I loved the author's writing., though I cannot relate to her love of summer, it was so cute to see her anxiously waiting for it to come.

A little girl sitting in her house amongst extreme winter, is longi g for spring season.
She wants to go out, bathe in sun and play with blooming flowers.
Her feelings are depicted in form of a beautiful illustrated poem.
Artwork is so wonderful that it takes book to another level.
Little girl mergi g into her surroundings and enjoying herself is soothing to eyes and heart.
"God in his heaven above, all is right with the world"
Such lines from epic poems are assembled to form a nice narrative.
A lovely book to read and gift to young readers.
Thanks netgalley and publisher for review copy.

Ivy in Bloom is a story about Ivy, who is tired of winter and is waiting for a colorful spring. The story itself consists of parts of the poems from famous poets from the past.

I adore the illustrations. 5 stars for the illustrations, 4 for the story and poems. So that would be 4,5 stars from me.

This is such a cute poem book! I think it would be a great book to teach children about poems. The illustration were done beautifully.

Will spring ever arrive or will winter simply last forever? Ivy in Bloom is a beautifully illustrated book full of color and movement about a young girl dreaming of spring after a long winter of “heavy and grey” clouds.

I love the imagery and descriptive language used to help the reader feel the joy of spring. However, the integration of classic poetry through the book did nothing to enhance the novel, at times feeling almost forced or stretched to fit. With only small snippets from a variety of classic poems being used out of context their meaning was often lost.

The Bibliography was such a pleasant addition to discover hiding at the back of the book. It was fascinating to see just how this book came to be. Giving me a deeper appreciation for the work that went into it, the bibliography made me feel less critical of the imperfect rhymes looking instead to the hidden literary gems on each page.

The simple story line and bright pictures will draw young readers in and the whimsical words will invite them to stay.

I would recommend this book to any young reader.

Ivy Van Allsberg just wants spring to come! Can you blame her? All of the birds and flowers and sunshine are delightful!

The bibliography to show how this book was crafted was one hundred percent the best part. As an adult reader reading a children's novel, that is what really drew me in. Kids will love the fun pictures and the story, but I loved seeing how it was made. Books like this where there is something for the kids, and then something for the parent or educator really stand out to me!

My biggest negative is that the rhyming felt very forced at times. Some of the lines were truly timeless and felt very right, but some of them didn't sound as good. The second page is where I cringed at the rhymes, but the rest didn't fall flat like that one did for me. One line doesn't ruin a book though!

Other positives notes:
1. I absolutely LOVE the cover of the edition I was given from NetGalley. The little girl standing on "In" and the pretty flowers set the scene just right.

2. And not just the cover, all of the pictures within this book. They are cartoon-y and yet so classic!

3. I'm pretty much Ivy. I relate way too much.

Overall, this book is a sweet little read! The poetry is lovely and the pictures are awesome. I'd highly recommend this book for young readers.

Ivy endures the chilly, windy, muted brown-and-gray-toned, dark and sunless Winter as she eagerly looks out the window hoping to spot some birds, flowers, rain, or any other sign that Spring is approaching. In addition to the frosty, windy, and gray March weather she's greeted with outside, she notices a sign of Spring approaching: dirt under the snow! Ivy goes home to clean off after splashing in the mud puddle and the sprout she sees on the way back inspires her to think about April weather changes while she's in the tub. Although Ivy hoped for some more sunshine right away, she first spends some time marveling at all of the flowers that grew during April's showers. The sun eventually comes out and after singing with a bird, Ivy finds some flowers to dance around in and happily plays on a swing at the end.

Just like the Spring weather slowly and pleasantly sneaks in, the author Vanita Oelschlager sneaks in and smoothly incorporates lines from famous poets and writers: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Charles Dickens, William Cullen Bryant, John Greenleaf Whittier, E.E. Cummings, Christopher Morley, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Robert Frost, Thomas Nashe, A.A. Milne, and Robert Browning.

