Charlie Flower's Tail
Charlie Flower’s Tail is a whimsical bedtime story that is sure to bring about sweet, colorful dreams with fanciful themes.
Appealing to the ripe imaginations of young children, A. B. Ware’s Charlie Flower’s Tail is set in a strange world filled with fantastical elements.
A little boy named Peter is shocked to see a beautiful bird hatching from the Easter egg in his room. Named Charlie Flower, the purple, blue, and gold bird has a gorgeous colorful tail. Charlie takes Peter on an adventure to his home, located between the indigo and violet colors of the rainbow spectrum. This is a place where plants have feathers, cats can speak, and every single thing is a shade of blue or purple.
Since Peter is wearing red pajamas, he feels quite out of place; many children may identify with this theme of feeling like they sometimes don’t belong. But Peter soon becomes the hero by helping a little bird get back in his tree—in this place, while cats can fly, birds can’t.
Children are sure to see many similarities between the bizarre world of Charlie Flower’s Tail and Alice in Wonderland. The book could have been more carefully edited for punctuation, but this doesn’t detract from its strong descriptive language. Ware’s careful descriptions will make it easy for the young mind’s eye to picture each imaginative scene.
The book is quite short with only a few scenes, and since it ends rather abruptly, it doesn’t give the feeling of closure that small children tend to need. Ware may be planning on fleshing out the story of Charlie and Peter in a sequel. The illustrator is only identified by the author as Colin, but the pictures help deliver a great deal of depth and understanding to each event.
Charlie Flower’s Tail is a whimsical bedtime story that is sure to bring about sweet, colorful dreams with fanciful themes.
Reviewed by
Kelly Thunstrom
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
