What do you know about Sarajevo? I remember a number of current events from my childhood, the space shuttle Challenger, Operation Dessert Storm, the Rwandan Genocide. I remembered the name Sarajevo, but I didn’t know much about what had happened there.

I found Flowers for Sarajevo, by John McCutcheon, illustrated by Kristy Caldwell, at our library. I don’t even think I opened it, but the cover art was so arresting I was sure I would like it.

Weeks passed as it floated around our house. I couldn’t seem to sit down long enough to read it to everyone. We already read aloud for school each day and I have been flirting with homeschool burnout; adding more books didn’t feel doable.

My mom finally read the book to the kids one weekend when she was here for a visit. She reported it made her cry, along with my youngest daughter.

Finally, I read it. To myself. The kids were in bed as I paged through the story. The illustrations were as amazing as the cover. They reminded me of graphic novel art, and the colors and lines communicate such beauty. I finished it at 1:30 a.m. on a night when my own home felt like a war zone. It did make me cry.

Flowers for Sarajevo concludes with a couple of pages of historical context for the story and information about the music referenced. The book is based on real events. It comes with a CD that contains the audio book, narrated by the author. The CD includers the author’s original song about the story, and the classical piece referenced in the story, played by the man who played it in real life. There’s also an author interview, which if you have kids, will almost certainly bore them, but will probably interest you.There are some children’s books for children. Mine willingly listened to this one, and later to the audio book as well. They liked the art and identified with the protagonist.

Some children’s books are for everyone. For me, the beautiful art in Flowers for Sarajevo transcended its genre and made it appealing to me as an artist and creator. It was the type of story that sent you looking for more information after you were finished reading.

I feel like ending with a cheesy LeVar Burton quote. I’ll spare you. But if your library has an app like mine does and you can quickly type this title in and request a hold, do it. You will not regret it.