Garden

From the Publisher

"Lush, crisp photographs infused with every shade of green draw children into a celebration of planning, planting, and tending a garden.... Garden goes a long way toward sparking enthusiasm for this rewarding activity." --The Horn Book

Children's Literature - Charles Wyman

Busy kids digging in the dirt, planting seeds and pulling weeds fill the pages of this photo-essay. Gardens can be peaceful contemplative places where flowers and greenery abound or they can be a tiny spot of color that blooms at a certain time of year. Kids learn about planting seeds, bulbs, and the functions of compost and earthworms and he pleasure of seeing the product of their labors-flowers, fruits and vegetables. It is all beautifully depicted in full-color photographs by Maass.

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4A photo-essay about gardens through the seasons. The beautiful full-color photographs seem to have come first, leaving a problem with the text. Sometimes the captions are vague and philosophical: "Within a garden, the cycles and rhythms of lifeplant and animalare clear to see." Sometimes it seems as if readers are being instructed: "Annual flowers are planted later, when the air and soil temperatures are warmer." The word "annual" is italicized and is defined with seven other words in a glossary at the back of the book. Many races and ages of people are shown in a variety of settings. This is a pretty book, but the narrative is random and confusing.Carolyn Jenks, First Parish Unitarian Church, Portland, ME

Horn Book Magazine

Lush, crisp photographs infused with every shade of green draw children into a celebration of planning, planting, and tending a garden ("a garden is a world in itself, formed by a gardener's skill and imagination"). Many of the pictures feature city and backyard gardens, proving that no matter where one lives, one can make a garden. Maass's loosely chronological approach briefly touches on the importance of earthworms and compost, watering and weeding, but readers will be most inspired by the pictures of blooming flowers and ready-for-harvest vegetables. A limited eight-item glossary defines a few of the text's more technical terms, such as nutrient and pollination. Although children will need to consult more detailed resources to ensure success in their own efforts, Garden goes a long way toward sparking enthusiasm for this rewarding activity.