We're just going to keep the celebration going and shoutout another book birthday. Today's read heads outside and should let sunshine, garden, and good feelings flow. The cover hints at lovely artwork, and I'm enjoying the joyful butterflies. Now, it's time to see what the rest of this book holds.
So, grab those sun hats because we're going outside!
TINY GARDEN
by Deborah Underwood
Illustrated by Jax Chow
Abrams Books
Picture Book
32 pages
ages 4 to 8
On a street that covets big, showy gardens, Andrew sets out to grow his own tiny garden in this picture book about slowing down, appreciating the little things, and staying true to yourself. From bestselling, award-winning author Deborah Underwood and debut illustrator Jax Chow
Andrew loves plants, but he’s overwhelmed by the fancy plots in his neighborhood—too big, too tall, too much.
With soil, seeds, water, and patience, Andrew’s tiny garden blooms into a size his neighbors may not understand, but that’s perfect for tiny leaves, tiny colors, and tiny visitors.
Beloved author Deborah Underwood’s ode to cultivating and caring for one small rectangle of the world, paired with Jax Chow’s exquisite debut illustrations, is also about caring for oneself—and staying true to both, no matter what.
Andrew loves plants, but he’s overwhelmed by the fancy plots in his neighborhood—too big, too tall, too much.
With soil, seeds, water, and patience, Andrew’s tiny garden blooms into a size his neighbors may not understand, but that’s perfect for tiny leaves, tiny colors, and tiny visitors.
Beloved author Deborah Underwood’s ode to cultivating and caring for one small rectangle of the world, paired with Jax Chow’s exquisite debut illustrations, is also about caring for oneself—and staying true to both, no matter what.
MY TIDBITS
Beautiful illustrations mix with carefully laid words to create a story to get lost in time and again.
Andrew loves plants but finds many gardens overwhelming. With seeds, he heads outdoors and creates his own, small plot, and watches what happens.
I'm just going to start with the illustrations because they are gorgeous. The watercolor scenes allow readers to sink into the world with a playful vibrance, which invites to dreams and, yet, stays in the lovely reality of flowers, plants, and being outdoors to watch everything grow and thrive. It's a treat to flip through each one and simply enjoy the scenes...which works great, since not every page has words.
The text is as potent as the illustrations, and carefully used to propel the tale forward but never overtaking the illustrations. The words feel poetic, at times, and lead the actions at others. It creates a nice read-aloud for even more reluctant listeners and works well for the age group.
Andrew's love for plants is contagious, and these pages show readers that they can grow their own, colorful plots as well. They don't have to be big to be enjoyable. So, there's a lovely message about community, growing plants, cultivating, and enjoying the world. In other words, there is quite a bit enjoy in these pages. This even works well to lead into an activity of planting seeds.
