(1) PS Illustrated by Zachariah OHora. As the sun sets over a rooftop community garden, it's time for the garden's vegetables to get some rest. "Turnips tucked in tightly. / Potatoes closing eyes. / Tuckered-out tomatoes / humming lullabies." In OHora's sweet and funny acrylic art, all the veggies have endearing facial expressions (even the tiniest peas and baby carrots). The (intentional) sleepiness of the book's action is balanced by the presence of a lively earthworm in a baseball cap who swoops through the color-saturated double-page spreads, athletically looping through tunnels and popping up occasionally to check out the dozing garden denizens. The childlike approach, appealing art, and relatable worm character are enough to connect story and audience, but at book's end the text makes the connection even more overtly: "Every veggie's snoozing, / beneath the moon so bright, / for nothing's more exhausting / than growing day and night." The accompanying illustration shows sleeping radishes just below the earth's surface and the earthworm further underground in its own snug home, all tucked up in its looooooong narrow bed, its single sneaker left by the entrance.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2020

(2) 4-6 After his grandmother's fall derails the family's summer plans, eleven-year-old Ware's parents sign him up for the town's summer rec program. Ware, who loves medieval history and knights and chivalry, would just as soon spend his days alone; but then he meets a girl named Jolene outside the half-demolished church by the community center. Although she's prickly and independent (and way tougher than he is), Ware realizes that she could use a friend. As her backstory slowly reveals, Jolene has lived with her abusive, alcoholic aunt since her mother abandoned her as a toddler. Now, with the church land on which Jolene's income-producing garden sits about to be sold to developers, Ware comes up with an offbeat plan. With Jolene's help, and the promise of assistance from a city counselor's daughter (herself concerned with the proposed development's detrimental effect on bird migration), he begins to dig a moat around what's left of the church. Along the way, he confronts his parents about secrets they've kept and an overheard comment ("Why can't we have a normal kid?") while blossoming into his identity as an artist. The occasional disbelief-suspension required by Pennypacker's story line is grounded by her characters' multidimensionality and by Jolene's wry outlook--"I keep forgetting! We're in Magic Fairness Land!...Oh, no, darn. Still here in the real world."

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2020

(4) 1-3 Pug Pals series. While their human is away, pugs Sunny and Rosy "vacation" at their human grandparents' house where they enjoy special snacks and the spacious yard. When Grandma accuses the (innocent) two of ruining her garden, an investigation reveals a friendly but clueless groundhog is the culprit. Abundant black-and-white illustrations adorn every spread of this cozy (if slight) mystery.

Reviewer: Pam Yosca

(2) K-3 Castrillón presents an almost-wordless story of a child uprooted by a family move from the countryside to the city and the growth in self, surroundings, and community that results. Lonely but hopeful, the protagonist tends seeds on the apartment balcony. Eventually, the neighborhood turns into an urban gardener's paradise, community members connect, and a flower shop opens downstairs. Circle motifs throughout support the themes of beginnings and endings, cycles and growth.

Reviewer: Elisa Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2019

(2) PS Translated by David Boyd. Twins Chirri and Chirra explore new territory in their fourth gentle adventure available in English. Creatures have tunneled into the basement of their cozy cottage, so the girls hop on their bikes and follow the mysterious intruders (revealed to be badger youngsters) into the tunnel. Doi has created a compelling story with almost no tension, relying on intriguing world-building. Glowing, soft-edged pictures repay a leisurely search for details.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2019

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Anne Villeneuve. A boy spending the summer with his aunt while his mother recovers from surgery makes a new friend by inviting a neighborhood kid to join him in throwing some mysterious dirt balls into an empty lot. This easygoing story about how gardens can foster community is illustrated with ink and watercolor art that, like a flower, lends grace to the urban landscape.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Marianne Ferrer. During a visit to her grandmother, young Arianne adventures through time and space in the garden--flying with dragonflies, swimming with fish, and catching a star with her butterfly net. Ferrer's soft, otherworldly illustrations, which play with size, shape, and perspective, pull the reader through Arianne's apparent dream. The book would work better if wordless; the few words are unnecessary and feel like an afterthought.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(2) K-3 In preparation for Cat County's Great Pumpkin Contest, cat Mimi produces one giant pumpkin, while cat Clara grows many beautiful little ones. Ultimately, this mellow autumn tale's straightforward text conveys that kindness and teamwork yield the best fruit of all. Playful pastel-toned, mixed-media illustrations reward viewers with literary and feline references ("I Want My Cat Back"; "The Power of Meow").

