In the garden ecosystem, a flower means many things to each bird, insect, and creature.

What does a flower do? They may not seem active to human eyes, but for the creatures of the garden they dust a bumblebee, shade a frog, feed a hummingbird, and serve as the center of a buzzing, humming community.

In A Flower is a Friend, award-winning author Frieda Wishinsky's spare text whispers softly to readers about the many ways a flower cares for those around it, while award-winning illustrator Karen Patkau's striking art provides a close-up view of each mouse, frog, and butterfly within a blossom's embrace. Rich back matter unfurls further information about the partnerships within the garden ecosystem, including the ways these garden creatures are friends to flowers in return. (From Pajama Press)

Frieda Wishinsky is a Toronto-based writer and educator. Her book Jennifer Jones Won't Leave Me Alone won the Sheffield Children's Book Award, the Stockport Children's Book Award and the Portsmouth Children's Book Award. Wishinsky also won the 2008 Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award for her picture book Please, Louise!.

Karen Patkau is a writer and visual artist based in Toronto. She has received the Ezra Jack Keats Memorial Medal for her book Don't Eat Spiders.