The Reason for a Flower

World of Nature

by Ruth Heller

The reason for a flower is to manufacture seeds, but Ruth Heller shares a lot more about parts of plants and their functions in her trademark rhythmic style.

Genres: Picture Books, Science, Nonfiction, Nature, Childrens, Plants, Poetry

48 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 1983

About the author

Author and illustration with a passionate interest in Korean culture. She lives with her husband in San Francisco, California.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I absolutely adore Ruth Heller’s plant illustrations for her 1983 picture book The Reason for a Flower. For indeed, Heller’s botanical pictures, they are colourful, lushly descriptive and they do wonderfully seem to combine in a glorious visual celebration the intricacy and precision of line drawings with imagination and emotionality, showing aesthetically how delightful, how aesthetically stimulating and also how important to and for every facet and every aspect of life on earth plants with their seeds, their fruit, their flowers etc. are and always will be. And even though Ruth Heller’s plant illustrations in The Reason for a Flower of course do not all by themselves show that plants are as worthy of being protected from over harvesting and habit destruction as are animals (as one also in my opinion needs a bit of text and verbal explanation to achieve this), for me, Heller’s lovingly rendered artwork does strongly move steadily towards said goal (for anyone willing to open his or her eyes and to realise that plants are actually the backbone and the base of and for life on earth and therefore also in need of protection, support and personal appreciation).

But as much as I have absolutely loved loved loved Ruth Heller’s artwork for The Reason for a Flower, the same is unfortunately not true regarding Heller’s writing, regarding her attempts at poetry. Because even though content and theme wise, Ruth Heller’s verses in The Reason for a Flower are factually informative, give a nice and not too difficult introduction to plants for young readers and listeners (from about the age of six to ten) and also provide a decent enough textual mirror to and for the spectacular illustrations, sorry, but personally, I simply tend to find how Ruth Heller writes her poetry awkward and pretty much a frustrating mess of artificial sounding rhymes and a halting rhythm and flow (and so much so, that even though I do appreciate the botanical information and details that Ruth Heller presents in The Reason for a Flower, the lack of lyricism, the sometimes a bit strange word choices and that I just do not enjoy how Ruth Heller has penned her poetry, yes indeed, this all textually grates enough on me to only consider three stars for The Reason for a Flower, and to actually and finally lower this three star rating down to only two stars, since the lack of a bibliography with suggestions for further reading also and furthermore massively annoys me and does in my opinion equally rather lessen the educational value of The Reason for a Flower).

[Shiloah · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s amazing how much one can learn from children’s books. This one was no exception. Add Heller’s beautiful artwork and it’s just perfect.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

We recently finished Ruth Heller's World of Language series, so now we are working our way through her World of Nature series.

This was a gorgeously illustrated book about plants, flowers and seeds. The rhyming narrative seemed to falter a bit, but perhaps that was just because we stopped so many times to point out the fascinating details in the illustrations. Overall, I thought it was an interesting book and taught a little bit of science without being overly detailed or boring. We really enjoyed reading this book together.

[Shannon Molina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is educational but not something that would catch the attention of children not unless they are interested in flowers. I thought it was a lot of information that children would question. I think it would suit older children that are interested in all aspects of a flower.

[Aneesa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is beautiful and informative, and frankly I can only stand to read books that rhyme, but I do think it might be less dense if it lost the rhyme scheme.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art is absolutely gorgeous, and there’s good information here about pollen, flowers and seeds that my kid enjoyed. But the text rambles and lurches wildly between levels of complexity and topics — at one point we start getting random nature facts, like which animals are carnivorous. And weirdly, the last page calls mushrooms “plants” which is neither true nor a satisfying ending.

[Julie Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

As good as the rest of her amazing books that teach science in a concise, enjoyable way. Readers learn all about pollination, pollinators, the parts of and reproduction of all plants that flower.

[Jonathan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would be great to teach young children the life cycle of a plant. We use flowers for the seeds. Very colorful and great pictures.

[Margaret Boling · Rating 3 out of 5]

2/16/2011 ** Read this with my students today before we pollinated the flowers of our rapid-cycle Brassica rapa plants. I wanted the kids to understand why we didn't yet have seed pods and why/how we needed to pollinate. The book was an excellent complement to our science lesson today and my students did seem to enjoy both the pictures and the text, while also applying some of the scientific terminology later during their hands-on activity.

I've owned the book since the mid-90s when I saw Ruth Heller at an author signing. It's beautifully illustrated, though some of the text felt choppy while reading it aloud. Some pages rhymed, but others didn't - I felt that I couldn't get into a rhythm while reading.

