The Newest Flower
During the year of 2017, all book profits went to support Holt International's Peace House in Beijing, China. At the Peace House, children get life-saving surgeries; many get adopted after.
Please consider donating to support this cause.
Who Should Read This Book?
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School Teachers
What child doesn't love a cute flower? Mix that with a troublesome plot, and kids will learn to love each other no matter what the special need is.
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Adoptive Families
Adopted children are sure to relate to Calli, the “different” flower in the garden. Teach your adopted child(ren) what it really means to “fit in”.
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Counselors
This is a great way to teach young children about bullying and how it can affect others. Counselors can encourage them to cherish each other's unique qualities.
How is this book different?
Being thrown into a new culture is terrifying; looking and speaking differently can produce intense feelings of isolation. Having had similar experiences, author and adoptee Juliese describes a charming story about a simple flower garden that has discovered a new kind of flower. Though judged on how she looks, this flower chooses to accept her differences, gives others a second chance, and learns to forgive. According to Juliese, “This book was written to teach all children to love one another no matter what type of flower you are.”
Where do the book proceeds go?
In 2012, Juliese Y. Padgett wrote The Newest Flower and told her mom, “I want to sell this book and use this money to help orphans.” And so, all profits from this book go to The Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers to benefit their adoption programs.
Book Bios
Juliese Y. Padgett Author
Juliese Y. Padgett, adopted in 2008 from Guangzhou, China, wrote her first children's book The Newest Flower as a homeschooling project. At the age of seven, she was inspired to write a personal narrative, processing her own feelings of being Asian while living in Maine. Currently, Padgett continues to be an advocate for children getting forever homes by donating all book profits to The Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers. In her spare time, Padgett has continued to write her personal narrative on her blog: Seeded in a Distant Land as well as share her story with local schools and surrounding communities.
Remko Killaars Illustrator
Remko Killaars was born in 1973 and lives in the Netherlands. He studied product design at the Design Academy. After working as a designer for several years in the field of graphic-design, interior-design, and product-development, he became a lecturer at Fontys University of Applied Sciences, focusing on photography, sketching/drawing, creativity and design. Remko is father to two daughters and two sons. In 2012, he and his wife Suzanne adopted their youngest son from the province of Shandong, and in 2019, they adopted their youngest daughter from Guangdong.
Jennifer L. Padgett Editor/Publicist
Jennifer L. Padgett, M. Ed., has been in the field of education for over twenty five years and has taught all grade levels. She has continued to write articles about adoption and education and also dabbles in the world of editing. Padgett works as a structured literacy specialist and is also an educational consultant, specializing in dyslexia and the Orton-Gillingham methodology. Padgett is the mother of two sons and two daughters. In 2008, she and her husband adopted from the Guangdong province; in 2011, they adopted their second daughter from the Shandong province.
A Look Inside
