Today I am sharing with you a few of my favorite illustrated fiction titles about gardens and gardening. These books are written for children, but any adult who appreciates wonderful art and good writing will enjoy them. In fact, I have to say that one of the best things about becoming a parent five years ago--aside from being with my beloved babes--was the re-initiation into the world of picture books. What a fabulous invention! Our house is now overflowing with them, in several languages, in all conditions, old and new, fiction and non-fiction, poetry too (of course!).
The Curious Garden is a newly-released title tells the story of Liam, a little boy who lives in a gritty city. The smokestacks puff black clouds; the landscape is grey and brick; nobody goes outside--except Liam. One day he discovers an errant patch of flowers upon an abandoned railway. He cares for the plants, becomes a devoted gardener, and soon, the garden migrates to every corner of the city--and so do other people. This wonderful tale of transformation is filled with vibrant, detailed paintings that have a nostalgic, stylized feel. Author-illustrator Peter Brown moves deftly between close-up, middle distance and broad views, letting readers enjoy the full scope of the garden's expansion. Attentive pre-readers will enjoy the parts of the narrative that are conveyed only in pictures.
Gerda Muller is well-known for her seasons board books, which were updated and re-released in the last few years. Muller has been making books forever, it seems; we have a French edition of the Three Little Pigs from 1964, which she illustrated. She reminds me a bit of the American authors and illustrators Alice and Martin Provensen in the scope and duration of her career.
The Garden in the City follows the adventures of siblings Ben and Caroline, who have moved into a new home in the city with a large, neglected yard. Together with their parents, they plot out what plants they want to grow and then learn about soil, seeds, and species as they watch their garden flourish. The story mingles the fictional narrative with non-fiction sidebars that describe how to plant seedlings, how to make leaf crowns, how to press leaves, and so forth. The story follows the garden through the four seasons, and is filled with Muller's characteristically-detailed illustrations. (We have a companion book, Around the Oak, which has more adventures of Ben and Caroline).
The Gardener is the story of Lydia Grace, a young girl living in the midst of the Depression who is sent to live with her uncle in the city when things at home get desperate. The epistolary narrative presents Lydia's letters home to her mother, father and beloved grandmother, for whom she was named and with whom she shares a passion for gardening. Young Lydia Grace makes it her mission to cheer up her sad and sour-faced uncle by planting flowers, vegetables and herbs in every container she can find, in all nooks available, until her little corner of the world is a riot of green and growing things.
The emotional heart of the story comes when she reveals the verdant garden that she secretly created on the roof of the building where she, her uncle, and friends Ed and Emma live and work. "I've tried to remember everything you ever taught me about beauty," she writes to her parents and grandmother as she describes getting ready to show the secret space to her uncle. Illustrator David Small has a deft and agile style that conveys much of the emotion of the story.
Linnea in Monet's Garden mingles gardening, art appreciation, history and geography. The fictional Linnea travels to Paris with her friend Mr. Bloom and learns about Monet's life, home, gardens and painting technique. Chatty and cheerful, LInnea's conversations with Mr. Bloom keep the book lively and interesting for kids, while the mix of drawings, photographs and reproductions of Monet's paintings offer a variety of intriguing visual media. Swedish author and illustrator Christina Bjork and Lena Anderson have collaborated on several Linnea books.
In a Spring Garden is a classic; the copy pictured above is the one my father gave to me when I was a child. Published in 1965, the book features a selection of haiku by a number of Japanese poets, paired with collage-paintings by Ezra Jack Keats. (You probably know Keats best from The Snowy Day.) The verse in this book is gorgeous; brief, of course, and vivid, as all good haiku should be. Keats's simple, evocative illustrations use contrast, texture and silhouette to amplify the imagery of the verse.
This last book, Rosie Flo's Garden, is a bit off-topic--or rather, off-genre; it is a coloring book by British illustrator Roz Streeten. Streeten has created a series of the delightful Rosie Flo books, all of which feature clothing that is waiting for people to inhabit it. The garden edition of the series is just so much fun; fanciful dresses are suspended in front of lawn mowers, mingled with giant flower bulbs, cavorting amidst rabbits, and riding on the seesaw. I think I may have to keep this coloring book for myself!
For those of you who want non-fiction books about gardening with children, Sharon Lovejoy is a great author to start with. We also enjoy A Child's Garden.
And finally, look who came to visit our herb garden (he seemed to prefer the gravel path to the herbs): a common whitetail skimmer (Plathemis lydia). As the name suggests, they are quite common, but I had never seen one before. This one is a male. His abdomen looked blue in the sunlight, though it looks white here. My daughter and I were delighted to learn about a new bug.
Let me know of any favorite garden tales you may have!
