MaxMeet Max. He’s 8.  He like books.

He especially likes books with characters named Max. So he was happy to review Max and the Dumb Flower Picture by Martha Alexander (Charlesbridge, 2009).

And it’s a book worth reviewing. It was started by Martha Alexander, who wrote more than 60 children’s books, before she died in 2006 at age 85. She left the text and unfinished sketches, which illustrator James Rumford completed.

The book tells the story of Max, whose teacher has the class color in flower pictures to give to their moms on Mother’s Day. The students all color happily — except Max. He knows his mother would prefer a hand-drawn picture much more than a colored-in picture someone else drew. He stomps and sulks and leaves the room.

What happens when Max decides to color outside the lines? Let’s ask the real Max.

Guest reviewer: Max

Age: 8

I like: Playing video games, playing soccer and doing stuff with my brother, Will, like playing outside and making snow forts together.

This book was about: A boy named Max and his teacher. She told the class to color a picture of a flower, but he thought it was dumb and that his mom wouldn’t like it. So he ran away with his crayons and the picture of the dumb flower and he drew his own flower picture instead.

The best part was when: Max ran away and hid behind the bushes.

I laughed when: Max thought the flower picture he was supposed to color was dumb.

I was surprised when: All the moms liked the pictures that their kids made for them.

The book taught me: That it is OK to be creative and share your own ideas.

Other kids reading this book should watch for: What the children did after Max showed them his drawing.

Three words that describe this book are: “Creative.” “Flowers.” “Mother’s Day.”

My favorite line or phrase in this book is: “The children ran back to the classroom. They got right to work.”

You should read this book because: It encourages you to be creative.

To reinforce Martha’s vision that all anyone needs to be creative is a blank sheet of paper and some imagination, the book’s endpapers are decorated with flowers drawn by Martha’s friends and family.

There are flowers from her sisters, her son, her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren. Flowers from the book’s editors and designers, other authors and artists, friends and admirers. There’s even a blank spot readers can draw their own flower pictures.

You can learn more about Martha by visiting the Charlesbridge Web site or by reading her many wonderful books.