"She sat among the wildflowers, listening patiently to the cicadas' newest symphony.
She coaxed the shy roly poly out of her shell."
Following up on a story yesterday about one imagined day in the early life of a young poet whose love of nature was exemplified in her life's work, today we meet another little girl, not unlike Emily Dickinson.
Poppy Ann Fields, a likely introvert, finds great joy in the bugs she encounters. She likes them better than most people, and sees them as her friends. If she is quiet and observant, she is able to be a part of their world. She spends hours talking with ladybugs. It is a marvelous place to be!
With people around her, Poppy prefers to fade into the background, finding solace behind a plant or in front of wallpaper, or anywhere else that provides a cloak of invisibility. At her grandmother's 100th birthday party, Poppy watches and notices many things. When a dragonfly lands on the birthday cake, she comes out from her hiding spot.
"Uncle Dan said, "Poppy Ann Fields, you
wallflower, you. So that's where you've
been hiding this time." His voice vibrated
louder than a thousand cicadas.
Guests stopped milling about.
Poppy froze.
Every eye fell upon her.
Her throat closed."
Just at that moment, the dragonfly flits from the top of the cake to Poppy's hand. All eyes are on the two of them. Rather than looking at the many humans surrounding her, Poppy finds comfort in the bug itself, and breathes. With quiet confidence, Poppy is able to share what she knows about the dazzling dragonfly. In so doing, Poppy's grandmother gives her a warm hug and an uplifting compliment.
Now, Poppy realizes she is not a wallflower, but a 'wildflower.'
A note about the illustrator, whose bold, colorful artwork complements the text beautifully, states:
"Sara Palacios created the artwork for this book in layers, with cut paper, acrylic paints, and hotoshop. Sara loves Poppy becauseshe has always been shy herself, especially as a little girl, and hopes all the little wallflowers - wildflowers! - out there feel inspired by this book."
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