Uncle John's City Garden by Bernette G. Ford, illustrated by Frank Morrison

 

Uncle John's City Garden by Bernette G. Ford,

illustrated by Frank Morrison

Holiday House, 2022, 40 pages

It used to be that if you traveled around NYC and I mean the outer boroughs as well as Manhattan, you would see lots of empty lots converted into city gardens, growing plants, flowers, and/or vegetables. You don't see them so much anymore because, well, developers have turned them into overpriced high rises. Which is one of the reasons I just love this last book by Bernette Ford, who sadly passed away in 2021. In her Author's Note, Ford explains that growing up in projects in Canarsie, Brooklyn, her Uncle John received permission from the city to convert an empty lot next to one of the buildings into a garden. And though she had often visited the garden, she never worked in it. Now, however, comes this lovely intergenerational family story about her Uncle John's garden that is based in part on her life and based in part on her imagination. Because sometimes, you can go home again, at least in fiction.

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The story is narrated by Li'l Sissy, the youngest of three siblings. Each one is allowed to pick their own packets of seeds to plant after Uncle John has finished doing the digging and raking. Li'l Sissy picks okra, Brother chooses corn and lima beans, and Sister picks tomatoes and onions. Their mother laughs and says they are growing succotash. 

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After carefully planting their seed packets, the kids are hot and sweaty, but pleased with what they have accomplished with Uncle John's help. Every day, they return to the garden to weed, pick off any bugs and water their crops. And sure enough, after a few weeks, their plants have thrived but still no vegetables, just stems and leaves. 

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But after a storm, the plants have really grown tall and sure enough, the vegetables begin to appear. Soon, it is time to start picking their crops. Each day, they fill their bags with more ripened vegetables. And at the end of summer vacation, Uncle John throws a big barbeque for all the relatives, complete with succotash made from their garden vegetables, just like Mama said. And because they have a bumper crop, each family gets to take home a big bag of their own vegetables.

This gentle story about a Black family making a big contribution that helps to transform their otherwise bleak neighborhood and ultimately bring people together makes for some wonderful summer reading (but works anytime). Part of what makes this story so special are the oil and spray paint illustrations/ They are bright, bold and energetic in the foreground, but with the unadorned and almost monochromatic projects in the background, Morrison has really captured the stark contrast. And if you read carefully and pay attention to the way Li'l Sissy describes everything, you find it is also a nice lesson about relative size and growth and it begins right on the first page with a description of size relative to each gardener- small, smallest , big, biggest:

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And it continues in this vein all the way through. The shovels the kids use are sized relative to their size, the plants are described relative to Li'l Sissy's size (see the illustration of Li'l Sissy and her Mama). And I love the way the illustrations reflect the relative sizes of everything. So there is a nice STEM component to the story and if you look at the bottom of the page with the Author's Note, you will notice that this book received support from TERC, a non-profit that develops math curricula.  

Extra Bonus: there is a delicious recipe for succotash at the end of the book (something I have eaten since I was a kid growing up in Flatbush, Brooklyn).

Thank you, Sara DiSalvo for providing me with a review copy of this book. 

🐝How Does Your Garden Grow? Five Picture Books Perfect for Spring

Tulips in Carl Schurz Park Spring 2020

I haven't gone out much this spring because of the coronavirus, but I have gone to help a friend with her garden, and I have walked around Carl Schurz Park across the street to see what the Conservancy there has been up to there. And then I came how and re-read some wonderful picture books about gardens and gardening that I would like to share with you.

Harlem Grown: How One Big Idea Transformed a Neighborhood

by Tony Hillery, illustrated by Jessie Hartland

Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, 2020, 40 pages

This is the story of how one empty lot that was a dumping ground for whatever people wanted to get rid of - things like "wrecked couches, old TVs, broken bottles, and empty cans" - was turned into a wonderful community vegetable garden thanks to one new teacher at PS 175. Slowly, Mr. Tony began removing the trash, and when it was done, he brought in new, clean soil, along with seeds, tools and an invitation to Nevaeh, his student, and her friends to come help with the planting. But when their first attempt at growing food didn't work, they tried something different and it did work. Soon, they had a thriving farm right in the middle of New York City. And the best part of this story is that it is a true story, and that farm, called Harlem Grown, is still there, still thriving and growing, and still encouraging kids to participate...all in the heart of Harlem. This is a real feel good inspiring story written by the founder of Harlem Grown, with vibrant gouache illustrations that perfectly harmonize with the text. If you are inspired to start a garden similar to Harlem Grown. Mr. Tony has include a step by step guide along with additional resources. Happy planting!

