Flower City is a story that teaches children about the lessons of a democracy: in an authoritarian country, government can control one's actions but cannot control their minds. A imaginative child manages to draw flowers and butterflies despite his teacher's attempts to prevent him from doing so. After finishing the drawing, an ideal dream world is shown.
一看到《花城》,我们的目光首先会被封面上那只缤纷多彩的蝴蝶所吸引。画家史提凡•查吾尔用透明水彩画出了大大小小的圈圈和长方形,那些红色、粉色、黄色和蓝色的几何图形,如烟火一般绽放在夜空中。在朦胧的月光下,小城的夜晚在微妙变化的蓝调中呈现出如梦如幻的气息……翻开内页,出现了一座满是花朵的小城——公园里、小桥边、阁楼外、窗台上、车顶上、道路旁,尽是各色各样的花儿,引来处处飞舞的蝴蝶。当市长给花儿和蝴蝶判下罪名后,查吾尔用灰、黑、褐色描画失去了生命的街道,十分恰当。当孩子们找到“美梦的坟墓”,打开禁闭的大门时,风雨把花草树木吹回小城,宛如一朵朵彩色的祥云降临,这时画家用亮丽的橘红色调勾画了人们在广场上载歌载舞的喜庆场面。最后,画面上的五只彩蝶飞舞在蓝色的夜空中,繁花盛开,构成了一幅色彩绚丽的花城图,与封面交相辉映。