DownloadThe Portobello Bookshop Gift Guide 2024

Perfect Petunias

The 'perfect' book for little perfectionists everywhere!

Lynn Jenkins author Kirrili Lonergan illustrator

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Exisle Publishing

Published:1st Jan '18

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Perfect Petunias cover

Loppy the Little Anxious Creature is very worried about not doing his homework well enough. He always focuses on what he’s done wrong rather than right, and often becomes very frustrated with himself. In this book of encouragement for those little people who find it hard to make mistakes, Loppy learns that ‘perfect’ means trying your best, and not worrying about getting things wrong.

To show Loppy that the best things happen when we don’t try too hard to control everything, Curly Calmster takes him out to the garden, where gorgeous petunias are growing all over the place. The vibrant illustrations highlight the wild beauty of the flowers, and Loppy sees that by trying to control whether he makes mistakes or not, it’s as if he’s trying to grow ‘perfect’ petunias, which sounds pretty boring compared to this sprawling garden! Sometimes, he just needs to accept that things go their own way, and that ‘perfect’ doesn’t mean quite what he thought.

Perfect Petunias is the third book in the ‘Lessons of a LAC’ series, which aims to give children ways to think about and manage common emotional difficulties. The passion of the author and illustrator make the series a valuable resource for every child to help guide their emotional development. This instalment is an entertaining and essential resource in shaping perfectionistic tendencies towards being more self-accepting and flexible.

“There is a small block of text, on a large white background for easy reading and following, as well as brightly coloured pictures. These show purple petunias and a red stripy tail on Loppy. His message of “Sometimes I can do what I can, then I need to let my petunias grow,” is a wonderful catch phrase for those who struggle with not being perfect.”, Blue Wolf Reviews, 7 January 2018
“This is the third in a series to help Loppy the LAC (Little Anxious Creature) deal with his anxieties. in this case not being satisfied with anything that he sees as being less than perfect. Children like Loppy are present in every class. Helping them to see the glass half-full … can lay the foundations for strong mental and emotional health in the future.", Bottomshelf Edu Blog, 17 January 2018
“It’s easy to become frustrated when things don’t turn out quite right, and this book is a great resource to help little people understand their feelings and how to deal with them. It also shows adults a positive way to respond to help their little person.”, Children's Book Council of Australia, Reading Time, 9 February 2018
"This is a terrific series built on the experience of the author, Lynn Jenkins, as a clinical psychologist and the illustrator, Kirrili Lonergan as a paediatric nurse. The characters are lovable, although total opposites. But their friendship works, and Curly supports Loppy through his various difficulties by suggesting strategies to alleviate his concerns.", Kid's Book Review, 3 January 2018
“For kids who need to learn perfect just means trying your best .”, New Idea, 1 May 2018

ISBN: 9781925335583

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

32 pages