The Paper Flower Tree

Description

A passing old peddler gives a little girl a "seed" to grow a paper flower tree, and though the other villagers scoff, her faith is rewarded. This is a beautiful book, set in a lush and colorful Thailand, about a community and a girl whose dreams become reality.Jacqueline Ayer was a Jamaican-American, born in New York City in 1930. She began her education at the Art Students League in New York, proceeded by time spent at Syracuse University and the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. Ayer was a head fashion designer in London for many years and created more than 10 children's books, for which she was awarded a Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators.

Promotion info

Social Media outreach through Twitter, Instagram and Facebook Wide-circulation of review copies to the trade, consumer media and blogs Illustration Blog interviews and attentionCollaborate with high profile blogs and reviewers that are dedicated to the diverse books movement to promote the book.The book is being published to coincide with an exhibition in London of costume, textile, and illustration work by Jacqueline Ayers. We will be sure to document the show and the opening in order to circulate material through our social media. We are also assisting the UK curator and the Ayer daughters to bring the exhibition here.Collaborate with teachers and librarians to create a teachers guide that explains how to use this book in the classroom.Get a feature for the book on weneeddiversebooks.org.Partner with Multi-cultural Children's Book Day (January 27th) to promote the book and have it featured on their List of Diverse Books for Teachers and Parents.

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 book's reproduction. You're going to want to hold a copy in hand to feel the cover and pages and take in Ayer's 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 description

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 children's 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.