Khalil and Mr. Hagerty and the Backyard Treasures

by Tricia Springstubb, illustrated by Elaheh Taherian

Candlewick Press, 2020, 32 pages

Khalil and his family live in the upstairs apartment of a two family house. Mr. Hagerty lives alone in the downstairs apartment. Summer has come and Mr. Hagerty has been working on his garden in the backyard, while Khalil has been hunting for some interesting bugs and rocks, or just laying in the grass reading a library book. Mr. Hagerty often helps Khalil with hard, unfamiliar words and Khalil helps Mr. Hagerty find his misplaced items. Gradually they become friends, even sharing chocolate cake and cold milk together when it gets too hot. But both are discouraged - Mr. Hagerty with his vegetable garden, Khalil with the lack of good buried treasure. One night, they both get an idea that is sure to make the other very happy. And not only do their ideas work, but they become even better friends, happily enjoying each other's company and celebrating with some more delicious chocolate cake. Springstubb's text is warm, layered, and straightforward, just like the friendship that develops between these two lonely people and Taherian's oil and colored pencil collage illustrations done in a predominately green palette really demonstrates that warmth and layering. I just love a good intergenerational picture books and so do my young readers, most of whom see their grandparents regularly. And my kids got a kick out of the ending. I was only sorry we couldn't explore the illustrations together, but we had to read it on Zoom.   

In a Garden by Tim McCanna,

illustrated by Aimée Sicuro

Simon & Schuster/ Paula Wiseman Books, 2020, 48 pages

The gentle rhyming text in this book celebrates the diversity of life in a community garden throughout the year, beginning in spring "In the earth / a single seed / sits beside a millipede."  through summer "Blooms of every shape and size / call to bees and butterflies," to autumn, winter and finally back to spring, when "Time goes by / and by / and then... / life returns / to start / again." McCanna shows young readers that there is so much activity in a garden, bugs and insects, their activity often unseen and unnoticed, are as busily at work as the children and adults. Flowers, insects and bugs are all named within the rhyme. My young readers and I were luckily enough to read this before we had to shelter at home, and they loved exploring each page and talking about everything there is to see. For example, one two page spread shows a mama bird bringing a tasty worm to her newly hatched babies in their nest, a squirrel running down the tree, a bird enjoying some green growing treats, and a butterfly going about her business all unnoticed by a little girl walking her dog. The seasonal illustrations are done in watercolor, ink, charcoal and Photoshop and the people are as diverse as the depicted vegetables, flowers and creatures. This book was rated A+ by my young readers.      

Thank You, Garden by Liz Garton Scanlon,

illustrated by Simone Shin

Beach Lane Books, 2020, 32 pages

"Garden ready / garden new / Garden so much / work to do!" Yes, gardens are a lot of work, but in the end they can be so rewarding. And that is exactly what this simple rhyming text picture book imparts to young readers. In this community garden, a group of diverse neighbors of all ages work all spring and summer for make this a successful garden, coming together at the end to enjoy the fruits of their labors. The text is repetitive and it only took a few reading for my kids to memorize the words and chime in. But despite the simple rhyme, there is much to explore here. The acrylic, watercolor, and Photoshop illustrations are done in a palette of garden greens and browns and have a somewhat folk art style to them. This is geared toward readers about age 3 and up and is a great opportunity to open a discussion with kids about being grateful for and appreciating the food they eat without being preachy.    

In the Garden written and illustrated by

Emma Giuliani

Princeton Architectural Press, 2020, 16 pages

Join Plum and her little brother Robin and explore with them all the wonders of their garden from the end of winter through to spring, summer, fall and finally to the return of winter, and including the features of each season. Every page in this oversized picture book for older readers gives details along with flaps to open and discover even more information, for example, what the inside of a bulb or flower looks like, or the parts of a seed. Young gardeners learn how to care for a garden, e.g. spreading mulch over the soil in winter, then spreading compost in the spring, setting up stakes for things like beans to climb as they grow, or knowing when to harvest and plan bulbs in the fall to flower in spring. Giuliani's language is accessible, even when she is using terms readers may never have heard before, and she even includes some of the processes that growing plants go through, like how cherry trees go from flower to fruit. This is the book I wish I had when I was a fourth grade classroom teacher and we went on a class trip to the New York Botanical Gardens every year.

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW? 

The Gardener by Sarah Stewart, pictures by David Small

Behind many of those nondescript smaller apartment buildings in NYC that are now fast disappearing is a real surprise. The two back ground floor apartments have really nice sized garden out their back door. A friend of mine has her office in one of those buildings on the Upper East Side, and this weekend, I spent some time going to garden centers in Connecticut and helping her pick out some new plants for her backyard garden.

