Tulip: Treasure of Springtime

Parents of young children probably know the old groaner: what's the most romantic flower? Tulips (two lips)! However, tulips really do have a romantic and colorful history. Smuggled from the private garden of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent by a thieving diplomat some five hundred years ago, Western Europeans would fall in love with the flower, particularly the Dutch, who found their reclaimed land and temperate climate to be perfect for tulip cultivation. Worth their weight in gold during the 17th century buying and selling frenzy that came to be called "tulipomania," the tulip played an entirely different role during Holland's terrible starvation winter of 1944, when according to a man who survived the ordeal, desperate civilians ground and ate the bulbs for sustenance. In addition to providing historical context, Tulip shows modern cultivars in the fabulous Keukenhof Gardens of Lisse, visits the cut flower auction at Aalsmeer (a real Dutch auction), and fills the screen with fields upon fields of gorgeous tulips in bloom, as well as relating the story of how Ottawa became the tulip capital of North America (making this a must-buy for Canadian libraries). Interesting, fast-paced, and full of bright eye-candy, this is highly recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: P. (R. Reagan)