Many children will find this story helpful if they have parents who travel a lot or friends who live in different locations. An excellent choice for communities with large populations in the military.–Barbara Spiri, Southborough Library, MA

My husband and I have a 5 year old daughter, and have been struggling to find an age appropriate book about this exact subject matter.  My husband will be deployed to Iraq for all of 2017.  Your book will be tremendously helpful to our family during this time.  Thank you so much!!

p.s. We are totally stealing your sunflower seed idea.

Lilla’s Sunflowers is an adorable story, how one little girl coped with her father’s deployment. If you have a loved one going through a similar situation this is a good book to help talk about their feelings and let them know they are not alone.

Lilla’s Sunflowers is absolutely beautiful.

It shows how the love between Lilla and her dad touches the lives of many. The language is lovely and the images are breath-taking. Lilla’s Sunflowers is a story you will read over and over again because it warms your heart and like Lilla, makes you smile. The story shows how a seemingly small, but heartfelt gesture can make a difference and affect many others. It’s a great story to share with child because it shows how one person, a little person, can spread hope and love and make a BIG difference, just like Lilla did. I HIGHLY recommend this book!

What a heartwarming story! I read the book to my girls and we loved it. Lilla’s Sunflowers struck a special chord in our hearts, because I just returned from my own military deployment far from home

Stunning illustrations and lyrical writing make this a stand out debut picture book. Children of military families and children who miss a parent will resonate with this story and the added layer that helps children learn the benefits of thinking about others makes it something that all children can learn from and read. Fantastic book for any child and parent to read and discuss and enjoy.

Lilla’s Sunflowers is heart-warming and beautiful. The language is lovely and the images are breath-taking. Like Lilla’s seeds, the story brings happiness. It’s a great story to share with child because it shows how one person, a little person, can spread hope and love and make a BIG difference, just like Lilla did. Lilla’s Sunflowers reminds us how a seemingly small, but heartfelt gesture can make a difference and affect many others. Lilla’s Sunflowers is a story you will read over and over again. I HIGHLY recommend this book!

A touching, gentle story that will have everyone wanting to plant sunflowers…

I know many families with loved ones in the military. It’s hard on little ones when Mom or Dad is deployed and they are left behind. Children understand their parent needs to leave for work but the long spans of time they are gone is difficult on the family. Lilla’s Sunflowers is about a little girl named Lilla and her Papa. Papa is in the military and is going to have to go away for an extended tour.

Lilla’s Sunflowers is an adorable story, how one little girl coped with her father’s deployment. If you have a loved one going through a similar situation this is a good book to help talk about their feelings and let them know they are not alone.

 OO-RAH! Ms. Kosinski on her sensitive handling of the issue of separation. This is a great book for all families with one parent gone on extended travel…especially for all the military families out there. The sparse text perfectly captures the melancholy and longing military children feel for the missing parent. The life cycle of the sunflowers in Lilla’s garden mimic the deployment cycle in a way. When the military parent leaves, there is an optimistic hope that “this won’t be so bad.” Often there are parties and visits from relatives before and after the departure. As her sunflowers droop, Lilla’s hope droops, too… much like every military child’s would when a parent is missing at games, plays, recitals and birthdays. The illustrations are gorgeous and may spark the planting of sunflowers on military bases around the world.

I’m a military brat, and like Lilla, know what it’s like to hold on for something while you wait for Papa. This I think is a beautiful story, and that it illustrates what it is like to be a “brat”, and what is shared by the men and women overseas.

Wonderful story with absolutely beautiful illustrations.

This is a very special picture book. The illustrations are lovely, sunflowers and summer and simple, expressive facial expressions. Illustrations that cover the entire page with no white edges. But the story is a real special surprise, heartfelt and so relevant for kids in our current times, when parents are deployed and gone for long periods of time. And what happens to all the new sunflower seeds at the end of the story is absolutely PERFECT and delightful. A winner, for sure!