A crisp envoi from the late Alexander celebrates creativity in children while delivering a pointed message to prescriptive grown-ups. Certain that his mom would rather have an original drawing than a colored-in coloring page that his teacher forces on him, Max hides in the shrubbery outside school to create his own picture. When his four classmates see the result, they're inspired to make unique flowers of their own--and all the moms (plus the teacher) turn out to be delighted. Working from the author's sketches, Rumford depicts Max as a small, fierce redhead, suspends him and the other figures in white space as Alexander often did and adds a prose appreciation to go with the stylistic one. Opening and closing pages of flower paintings contributed by friends, family and associates (some of them familiar names) wrap this terse and lovely tribute to a veteran writer and illustrator whose works no self-respecting library should be without.

Before her death in 2006, Alexander (the Blackboard Bear series) left her manuscript and sketches in the hands of James Rumford (Beowulf: A Hero's Tale Retold). The tender result honors both Alexander and the children for whom she wrote for 40 years. Asked by his teacher, Miss Tilley, to color in a picture for Mother's Day, the scowling, carrot-topped protagonist refuses: “Max didn't want to color the dumb flower picture.” Despite the teacher's repeated insistence, Max knows his mother “would rather have his very own drawing.” After some stomping, sulking and hiding in the bushes, Max reveals the beautiful flower picture he has drawn on his own––which inspires his classmates to do the same. Alexander is spot-on with her understanding of the pressures children feel to conform (“You'll be the only one without a nice picture for your mother,” says Miss Tilley) and her respect for their individualism, which to the uninformed, may appear like acting-out. Framed by white space, the soft sketches are color washed digitally and by hand, and with Rumford's collaboration, still bear Alexander's simple, expressive style.

An angry child provides the drama in this small picture book about a young kid who refuses to stay inside the lines. With lots of white space, the detailed line-and-watercolor illustrations show Max with his arms crossed as he fumes and scowls at his cheery teacher, who has made copies of a flower picture for each student in the class to color for Mother’s Day. “Make the flowers pretty,” she gushes. Max grabs the flower picture and hides under a bush for so long that the teacher eventually calls the police to find him. While he is hiding, Max turns the pre-drawn picture over and creates his own flower, and when he shows it to the class, all the kids decide to draw unique flowers, too. When they see the results, the children’s mothers love the kids’ artwork: “Each is so different.” Kids will enjoy the story about the young, triumphant rebel, and the creativity message is for adults too: there is no one way to get things right.

This is Martha Alexander’s last book. You have probably read some of her books, but to jar your memory she did the Blackboard Bear series. This final book was completed from her unfinished manuscript and sketches by James Rumford.

Max’s teacher Miss Tilley wants the class to color a picture of a rose for Mother’s Day. Each child is given a sheet with the same rose copied on it, but Max knows that his mom would not want that for a present. So Max refuses to color the sheet and runs from the room, hiding behind the bushes to create his own flower for his mother. Everyone looks for Max, even the police, and when he is found he shows everyone his flower. All of the children are inspired to create one of their very own, unique from everyone else’s. Make sure to take time to look at the end pages filled with flowers drawn by Martha Alexander’s friends and family.

A simple story, well told and inspiring, this book will remind everyone that you don’t have to stay in the lines, don’t have to color a red rose like everyone else, and can create your own art and beauty. Along the way, children who are happy to create their own art, stop. They start following our rules, losing their creativity. Suddenly skies are no longer orange and pink, cows are not purple, and clouds a fluffy in front of a corner sun. This book is a small step towards fixing that and giving children back their own voice, odd, unusual and colorful.

I can see using this with adults working on creativity. It reinforces that there is no right or wrong answer when being creative and expressive. It is also a wonderful book for children who are just beginning to feel the pressure to stay in the lines. Let’s all wander outside those lines and celebrate it! Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Published posthumously, this small, timeless book will resonate with chlidren and pays a lovely tribute to Alexander. Faced with his teacher's assignment to color in a picture of a flower for Mother's Day, Max feels increasingly frustrated. He knows his mother would prefer his own drawing. While the other children obediently stay in the lines, Max finally grabs his paper and crayons and runs out of the classroom. Safely hiding, he makes his own picture of a flower. In the end, the children (not to mention the teacher and policeman) are relieved to find Max--and so inspired by his picture that they create their own unique flowers, too. Alexander left her original sketches along with the manuscript to Rumford, who helped to complete them with some digital manipulation and watercolors. The book is respectful of her quiet but expressive style, and the illustrations work well with the text to bring Max's internal struggle to life. Interesting endpapers featuring flowers designed by Alexander's friends and family beautifully frame the theme of creative individuality. Rumford's note at the end explains how the book came to be.

