The Gardener: (Caldecott Honor Book)

It’s 1935, and Lydia Grace is living in the country with her parents and grandmother. Everybody is out of work and the decision has been made to send her to the city to live with her Uncle Jim until things get better. Lydia loves to garden with her grandmother and is concerned that this will be difficult in the city.This book has so many wonderful qualities it’s difficult to know where to begin. Told entirely through letters, first to Uncle Jim about coming to live with him, and then to her mother and grandmother about her life in the city. This unique quality of narration serves its purpose well as her letters radiate her sunny disposition and determination in the face of a very difficult time. Her determination is part of each and every letter to her family about her life in the city during the Depression.This book would get 10 stars from this reviewer if that was an option.

I adore this book. I discovered it years ago when I was a college student and the family I was babysitting had it, and I got to read it to their kids at night. I thought it was so sweet, so it was one of the first books I bought to put in my kindergarten classroom the next year. And then, more recently, I bought a new copy when I was pregnant and planning for my little girl’s nursery. While it was a little harder for my young students to follow as a class {though some still really enjoyed it} and one that my one year old might not understand for awhile, I still absolutely love it. The pictures are beautiful, and the story is so touching. It will forever be a favorite of mine!

This book is written as a series ofLetters between a kid and their uncle who grows a garden. Awesome book with a cool text structure of back and forth correspondence that carries the information.

I bought this book for my children many years ago and we all enjoyed it. As I've gotten older and become a bit of a gardener myself it's become my favourite children's book so I thought I'd treat myself to my own copy. My children especially liked the part where I teared up, you'll know the part when you get the book. They thought that was hysterical and would ask me to read it again. This book is beautifully written and illustrated. My children and I also greatly appreciated another book of hers called "The Money Tree". I read it this week to my kindergarten class since we are doing a unit on plants and growing and they greatly liked it and followed it quite well. They also enjoyed "The Money Tree" which I read to them last month. They are both definitely keepers.

I read this book to my second and third graders. We spent a month on it studying the story structure and learning vocabulary from the story. It was delightful. We loved Lydia Grace and became gardeners ourselves. A very sweet story about a girl whose family has fallen on hard times.

Such a great story! It’s a wonderful mentor text.

The Gardener is an exquisite picture book in the best sense: none of the printed words are needed to tell the story. But Sarah Stewart's choice of wording adds a layer of complex sweetness to David Smalls' incredibly nuanced scenes of life for a country girl sent to live with her grouchy city uncle in 1935. My own father was sent away from his family's farm to abide with a more well-to-do couple and their kids during the Great Depression, and this book really helped his grandchildren to understand that time in our history.Lydia Grace Finch's letters home tell her story, and her love of gardening infuses her every action so naturally that one comes away inspired by this girl. If you seek a book that will make your young ones feel empowered by their natural instinct to dig in the dirt, this is it. I want to carry my love of plants with me like Lydia Grace. I want to rise to the occasion like Lydia Grace. I want to create a garden like Lydia Grace. I can never read this without tears of I don't know what welling up---it really is that beautiful of a story and of a picture book. There is transformative power in emotion, perhaps, but The Gardener certainly succeeds as a tale of the transformative power of gardening. Not for children only...although it is my gift of choice for newborns!

This is a heartwarming story told through letters between a resilient young girl and her family, from whom she is separated temporarily during the depression. She is a true gardener and is sustained by gardening, as well as by her optimistic attitude and compassion for others. She makes an impact on those around her and on the reader as well. My granchildren (3 through 7) and I have read this book together many times and never tire of the beautiful story. We first borrowed it from the library and then purchased our own copy.

Lovely colourful book! Such love Sarah Stewart books with David Small's sweet drawings!! Cheering up the heartNice safe fast delivery

Good book for 6-7 year old

Super story about how one small person can have a greater influence than she might think.Good for letter writing if you're teaching!

Love this book - and I am not young :) Beautiful story and lovely illustrations.

I don't know why amazon uses intelcom because they are horrid.They don't arrive in time and they aren't caring with your goods.The book is sure to become a classic- great for the outdoorsy. You will not regret adding it to your family library.