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April 9, 2009 by Travis Jonker

Book Review: The Curious Garden

April 9, 2009 by Travis Jonker   4 comments

curgardencov

The Curious Garden
By Peter Brown
Little, Brown
ISBN: 9780316015479
$16.99
Grades K-3
In Stores

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*Recommended*

manga

Scope Notes: Introducing  today’s guest reviewer, Mr. Message!

messageimg

Hello! Yes, yes, my name is Mr. Message. You probably know me from my countless appearances in books, especially the “for children” variety. It’s my job to expose a universal truth or support a cause. Sometimes I even tell the reader how they should act. As you may know, I can be controversial.

Sometimes, people get upset when authors make it really clear that I’m coming to the party. They put me front and center, and the story takes a back seat. Hey, I can be preachy if that’s what the author wants! I don’t always raise a stink, though. Occasionally, authors cleverly sneak me into a story, making as little disruption as possible. The reader hardly knows I’m there.

Then you have an author like Peter Brown (Chowder, Flight of the Dodo) and his book The Curious Garden. In this book I tell kids that caring for the environment makes a better world. Peter somehow manages to to make me the center of attention, yet not so preachy that it feels like readers are learning a lesson. There’s a kind of take-it-or-leave-it nonchalance that I quite like.

The story is about a red-haired boy named Liam. He lives in a dreary town without a plant to speak of. No trees, no flowers, nothing but cement and smog. One day Liam happens upon a staircase which leads to the abandoned railroad tracks. What our hero discovers there changes his life. He finds plants. It’s not much – some sad looking grass and a few flowers on their deathbeds, but Liam decides to nurse them back to health. As they get better, the vegetation begins to spread, and soon other folks begin to follow Liam’s lead. After a while the town, once dingy and gray, is transformed.

curgarden1

While Peter did a great job adding me to the story, his acrylic and gouache illustrations really steal the show. The man is a master of perspective, always choosing the right angle to add life to the story. The beating heart of this book is right in the middle. Two wordless two-page spreads show the amazing growth of Liam’s garden. In fact, the illustrations are such that this book would function pretty well were it completely wordless.

While I, Mr. Message, would love to take sole credit for the success of The Curious Garden, more praise should go to Mr. Brown, who created beautiful images, tamed my preachy side, and crafted a lovely story.

Also reviewed by Kiss the Book.

Find this book at your local library with WorldCat.

(“Mr. Message” Image: ‘envelope‘
www.flickr.com/photos/98624608@N00/75699271)

Filed under: *Best New Books*, Reviews

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About Travis Jonker

Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Karen says

    April 10, 2009 at 7:34 am

    Love the idea of “Mr. Message”!
    Better yet, this book sounds like one worth perusing!
    Thanks for the rec.

  2. Lynn Rutan says

    April 11, 2009 at 8:05 am

    Great review – “Mr. Message” is the perfect way to talk about this issue. I confess I’ve been avoiding this due to the feeling that Mr. Message was center-stage. Now I have to go read this!

Trackbacks

  1. Sunday Link Du Jour: Bought Books « 100 Scope Notes says:
    May 31, 2009 at 3:06 am

    […] making their way into the top five. The Curious Garden makes an appearance, which I approve of (100 Scope Notes Review), and Gallop! (100 Scope Notes Review) continues to make itself comfortable, kicking its feet up on […]

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