Book Name: Bloom
Author: Kelly Campbell
Illustrator: Taylor Barron
Rating: 5/5
Bloom is a children’s book about a seedling learning to accept the changes of life over time. It is beautifully written about handling the anxiety and ambiguity of life changes. The illustrations for the book are abstract, but simple. The seedling and main character, Bloom, starts the book attached to her father who is a dandelion. He encourages her throughout the book to embrace change while Bloom remains fearful and skeptical of change. She eventually realizes she has to embrace change as life will continue change regardless of what she does.
I thought Kelly Campbell did appreciably at explaining and normalizing fear responses as well as highlighting positive ways that children can manage fear. Throughout the book, she continues to promote children embracing changes and growing up. I think it does well at demonstrating the intensity of change aversion that people experience and how it may not have any basis in reality. I think it is powerful that the author teaches grounding skills and the utilization of repeating mantras to cope with change and feeling out of control. I enjoyed how Bloom’s coping resulted in her having a new perspective and feeling resilient and strong. In the end, she realized just how much she had to embrace change by putting down roots in order to bloom. As a side note, I really liked the age progression image in the end of the book.
I would recommend this for children who are about to go through a new change in their life. It would be helpful for children that are moving to a new area, starting at a new school, or integrating a new family member. It will help them work through the anxiety about the change and learn how to embrace it. Based on the images and sentence structure, This book is best for children who are just learning how to read or whose parents are still reading bedtime stories to them.
About the Author
“Kelly Campbell is a military spouse, mama, and yoga teacher who has recently added children’s author to the various hats that she wears!
As a military spouse, Kelly believes this book will hit home for many military families, but also realizes that children everywhere are being constantly challenged in new ways. Thus, having to dig deep and believe in themselves. This would be a great book for all children!”
