Kevin Henkes
Greenwillow Books (2010)
ISBN 9780061715174
Reviewed by Madison (age 4) and Hailey (age 2) Schlarman and Mom for Reader Views (05/10)
“My Garden” is a story about a little girl who gardens with her mom, but dreams of her own garden and how she would want it to be. This very imaginative little girl grows flowers that change color and appear instantly once picked, chocolate rabbits that she gets to eat tomatoes as big as beach balls, a jelly bean bush, seashells and more! The illustrations are whimsical and spring like.
Madison: “Jelly beans, that’s funny. It was great, I liked all of it. The book was about the mom’s garden and the little girls’ garden. She has flowers, vegetables and a jelly bean tree! It was great; I wish I could grow a jelly bean tree.”
Hailey: “Ooh, pretty flowers” She sat still for the entire book and listened intently.
Mom: The story line of this book is very cute and imaginative. It took me a while to get my girls, mostly Madison, to sit and read it. Every time she saw the cover she said, “No thanks, I don’t like that book.” I eventually had to tell her we were going to read it because she couldn’t know if she liked the story when she had not heard it. I do however understand this. The cover of a book is the grabbing point for most readers, along with the title of course. If the cover does not catch your attention, you might not ever read the title, let alone the book. While we really enjoyed the storyline of this book, the illustrations lacked luster. They are whimsical but seem to fit the audience of an older reading group. I think this is why my children were not apt to read this book quickly. Overall, the story is cute, imaginative, funny and most definitely something a child would think about in regards to a garden! I enjoyed reading “My Garden” by Kevin Henkes with my girls and will enjoy it as part of our collection.
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