This isn't my friend's building, but it is where
Louise Fitzhugh wrote Harriet the Spy in one of those back apartments with a garden

When I got home, I pulled out my copy of The Gardener by Sarah Stewart and reread it with a great deal of pleasure. The story unfolds in a series of letters written by young Lydia Grace Finch, beginning in August 1935, when the depression was still impacting so many people in the world, including her family. Lydia Grace is leaving the country and going to live temporarily with her Uncle Jim in the city, and the first letter is addressed to him, in which she tells him three things about herself: 1- she knows a lot about gardening but not baking; 2- she would like to learn to bake, but is there any place to plant seeds?; 3- she likes to be called Lydia Grace. Packed in her suitcase, along with her clothes, are envelopes full of seeds, including marigold, cosmos, and my personal favorite zinnia. Uncle Jim is a baker, lives in an apartment over the bakery, and, Lydia Grace soon discovers, he never smiles.

In letters to her parents and her grandmother, Lydia Grace writes about everything that is going on with her in the city. In the bakery, she meets Emma and Ed Beech, Uncle Jim's friends who also work for him. Emma teaches Lydia Grace to knead bread and in exchange, she teaches Emma the Latin names of flowers. As the spring of 1936 approaches, Lydia Grace begins planting in cracked teacups, tubs, and boxes growing the seeds she brought with her and any that she is sent from home. Soon, she is growing flowers, lettuce, radishes, and onions in window boxes and on the fire escape, transforming their nondescript building into a bright, colorful, flourishing vertical garden.

But it is in the secret place (the unused roof) that Lydia Grace discovers where she really shows her gardening skills, creating a place of beauty in the midst of the city. She plants and tends her rooftop garden in secret, finally surprising Uncle Jim on the Fourth of July. But can she get to Uncle Jim to finally smile?

Maybe. A few days after the July 4th surprise, Uncle Jim has one of his own when he closes the bakery for half a day and surprises Lydia Grace with a beautiful cake covered in icing flowers. Lydia Grace is certain that cake is worth at least 1,000 smiles. What do you think?

The Gardener always makes me so happy whenever I read it. An epistolary story told in short letters written by Lydia Grace, but with enough information to know what was included in the responses she received. What makes this an especially wonderful picture book, besides its feel good story, is the way the illustrations track the story so well even as they add dimension to it. Small's watercolors increase in color as Lydia Grace's plantings grow and bloom. But look closely at each illustration for little details that add to the story, like the little gray cat in every city picture, the first dollar Uncle Jim made framed under the picture of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the envelopes full of seeds floating out of Lydia Grace's suitcase, and the changing look on faces of everyone as the flowers bloom, and the same scowl on Uncle Jim's face, no matter what is happening. No wonder David Small won the 1998 Caldecott Award. Lydia Grace spent one year in the city and really made a difference in the lives of Uncle Jim, Emma and Ed, and their customers and neighbors. What an inspiring story for young readers to enjoy!

This book is recommend for everyone😊
This book was purchased for my personal library

What's in the Garden? by Marianne Berkes, illustrated by Cris Arbo

What could be better than the bounties of a summer garden, whether it is from your own backyard garden or fresh fruits and veg from the farmer's market?   OK, I know, that's the grownup who loves vegetables in me talking, but what about kids?

I know from experience with my own Kiddo that it is often hard to get kids to eat and enjoy fruits and vegetables.  But now, there is an engaging book for parents and kids to share and it is all about gardens full of tempting fruits and vegetables.  And it is a fun book, too.  Each fruit or vegetable is presented with a short, four line rhyme on one page that shows what it looks like in the garden.  Before turning the page, kids get to guess which veg the rhyme is about.

On the next page, is the answer and a simple, child friendly recipe them to make, with parental guidance, of course.

For example:

Can you get what the vegetable is? You can click to enlarge.

At the end of the book are four pages full of more information about gardens and and fruits and vegetables along with online resources.  Food for Thought has lots of interesting facts about the fruits and vegetables included in this book and kids can even learn facts about gardening and the different parts of a plant.

Each page is illustrated with a lovely, realistic painting, so well done, you can sense the wonderful smells of a garden - the soil, the air, the veg.  It makes my mouth water just looking at all the illustrations.  On the rhyme page, not only is the fruit or vegetable shown, but there is a common garden animal or bird included, adding to the richness of the book and a potential learning moment about these lovely, sometimes pesty creatures.  And best of all, and this really really pleased me in this oh-so-kid friendly book was the diverse cross section of kids that the artist, Cris Arbo, included.

Even if you don't have a garden, or even if you just have a window box full of herbs, like I do, this is a wonderful book to share with the kids in your life.  And be sure to take the kids to the farmer's market after going over the book for more good talk about fruits and veg as you purchase the ingredients for trying the recipes that are included.

Do you get it right?  You can click to enlarge

This book is recommended for kids age 4+
This book was purchased for my personal library

This is book 5 of my 2012 Nonfiction Picture Book Reading  Challenge hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy