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THE FOREVER GARDEN

Name: THE FOREVER GARDEN
Author: Laurel Snyder
ISBN: 978-0-553-51273-1

by Laurel Snyder ; illustrated by Samantha Cotterill ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 2, 2017

Loosely based on a Talmudic story, Snyder’s tale is a tender tribute to the sustainability of good gardens—and...

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Laurel and her next-door neighbor Honey, an older woman, cultivate a friendship grounded in Honey’s lovingly tended garden.

Narrating from her child’s eye, Laurel, who is white, observes Honey (with light brown skin and harlequin glasses) thinning lettuce, pulling beets, and singing to the kale. “She says it sings back, but I can’t hear it. / Not even when I listen close.” Honey dines with Laurel and her mom each Friday, bringing bouquets of “squash blossoms, rosemary, raspberries on a prickle branch. / Nothing matches, but everything fits.” One day, a “for sale” sign appears next door: Honey must move to care for her sick mother. Sensitively, Honey helps Laurel understand that the garden will continue on after she leaves. Her new strawberry plants will fruit for another family, just as she’s enjoyed the grapes planted by an earlier gardener. She helps Laurel plant a young apple tree. When a new family with four young children moves into Honey’s house, Laurel helps them in the garden—and sings to the kale. Cotterill’s digitally colored pen-and-ink compositions enthusiastically depict Honey’s flourishing veggies and natty garden attire. Visuals gently extend the story: Laurel inherits Honey’s yellow straw hat and writes her an “I miss you” letter.

Loosely based on a Talmudic story, Snyder’s tale is a tender tribute to the sustainability of good gardens—and intergenerational friendships. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: May 2, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-553-51273-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S RELIGIOUS FICTION

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THE WITCH OF WOODLAND
by Laurel Snyder

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ENDLESSLY EVER AFTER
by Laurel Snyder ; illustrated by Dan Santat

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CHARLIE & MOUSE OUTDOORS
by Laurel Snyder ; illustrated by Emily Hughes

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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THE COOL BEAN MAKES A SPLASH

From the I Can Read! series

by Jory John ; illustrated by Pete Oswald ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 26, 2024

Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind.

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The cool beans again step up to do a timorous fellow legume a fava…this time at the pool.

Will a rash decision to tackle the multistory super-slide lead to another embarrassing watery fail for our shy protagonist? Nope, for up the stairs right behind comes a trio of cool beans, each a different type and color, all clad in nothing but dark shades. They make an offer: “It’s not as scary if you go with friends!” As the knobby nerd explains once the thrilling ride down is done, “They all realized that I just needed some encouragement and support.” Just to make sure that both cool and uncool readers get the message, the narrator lets us know that “there are plenty of kind folks who have my back. They’re always there when I need them.” The beany bonhomie doesn’t end at the bottom of the slide, with all gliding down to the shallow end of the pool (“3 INCHES. NO DIVING”) for a splashy finale. This latest early reader starring characters from John and Oswald’s immensely popular Food Group series will be a hit with fans. Fun accessories, such as a bean who rocks pink cat-eye frames, add some pizzazz to the chromatically and somatotypically varied cast.

Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind. (Easy reader. 5-7)