[Julian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a beautiful book to incorporate in a lesson on plants. I had to do a Science Unit plan and this is one of the books I included in one of my lessons. The illustrations are captivating for children and the vocabulary is rich. Probably every word that one would cover in a plant lesson is included. I would recommend this book for grades 1-4. Sneak Peak: "bamboo are a treat for animals who don't like meat." Also how plants and animals are co-dependent on each other. Just a wealth of information.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has illustrations that are so colorful. The author is one of my favorites for informational books. It's informative and engaging to children because of the style of writing and big, beautiful illustrations. The book is all about the reason for a flower and how plants make their own seeds. A great book for fourth grade and under to look at while studying any unit on plant life.

[Manal Cheikh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book to use when teaching a science class about pollination and how plants grow. It can be used to spark interest before teaching about flowers and plants. The bright pictures are nice to look at when learning about the flowers because it allows children to not only learn about a flower but to see what is looks like too.

[Rachel Inbar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would give the illustrations a 5, but there's no story really and the rhyme is stilted and difficult to read (and unnecessary). The ending is abrupt. I think I will keep this book for its pictures, but I don't think I'll ever read it to my kids again.

[Shelbi Edinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very difficult for me as an adult to get through because it wasn't very engaging or exciting. It was more nonfiction and scientific based. It would be good for a science lesson on pollination.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the illustrations in this book and re-learned some things I myself had forgotten about flowers & seeds, I was less enchanted by the prose. The words didn't flow, and I stumbled several times while reading aloud to the grandkids, not anticipating when a sentence was supposed to end, whether or not the rhyme was intentional; if this was intended to be poetry, it was lost on me! I'm sure the children won't mind, but I think this little book couldn't decide what it wanted to be; poetry, science, art..? It attempted to be all three and something was lost along the way.
Still, it was a "nice" introduction to the parts plants and flowers and inspired me to look for others that may be more enjoyable.

[Sterlande Altidor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a perfect book to read to the whole family. Children would enjoy looking at the pictures and reading this book. This book will keep children interested and engaged in reading this book. This book is a classic, the illustrations are captivating and inviting. Children will be able to identify insects, animals, and plants, because the illustrations are clear and descriptive. This book will be a great book for younger and older children, and you could use this book to talk about the spring season as well.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

My grandson shared this book with me today , his mother had bought it second hand . It is stunning ,and colourful with beautiful illustrations by the author Ruth Heller . Her words and pictures tell the reason for a flower and this little treasure contains a lot of useful information for my 7 year old grandson who already loves plants and gardening . What a wonderful find and I am delighted it has been shared with me today

[Tatiana Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a delight from start to finish. The stunning, brightly colored illustrations are filled with botanical detail, paired with real information that brings the magic of relevant learning to young kids. It makes botany fun and accessible, with rhythmic text that keeps children engaged. Complex ideas are explained simply and memorably. A classic resource for curious kids, and a joy to read aloud with them. Children love real, relevant information, and this book delivers beautifully.

[Maliha Arman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a helpful and fun way to introduce planting to children. I would definitely use this book to also introduce spring and summer. The Reason for a Flower is a colorful way to engage children through the different colors of the flowers, the variety of sizes, and the step by step procedure to plant flowers.

[Amy Buthelezi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is full of vivid, colorful illustrations depicting the life cycle of plants. It introduces new vocabulary words and has rhyming and alliteration, as well. This book is very informative and detailed, yet simple and intriguing for small children. It would be a great book to read to children before doing a science activity relating to plants or gardening.

[Leila · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book to introduce young children about plants. It allows them to understand about nature. This book can teach children hands-on activities such as planting lima beans. Let the children plant their own individual lima beans with a cup and take care of it, which will teach them responsibility. It will also allow them to observe the plant everyday.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

My biggest qualm is the line that says, "cereals we need to eat." "Cereals we eat" would suffice, because we certainly do not need them. I can't fault the author too much though, since people have been misinformed for far too long. Otherwise, the art is striking and bright, and the variety of flowers and information shared is great for a short read.

[Nicole Fanning · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to unfortunately agree with several other reviewers. While the illustrations are absolutely gorgeous, the writing is quite clunky and the prose is odd in some spots. We keep it on our shelf because the illustrations are lovely and some sections identify things that are great conversation starters.

[Leigh Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for teaching the life cycle of plants. It has very vivid pictures full of different plants and lots of color. It can get lengthy so I would use it with an older age group or condense it some for younger children.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned things from this book and I remember learning some of the things mentioned in the book, in my college biology class. I really like how the book simplifies information about plants and how they are pollinated. However, some of the things might go right over some younger readers heads.

[Marie Arie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The reason for a flower covers the life span of a flower and all of its functions. Some flowers produce fruit others produce even more seeds for flowers. The book highlights all stages of flowers from the root to the blooming.

[Raquel Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book to read to children during the spring. This book helps children to understand the pattern of growth. Learning about flowers can become a class lesson. This would be a great book to introduce the class to a lesson plan about seeds in the science area.

[Haley Hoenke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Science, Nature, Plants

[Orion Kopf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried the first few times my mom tried to read this to me, but eventually I put up with her reading the whole thing!