The problem here for a freethinking pre-schooler is presented on the first page: "Max didn't want to color the dumb flower picture. Miss Tilley wanted him to." Instead of filling in the prefab flower for Mother's Day, Max (looking wonderfully grumpy) runs off to make his own drawing. It's a triumph when the class joyfully follows suit. Martha Alexander (1920-2007) left notes and sketches for this story about the possibilities of "a blank sheet of paper," and James Rumford ably completed it.

With help from James Rumford, who completed her illustrations based on the manuscript she left, the late Martha Alexander lends a child's eye to the idea of not letting your creativity be boxed in. Max, a little boy, is dismayed by his teacher's suggestion that he color a stock, coloring book line drawing of a rose for his mom's Mother's Day gift. The other children do as the teacher instructs, but Max runs outside and hides behind a bush, where he turns the paper over and draws his own flower. When the other children see what he's done they also turn their papers over and make flowers independently, to the ultimate delight of their interestingly diverse group of mothers. The use of the word "dumb" is keenly fitting, the exact verbiage a 6-year-old would use to describe a frustrating situation. A short tale that will appeal to kids, teachers and parents, reminding everyone that children are best left to forge their own ideas.

Meet Max. He’s 8. He like books.

He especially likes books with characters named Max. So he was happy to review Max and the Dumb Flower Picture by Martha Alexander (Charlesbridge, 2009).

And it’s a book worth reviewing. It was started by Martha Alexander, who wrote more than 60 children’s books, before she died in 2006 at age 85. She left the text and unfinished sketches, which illustrator James Rumford completed.

The book tells the story of Max, whose teacher has the class color in flower pictures to give to their moms on Mother’s Day. The students all color happily — except Max. He knows his mother would prefer a hand-drawn picture much more than a colored-in picture someone else drew. He stomps and sulks and leaves the room.

What happens when Max decides to color outside the lines? Let’s ask the real Max.

Guest reviewer: Max

Age: 8

I like: Playing video games, playing soccer and doing stuff with my brother, Will, like playing outside and making snow forts together.

This book was about: A boy named Max and his teacher. She told the class to color a picture of a flower, but he thought it was dumb and that his mom wouldn’t like it. So he ran away with his crayons and the picture of the dumb flower and he drew his own flower picture instead.

The best part was when: Max ran away and hid behind the bushes.

I laughed when: Max thought the flower picture he was supposed to color was dumb.

I was surprised when: All the moms liked the pictures that their kids made for them.

The book taught me: That it is OK to be creative and share your own ideas.

Other kids reading this book should watch for: What the children did after Max showed them his drawing.

Three words that describe this book are: “Creative.” “Flowers.” “Mother’s Day.”

My favorite line or phrase in this book is: “The children ran back to the classroom. They got right to work.”

You should read this book because: It encourages you to be creative.

To reinforce Martha’s vision that all anyone needs to be creative is a blank sheet of paper and some imagination, the book’s endpapers are decorated with flowers drawn by Martha’s friends and family.

There are flowers from [Martha's] sisters, her son, her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren. Flowers from the book’s editors and designers, other authors and artists, friends and admirers. There’s even a blank spot readers can draw their own flower pictures.

Little Max is mad, because he doesn’t want to color the “dumb flower picture” that Miss Tilley wants him to color. The flower picture is supposed to be a gift for his mother, since Mother’s Day was soon approaching. Miss Tilley has made copies of the picture for each of the students to color and make pretty.

But Max is sure his mom doesn’t want some dumb flower picture: what she really wants is Max’s very own creation, of course. So a frustrated Max sulks and stomps his feet through class, finally running off with his crayons and the picture of the flower.

The other children and a kindly policeman finally locate Max hiding behind a bush in the playground. But when the children and Miss Tilley see what Max has made on the back of the flower picture, he inspires all the children into making their own unique and creative art for their mothers.

While this is a perfectly pleasant book with no noticeable drawbacks, it also doesn’t particularly stand out either for its theme and prose. The artwork is interesting and accomplished, but is unable to carry the book on its own. Still, the book makes a good point about following one’s own vision, whether in art or in life.

In Max and the Dumb Flower Picture by Martha Alexander young Max doesn't want to color the flower picture Miss Tilley gave him. While other students color their pictures for a Mother's Day gift the way Miss Tilley asked, Max pouts and sulks. He runs out to the playground with his picture and hides in the bushes. Can't he decorate the picture his own way?

Martha Alexander encourages individuality and creative expression. She left sketches for this book with James Rumford to complete before she passed away. He manipulated and partially colored sketches digitally. He then printed the work and watercolored the drawings by hand. Their combined unique efforts produced an insightfully collaborative treasure. As a bonus, floral drawings from family, friends, and colleagues are featured on the endpapers. Alexander shows the reader it is good, sometimes, to color outside the lines.

We highly recommend this book.