My favorite part was actually the inclusion of the bibliography at the end. The book itself only used about a line from each of the poems, but this "appendix" included the full text, title, and publication year of each poem. Together with Oelschlager's addition of a small note with their dates lived, nationality, type of writing occupation, major awards or famous works, and of course the title of the work the quoted portion came from, this section of pages made me feel like I got a bonus anthology together with the picture book.

NetGalley provided a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my voluntary, honest, and objective review.

Cute and charming book. Such lovely illustrations and beautiful poetry. I really liked it and think it will be appealing to people of all ages.

This is so me right now with this horrible winter weather. Think it was a cute idea and was done well.

I think the best part about Ivy in Bloom is that it has the most gorgeous illustrations by Kristin Blackwood. The illustrations start in the Winter, with heavy whites, grays, and browns, and at the end blooms in bright spring colors. The poetry by Vanita Oelschlager is very simple, and wonderful for a child who is just getting into poetry. What is great about the poem, though, is that each line is adapted from or inspired by a poem from a famous poet. These poems are noted and written out in the back of Ivy in Bloom, and such poets include Charles Dickens, John Greenleaf Whittier, E.E. Cummings, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and so many others.

I recommend this book to anyone who needs a little spot of spring in this Wintertime.

Ivy in Bloom is an adorable children's book that melds the author's own words with poetry from famous poets. All of the poems are woven together to tell a story about a girl lamenting for spring and the time it takes to arrive.

I loved the way the poems were mixed together and another great feature is that all of the poems used and their authors are explained in a section at the end of the book, making this not only a great children's book, but a way for the reader to seek out and find classic poets and their work.

I've really enjoyed other books I've read by this author, but this one doesn't hold together very well. The idea is to introduce children to poetry, but it just uses little snippets out of various poems, sort of strung together to try to create a story about the coming of spring. At the back of the book are the full poems, but only a few words were used from each poem to go with the illustrations. Taken out of context the words don't mean much.
I also found the illustrations in this book less appealing than those in other Vanita Oelschlager books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Vanita Oelschlager for gifting an ebook copy of Ivy in Bloom in exchange for an honest review.

Ivy in Bloom is a really cute children’s fiction book with beautiful illustrations. I love the idea and creativity of this book. 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 she can have outdoors.
The story is told using excerpts from poems written by a few 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 used in the story.
I think this is a genius way to introduce poetry to children. I highly recommend this book to children of all ages.

#netgalley #vanitaoelschlager #childrensfiction #poetry

This book is made from an assortment of poems from different poets of the past. Some of the verses weren't my thing but I think the illustrations were stunning!

The illustrations were pretty, and the concept was neat. I enjoy poetry, so making it accessible to children is a fun idea. Yet, I ended up not reading this book with my son because I don't think he's ready for it. He still needs more action to get into a story. As an adult, I thought it had a lot of charm.

This book is beautifully illustrated and the words are very lovely.

I did feel at a certain part of the story the poetry lost a little of its flow that was placed at the beginning of the book.

Spring pictures incorporated with poetry! I loved it. This poetic picture book was creative and artistic. I really enjoyed how they used style and prose from the classics. This one is a book not to be missed!! Full of art and poetry, it will warm your heart!

I loved this little book of spring! The illustrations are lovely and the snippets of poetry give a feeling of kinship between the girl and the reader. This is also a marvelous way to introduce young children to classic poets.

Ivy in Bloom is an introduction to poetry using bits and pieces from known writers, such as Dickinson, Browning, Percy Shelley, Wordsworth, and a few others. I enjoyed following Ivy's perspective about the changing of the seasons from the lines or phrases mentioned above. I sadly couldn't recall any of the poems, and I found at the end of the book the author gives credit to the original poem/work and a brief bio on each author. I think this concept is a neat teaching/perspective to see older works anew. I wouldn't mind if this was longer.
The illustrations were very cute and made Ivy come more alive as she waits for Spring to come. Also in the back of the book it describes how the artist created Ivy and I would agree the finish product makes Ivy a playful and visual aspect of this children's book. It was a fun experience.

I simply can not finish this, not my cup of tea! No thankz, sorry I didn't like it!
I simply can not finish this, not my cup of tea! No thankz, sorry I didn't like it!
DNF