Author Liz Garton Scanlon brings her beautiful poetic style to a prescient topic, gardening! THANK YOU, GARDEN is a wonderful picture book, depicting the stages of gardening and the joys that come with it. Brilliant colors coupled with fun rhyme schemes bring life to the wonderful subject of a community or home garden.
The narrative follows that gardens do not have to be neat and tidy, nor do they have to be large or small. The author cultivates the notion that gardens take time to grow and all of the waiting results in fresh, healthy food to nourish people.
This is the perfect book to inspire children to plant gardens of their own! Not only was this title released in spring, but there is also a push for self-reliance across the world right now. Planting, growing, and taking care of a garden is a fantastic way for children to contribute to their community and to install life-long values of responsibility and character!
Illustrations by Simone Shin jump off the page and bring so much life to the poetic narrative of the story! The style is almost like paper cutouts and brings detail to every page. Greens, blues, and browns and vivid complementary colors will captivate even the youngest readers!
Review from an 8-year old: I asked my son to read along with me and tell me what he enjoyed about THANK YOU, GARDEN. Though he reads books above this level, he is particularly interested in color composition and rhyme, which made this a perfect book for him to review! He said he loved seeing kids playing with their families (grandmother, dad, siblings, mom, etc) while working in the garden. He also said it reminded him of working with his grandpa in the garden!
Overall, this is a great springtime picture book that would be a great choice for 3-7 year olds! I am planning on purchasing a copy for a few friends as a baby shower gift! Educators and parents alike could use this book to teach about life cycles, the environment, and the importance of patience! The author’s website features teacher’s guides for her other titles and I’m sure THANK YOU, GARDEN will have a section there soon! Pick up your copy today and enter to win a signed copy below!
katiepaul680311227.wordpress.com 