Raymond's Perfect Present

raymond's Mother Is In The Hospital, And He Wants To Give Her A Good Gift When She Gets Home. He Notices A Young Woman's Pleasure At Getting Flowers, And Thinks This Might Be The Ideal Present. Since He Doesn't Have Enough Money To Buy Flowers, Raymond Decides To Grow Them From Seeds. But With The Flowers Starting To Wilt, And His Mother Not Yet Home, He Fears She Will Never See His Gift After All. What Happens Is More Perfect Than Anything Raymond Could Have Planned In This Sensitive Story Of A Chinese American Child's Love For His Mother. school Library Journalgr 2-4-a Gentle Story Of A Single Mom And A Loving Son. Raymond's Mother Is Not Well. He Can't Afford The Flowers He Would Like To Give Her, But He Does Have Enough Money For Seeds. As He Watches Them Grow Into Plants, His Mother Is Taken To The Hospital. While She Is There, The Flowers Bloom, Attract Beautiful Butterflies, And Wilt. The Boy Is Devastated, But When His Mother Comes Home And Discovers The Birds Enjoying The Seeds From The Dried Flowers, She Is Delighted With Her Perfect Present. Wang's Illustrations Are Rendered In Pencil, Scanned Into A Computer, And Then Further Designed With Adobe Photoshop-. The Contrast Of Hospital Starkness And Floral Vibrancy Nicely Supports The Text. The Story Is Too Long For Storytime But Would Be Comforting As A Read-aloud With A Child Who Has A Hospitalized Relative. Raymond's Successful Gift And His Mother's Recovery Will Both Reassure And Please Youngsters. This Admirable First Book Is A Lovely Tale Of Triumph Over The Adversity Of Illness And Limited Resources.-jody Mccoy, The Bush School, Seattle, Wa Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.