That’s not a daffodil!

Author Elizabeth Honey

---

This is a lovely picture book with bright illustrations.

It is about a boy named Tom who receives a daffodil bulb from his elderly neighbour Mr Yilmaz to plant. They plant the bulb together and Mr Yilmaz comes in regularly asking “How’s the daffodil?”and Tom replies each time with “That’s not a daffodil!.” During the process Tom imagines the daffodil and its pot in all sorts of ways. Initially he thinks the bulb is like an onion, and then after the bulb was planted he thought of a desert. When the bulb sprouts he then goes on to describe it as a “green beak” which he proceeds to measure as it grows. It becomes like “Grandpa’s hairs in the wind” and “wet rocket” before it finally becomes a “Trumpet of gold”. The daffodil does have a tumble during the story due to an encounter by Mr Yilmaz’ grandchildren’s dog but Mr Yilmaz shows Tom how to fix it up so it can keep growing.

This is a funny and playful book which has a lovely story about the relationship between an elderly man and a young boy. The friendship between the two and the great imagination of a young child is priceless. As a parent I would enjoy sharing this good-humoured book with children over and over again.

By Kellie Geoghegan