Wordless picture books span many age groups and cultures…without the words there are no language barriers to be had! The very young can explore the illustrations, and older children often spend ridiculous amounts of time pouring over pages deciding what might be happening in the story. If you’ve never been game to purchase and read a wordless picture book with your young ones… ’Flora the Flamingo’is the perfect starting place. The flaps which cover Flora and the flamingo have been greatly enjoyed, and I’ve seen twelve year olds delightedly making the characters dance by lifting the flaps up and down. I’ve read the book and watched the YouTube clip with children as young as three, and I’ve had twelve year olds be equally as enthralled. Whatever it is, this is not merely a book for pink princesses – it’s a timeless tale of persistence, frustration and friendship. Maybe it’s Flora’s flippers, maybe it’s the sharp looks from the flamingo, or the decidedly ungraceful splashing.

Despite the pink this is a thoroughly non girly-girl pink. The graceful flamingo and the charming Flora leap, dance and splash through pages which are all the shades of pink you could ever possibly imagine – and then some. This visually stunning, wordless picture book by former DreamWorks animator Molly Idle, captures ridiculousness and loveliness perfectly. So it was with much delight that I took possession of ‘Flora and the Flamingo’. They are a curious combination of ridiculousness and loveliness. I really don’t know why, but I have a thing for flamingos.

This post is dedicated to Liv, who is yet to embrace the loveliness of the garden flamingo.

Flora and the flamingo by molly idle