Pistes d'exploration

Discuss the role of nature in urban settings. Why is it important or unimportant to conserve green spaces in cities? Reflect on your answers as you read.

Go on a picture walk and make predictions based on the illustrations.

As you read, record the questions that arise from the text, such as “Why are the books dangerous?” Discuss possible answers to these questions.

In groups or as a class, brainstorm for adjectives that describe the city setting. Use resources such as a thesaurus to help you. Write a descriptive paragraph or free verse poem describing the setting.

Tell the story from the point of view of one of the seeds. Write a few paragraphs, record a podcast or create a comic strip.

Do a picture walk. Make predictions about the story elements based on the illustrations.

Discuss the role of nature in urban settings. Why is it important or unimportant to conserve green spaces in cities? Reflect again after reading.

As you read, record the questions that arise from the text, such as “Why are the books dangerous?” Discuss possible answers to these questions.

Discuss the development of a seed into a flower. Learn more in a non-fiction book about plants. Use a graphic organizer to show your understanding.

Sidewalk Flowers, Varmints

Mots-clés

Picture book , city life , dystopia , environment , flowers , libraries , seeds

Commentaire descriptif

A boy named Brigg lives in a grey, dismal concrete metropolis in a bleak future. One day he discovers a secret book in the library, where “dangerous books” are kept. Inside are drawings of beautiful flowers. He sets off to find one, and starts a chain of events that changes his world. The sparse and effective text tells this melancholic story with great clarity: “He opened the packet and tipped out seven brown wrinkled things. On the back of the picture, it said ‘Cover with earth. Water.’” Richly detailed pencil drawings use shades of grey with occasional colour. We are immersed in a world of repetition: a sea of umbrellas, black raindrops pelting down, a wall of books, crowds of buildings. Rare red, green and gold tones are used to show the flower’s bloom or the light of the moon. We follow Brigg as he finds flower seeds in a junk shop and plants them in the dust. He doesn’t give up when his blooms are sucked away by the room cleaning system, and soon discovers them growing in dust heaps at the edge of the city. This futuristic fairy tale is an inspiring story of perseverance and hope.