Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Join me in welcoming Erin Dealey, who is here to celebrate her upcoming book, Just Flowers—and at the same time, to get us in the mood for spring!

Just Flowers opens on a winter day with snowflakes and snow drops and immediately starts spreading sunshine with its upbeat hero, Izzy, who shares flowers with neighbors and the surrounding community. Izzy also shares botanically delicious words like Galanthus and Ranunculus, which irritates the grumpy next-door neighbor, but which bloomed in my mind.

Illustrated by Kate Cosgrove with a full bouquet of colors, Just Flowers, is a delight for the eyes. Its muted palate of turquoise and teal, peaches and pinks, is calming and reassuring and the perfect accompaniment to Erin’s story that radiates generosity.

Just Flowers. Written by Erin Dealey, Illustrated by Kate Cosgrove

Izzy’s new neighbor is a bit of a grump–though they are both botanically inclined. When the neighbor discovers unwanted flowers–again and again–in his precious rose garden, he bids Izzy to take them away. Izzy does–and uses the blooms to brighten someone else’s day. Before long, the town is bursting with Izzy’s flowers. The grumpy neighbor doesn’t see the fuss. “They’re JUST FLOWERS!” he yells. “Just flowers” that brought joy and color to everyone in town. Can Izzy finally get that neighbor to accept the bloom of friendship?

Back matter includes a seek-and-find and information on the flowers mentioned in the book.

Although Erin is a steadfast advocate for our Earth—I’m sure you remember her book Dear Earth… from Your Friends in Room 5—I believe she considers herself to have a limited green thumb. So, I’m curious. Where did her inspiration—and those botanically delicious words—come from? And did she know Kate Cosgrove ahead of time, or did their collaboration grow through an introduction by her publisher Sleeping Bear? Erin’s words and Kate’s illustrations blend so beautifully.

Now, let me turn things over to Erin, who joins us from California, the Golden State, so she can tell us What Was On Her…

Garden Path: Thank you for having me on your wonderful blog, Sandra.  It’s true that my green thumb is limited. I am not the person who can name all the wildflowers on a hike or even the official names of the  flora in my own garden, but I have always been in awe of those who can. We do have an annual vegetable garden, which my husband has taken over since the pandemic. I do the planting, pruning (Yes, we have roses, like Izzy’s neighbor.) and weeding—which I find helps me when I’m stuck on a revision. But you will never find our yard featured in a gardening magazine.

Instagram: It was an Instagram hashtag, #ayearinflowers, that inspired me to write JUST FLOWERS. A friend was posting her gorgeous flowers each month and that got me started down the rabbit hole of finding other posts, and more flowers, and well, somewhere along the way, a picture book idea found me.

Biggest Illustration Surprises: Oh my, Kate Cosgrove’s stunning illustrations are full of surprises. One that takes my breath away each time is in the beginning when Izzy gives some flowers to Mom. I never get too attached to the vision I have when I write the text initially, because I LOVE the magic that illustrators bring to a book, but when I saw the spread of Izzy and Mom –WOW. Kate Cosgrove is amazing.

Hopes for Just Flowers: I hope that readers will want to learn more –as I did—about the flowers in our world, as we also celebrate our care givers, neighbors, and friends old and new. I would love it if this book encourages others to share random acts of kindness. Last but not least, I hope readers have fun with JUST FLOWERS’s word play and language and read it again and again.

Mind: Ooh boy—my mind is always busy. A good visual might be my cluttered desk after our annual WRAD zooms. (I had 16 class zooms this year—including three International schools in Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, and Japan!) Also on my mind—revisions for a can’t-talk-about-yet book –so wish I could share more; a new one act I’m writing for Uproar Theatrics, and HUGE bouquests of gratitude to you, Sandra, and all who are helping to spread the word about JUST FLOWERS.

Awe, thank you so much, Erin! It’s always a delight to spread the word about picture books I love!

To keep up to date with Erin Dealey, check out her website at erindealey.com, Twitter at @erindealey, Pinterest at @erindealey, Instagram at @erindealey, and Facebook at @erindealeyauthor. 

Just Flowers will release on March 15th but is already available for pre-order. If you would like to place an order, click on the book below.

If you would like to know more about me and my writing, please visit sandranickel.com.