Grandpa's Garden - Softcover

Fry, Stella

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1846868092 ISBN 13: 9781846868092

Publisher: Barefoot Books, 2012

Synopsis

This beautifully told story follows Billy from early spring to late summer as he helps his grandpa on his vegetable patch. They dig the hard ground, sow rows of seeds, and keep them watered and safe from slugs. When harvest time arrives they can pick all the vegetables and fruit they have grown. Children will be drawn in by the poetry of the language and the warm illustrations, while also catching the excitement of watching things grow!

About this title

About the Author:

Stella Fry is a teacher with a love of bookshops and gardening. She has recently started an eco gardening club at her school. She has always written stories, and likes to work surrounded by the cluttered security of favorite objects, images and messages from her children. Grandpa's Garden is her first book and was influenced by her family's experience of keeping an allotment when her children were small, and by the generous advice given by older and more experienced neighbors. Stella lives in Kent, England with her partner and her younger daughter.

Sheila Moxley trained at Central St. Martins College of Art and Design in London. She creates her artwork with oil pastels and is best known for her greeting cards and children's books. After several years in London, she decided to move to Cornwall, England with her partner, two children and cat, and now she can see the sea from the window! Sheila has previously illustrated Elephant Dance for Barefoot Books.

From Booklist:

In early spring Billy begins to help his grandpa in the garden. He finds the digging hard and the waiting harder still, but he enjoys sowing seeds, planting sprouted potatoes, watering, and watching the plants grow. In summer they weed and start to pick the many vegetables. And in autumn they set aside seeds and enjoy roasting potatoes over a fire. Told from Billy’s point of view, the story reads aloud smoothly, but it sometimes sounds too poetic to be convincing as a child’s narrative. The extensive back matter includes plans for a four-plot vegetable patch, information on crop rotation, a recap of Grandpa’s gardening activities each season, and gardening tips that seem overly detailed given the book’s audience (“Plant your potatoes outside in trenches about 30 inches apart with 10–15 inches between each potato”). Colorfully illustrated with oil pastels, this English picture book shows the progression of a garden through the year. Still, with so many fine garden-related picture books available, this is a supplemental purchase for many libraries. Preschool-Grade 3. --Carolyn Phelan

About this edition

• Publisher: Barefoot Books
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1846868092
• ISBN 13: 9781846868092
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Moxley Sheila