It was a beautifully illustrated book. It's a great book to make children familiar with poems and great poets of the past.

Ivy in bloom is a beautiful book of poetry about spring. They illustrations are pretty and colorful. I love how the book also introduces children to famous poets of the past. This would make a great book in any elementary classroom.