Mrs. Rose's Garden

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

A blithe spirit pervades this beguiling tale about a gardener with a generous heart. Greenstein's (Emily and the Crows) elegantly shaded paintings whimsically portray one Matilda Rose, a dedicated vegetable gardener who "wanted to win a blue ribbon more than anything else in the world." When her special mix of fertilizer produces gargantuan vegetables sure to sweep the county fair, however, the initially delighted Mrs. Rose realizes that the fun's gone from the game, and she decides to restore it by sneaking some of her doubtlessly victorious veggies into her neighbors' less-than-stellar crops. This way, everyone's a winnerincluding Mrs. Rose, who takes not only the blue ribbon for the biggest pumpkin, but also a special prize from her husband for "having the biggest heart." From the thoughtful detail on the endpapers (emerging seedlings and garden tools in the front, harvested vegetables and blue ribbons in the back) to the final peek at Mrs. Rose perched demurely on her prize pumpkin, the illustrations strike a winning balance between a simplicity of composition and a luxuriantly restful texture. Start to finish, this one comes up roses. Ages 4-8. (May)

School Library Journal

K-Gr 3When Mrs. Rose invents a new fertilizer mix, she is sure she'll achieve her heartfelt goalto win the county fair's blue ribbon for the biggest vegetables. But when the vegetables take on enormous proportions, she decides to share the wealthand the prizeswith her neighbors. The plot unfolds in a simple narrative with spare dialogue. Done in muted colors, the primitive-style illustrations reveal a charming, bucolic setting that's in tune with Mrs. Rose's personality. Humorous visual touches, such as radishes that fill the dinner plates, prevent the plot from becoming too sweet, and spot art helps move the tale along. The final spreads reveal the resultneighbors with 10-foot cukes, tomatoes the size of hassocks, and Mrs. Rose comfortably perched upon a pumpkin. Young readers will laugh at the oversized images, but the messagethe value of sharinghas taken to fertile ground here. Pair this book with Cynthia Rylant and Mary Szilagyi's This Year's Garden (Bradbury, 1984), another title that concludes with harvest.Carolyn Noah, Central Mass. Regional Library System, Worcester, MA

Carolyn Phelan

When Mrs. Rose combines several fertilizers into a mysteriously potent mixture, her garden begins to grow enormous vegetables. She looks forward to winning a blue ribbon at last, but realizing that she's bound to win "all "the blue ribbons, she and Mr. Rose sneak into their neighbors' gardens at night and replace their seedlings with her supervarieties. When the county fair comes in September, many friends show off their bumper crops and blue ribbons, but "Mr. Rose [gives] Mrs. Rose a special blue ribbon for having the biggest heart." Showing the rewards of neighborly goodness as well as the fruits of ingenuity and hard work, this story has a simple charm, which the artwork, executed in casein paint, reflects. Composed and painted in a somewhat primitive style, the illustrations have a pale, sophisticated palette, which somehow makes the giant vegetables look all the funnier.

Kirkus Reviews

Mrs. Rose's Garden ( May 1, 1996; 32 pp.; 0-689-80215-3): A gentle tale of homegrown generosity. Mrs. Rose has always wanted to win blue ribbons, until her unusual mix of fertilizers produces a whole garden full of prize-winning vegetables. "Somehow it didn't feel like fun anymore," so Mrs. Rose hits on a plan to neatly redistribute the bounty and turn all her neighbors into winners, too. Mrs. Rose gets a special ribbon from Mr. Rose for having "the biggest heart"—a nice touch in a winning and warming story accompanied by paintings that have a flattened perspective and a sweet, quirky magic.