Reviewer: Katie Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2019

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Genevieve Simms. Mayumi's grandfather, who lives "halfway around the world" in Japan, builds a stone and gravel garden that the two can enjoy when she visits each summer. Simms's watercolor illustrations in soft, earthy tones show Mayumi and Ojiichan growing older--until eventually Ojiichan can no longer live alone and must leave the garden. Uegaki presents a quiet look at traditions, change, and the special relationship between grandparents and children. Glos.

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2019

(3) 4-6 Archer and Craig provide an overview of different plant food sources (including roots, leaves, flowers, and stems) and then, with an emphasis on the process, explain how to grow and cook them yourself. Readers are encouraged to try new foods and techniques with sixteen colorful fruits and vegetables. Novel recipes include chocolate beet cake and zucchini and polenta fries. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo

(2) K-3 MacKenzie, teased for her "always a mess" hair, turns to neighbor Miss Tillie for help. The story strikes an effective balance between Miss Tillie encouraging self-confidence and explaining step-by-step self-improvement to MacKenzie. While many skin tones are represented in the soft acrylic illustrations, MacKenzie and Miss Tillie share a deep ebony color, contrasted with bright blues, greens, and reds in the patterns and backgrounds.

Reviewer: Eboni Njoku | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2018

(3) 1-3 Translated by Karen Li. Translated from French, this graphic novel for newly independent readers features tiny human Poppy and tiny panda Sam, who live together in a hollowed-out pumpkin in a garden of anthropomorphized plants and flowers. Their solution to the mystery of Basil's leaf nibbler also communicates a lesson in consent ("Everything tastes better when it's freely offered"). The book achieves accessibility through cute illustrations, large panels, and clear text.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Rashin Kheiriyeh. Arlo accidentally drops a book onto the mayor's head. The mayor retorts, "Books are dangerous...they act like seeds, which grow into ideas, and ideas turn into questions." Books get destroyed and the town suffers until Arlo's stories sprout a burgeoning book tree that inspires others to become book gardeners. The allegorical tale's striking mixed-media illustrations feature lots of books in many different languages.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) K-3 Gibbons's signature labeled ink, watercolor, and colored-pencil illustrations are as striking as ever. The spare text introduces flowers' many forms, environments, and life cycles as well as information about flower propagation. Final pages describe creating a flower garden and the many ways to enjoy flowers (cut, potted, etc.); "Flower Facts" are also appended.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Karen Reczuch. A young boy visits a man-made turtle pond inside a public garden during the four seasons of the year, observing the red-eared sliders and speculating about their behavior and activities. The graphite-pencil and watercolor illustrations bring readers up-close to the turtles in this unique habitat alongside humans. An author's note adds context to the picture book's spare, lyrical text.

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler

(2) 4-6 We catch up with the biracial family from The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street in summertime. After an emergency sends elderly neighbor Mr. Jeet to the hospital, the children decide to make a community garden as a surprise for him. While mentions of cellphones and Minecraft set the book solidly in the present, the independence of the children and the goodness and support of their Harlem community provide a timeless sensibility.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2018

(3) 4-6 After her stealing compulsion lands twelve-year-old Hush in the Sass, Georgia, sheriff's office, she's offered a second chance working at a plant nursery. Bolstered by a good friend, a compassionate community of quirky characters, and the discovery of her own ability to help others, Hush flourishes. Harkey softens a story of neglect and poverty with a resilient protagonist, distinct voices, and a touch of magical realism.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) PS Brown-skinned Errol dreams about a garden of his own. When he discovers the unused rooftop of his apartment building, an idea sprouts: Errol invites his fellow neighbors to join him in planting and growing a garden. While the story is told in very simple text, it's much enriched by the illustrations, which celebrate a diverse and inclusive group of people gathering to create a thriving garden--and community.

Reviewer: Monique Harris

(3) K-3 Dive into Reading series. Illustrated by Shirley Ng-Benitez. Garden finds Lily and friends helping out at the public garden. In Gift, Mei doesn't know what to get her baby brother for his traditional one-hundred days celebration. The small conflicts and friendly city setting, shown in cheery watercolor and digital illustrations, support the easy-reader series' mission to "inspire young readers to imagine a diverse world...in which they can see themselves as the heroes of their own stories." Review covers these Dive into Reading titles: The Garden and The Perfect Gift.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) K-3 Evan (an anthropomorphized fox) and his dog enjoy doing everything together, especially working in Evan's garden. Lies's lush acrylic, oil, and colored-pencil illustrations with delicate line work evoke the magnificence of Evan's garden, then his intense sadness and isolation after his beloved dog dies. This tender story of loss, hope, and recovery comes full circle when Evan hesitantly returns to gardening--and gets a new puppy, to boot.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty