The little daffodil’s only dream, ever since he was just a bulb, was to grow to be tall, bright, and yellow. But during the winter, the little bulb caught a cold. When springtime finally arrives, the bulb’s brothers and sisters have all grown into beautiful yellow daffodils, while the little daffodil is left spotted and small. The daffodil is ashamed of his red spots, and thinks himself ugly in comparison to his brothers and sisters. So when a little girl comes outside to play for the first time since winter, the little daffodil tries to hide in shame. But the little girl is looking for a special flower to give her grandmother. Does she choose the spotty dotty daffodil? Does the daffodil finally accept his spots?

Featuring a heartfelt story of acceptance from author Rose Mannering, and beautiful watercolor illustrations by Bethany Straker, The Spotty Dotty Daffodil celebrates the differences in all of us—spots, stripes, or otherwise.

Sky Pony Press, with our Good Books, Racehorse and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of books for young readers—picture books for small children, chapter books, books for middle grade readers, and novels for young adults. Our list includes bestsellers for children who love to play Minecraft; stories told with LEGO bricks; books that teach lessons about tolerance, patience, and the environment, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Rose Mannering is an English writer and international author. Her favorite flowers are daffodils, closely followed by roses. She writes both adult and children’s fiction under various pen names and lives with naughty twin doggies called Boo and Delilah in Kent, England.

Bethany Straker is an illustrator and designer. Her first children’s book Smelly Ghost (written by Isabel Atherton) will be published in September 2013, followed by A Curious Robot on Mars! (James Duffett-Smith) in October 2013. She lives in Kent, England.