I came across this book a few years ago while browsing Barnes and
Noble's bookshelves. I began to read, and luckily my dad took a long
time finding what he was looking for because I was able to finish it.
Some time later, my high school junior Ethics teacher read it to us in
class, stretching it out over a month. I finally purchased it last year.
This book is deceptively simple. With large hand-lettered words and
pictures that fill the page, this nearly 100-page book can be read
easily in one sitting. However, I think the author, by breaking it up
into chapters, was trying to tell us that this is a story to be savored.
The story centers around Stripe, a small black and white
caterpillar. We watch as he is born and eats his way through the first
days of his life, much like Eric Carle's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar".
Then, one day, he wonders if there is more to life than eating. Opening
his eyes to the world around him, he sees a mountain of caterpillars in
the distance climbing towards the sky. Intrigued, Stripe makes his way
to the mountain and begins to climb.
A feverish frenzy
overtakes him as he becomes more determined to reach the top, not
knowing what is there. One day, he meets a caterpillar about his age and
is talking to her when the pile shifts, and Stripe steps on her head to
make his way further up the mountain. Soon he is so riddled with guilt
that he finds Yellow and apologizes, and much to the astonishment of the
other caterpillars they climb down together.
They are very
happy together on the ground, and they spend their days hugging and
eating to their hearts' delight. But Stripe begins to grow restless
again, and he decides that he must find out what is at the mountain
peak. Yellow sadly refuses to go, so Stripe returns to the brutal race
alone. It seems even worse this time, and Stripe begins to wonder if
it's really all worth it. He climbs, zombified, towards the top of the
pillar, hardly caring anymore. But just as Stripe is on the verge of
plunging into despair, Yellow discovers a wonderful secret that can turn
Stripe's life around if he lets it...
This beautiful story of
hope is illustrated entirely with simple white, black, and yellow line
drawings. While it may hold the attention of a child, it is really an
allegory geared towards adults. As it criticizes the mediocrity of those
goals which seem so all-important to us at the time, it offers us hope
for a much more satisfying existence. It does not come without cost,
however; we must be willing to "throw off everything that hinders" and
leave ourselves completely vulnerable. Only then can the magic work.
A wonderful gift for anyone who is experiencing a great change, "Hope
For the Flowers" eloquently poses the question: Why crawl when you can
fly?
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