By Alma Hammond
Illustrations by Zuzana Svobodova
Published on: October 16, 2018

Happy National Poinsettia Day! This lovely plant is named after the Joel Poinsett – the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, who brought the plant back to the U.S. in 1825.

A Finalist in the 2019 Next Generation Indie Book Awards for Inspirational Fiction category, Zetta the Poinsettia is picture book that tells the tale of a poinsettia plant looking for her place in this world.

Description:

In the tale of Zetta the Poinsettia, a “holiday plant” finds her worth outside her season to shine.

Thoughts:

It’s the beginning of the holiday season and Zetta is a lonely poinsettia who wants a good home. While at the plant nursery, a little girl spots her and convinces her mother to take Zetta home with them. Soon Zetta is part of the Christmas festivities – she is placed in a nice spot with lots of holiday decorations, there is activity going on with presents being wrapped and unwrapped and hot cocoa being tasted and fires glowing. One day the festivity stops and the decorations get put up and Zetta becomes worried again about what will happen to her, especially when she gets taken down from her resting place. But, there is more to Zetta’s story and her hopes to continue growing and thriving.

Children reading this story will be able to see through Zetta’s eyes how we all look to have purpose and want to be cared for and feel like we belong somewhere. It is also can be a conversation starter on topics of how to reuse items or finding multiple purposes for an item.

As a person who knows next to nothing about art, I loved how the art work mirrored Zetta’s desire for a home and purpose by using many warm tones that helped give an overall feeling of homeyness in the house Zetta is taken to. The illustrations are fun and festive and full of bright, cheerful colors, but well proportioned.

At the end of the book are 7 facts about poinsettia’s that range from how many are sold each year to which part of a poinsettia is the flower vs the leaves.

Recommended for anyone looking for a story that will leave you with a warm-glow type feeling at the end and a book your children will want to read over and over.

Rating: 5 stars