The Paper-Flower Tree

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

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Description

Filled with the sights and sounds of Thailand, this simple and touching tale is true to childhood the world over.
One wonderful day, an old peddler arrives in the small village in faraway Thailand where a little girl named Miss Moon lives. He brings a tree with him, fashioned of brightly colored paper flowers. How Miss Moon longs to have such a tree! When the old man gives her one of the flowers in parting, she plants its seed-a black bead-and tends it faithfully. Little black beads can't sprout and grow, of course, but Miss Moon's faith is rewarded all the same! Filled with the sights and sounds of Thailand, this touching tale is true to childhood the world over. In these pages, Ayer's bold color and expressive illustrations draw us into a world that feels both intriguingly foreign and wonderfully familiar.

Reviews

"The book captures, in a way that is completely devoid of any sentimentality, the persistent, stubborn hope of young children. ...Ayer brings Thailand to vivid life, and Enchanted Lion has put great care and consideration, as they always do, into the books reproduction. Youre going to want to hold a copy in hand to feel the cover and pages and take in Ayers artwork."Julie Danielson, Kirkus Reviews "Blocks of color, and fine lines alternating with crosshatching and patches of rough pencil, give a mystical feeling to this lovely tale from Southeast Asia."Meghan Cox Gurdon, The Wall Street Journal

Author Bio

The daughter of Edward and Thelma Brandford, Jacqueline grew up in the Bronx at the Coops, a co-operative built for garment workers. She went to Music and Art High School, followed by Syracuse University. She continued her studies in Paris which led to work as an assistant fashion illustrator. From there she was introduced to Christian Dior and the Vogue Editor M. de Brunhoff, which lead to work as a fashion illustrator for Vogue and Bonwit Teller in New York. Her marriage to Fred Ayer led to a move to Thailand, where she wrote and illustrated childrens books and started the fashion company Design Thai, supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. In later life she worked in India for craft and textile development under Indira Gandhi and in New York and London, designing home furnishings for companies including Bloomingdales and Conran.