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Eleven-year-old Maria de la Cruz has a big secret—she can communicate with the dead. Most frequently with a ghost named Edward, her best and only friend. But as Edward begins sending her clues about an extraordinary bookish mystery, will she be able to use her powers to unlock the secrets? More importantly, can she find true friendship? Don’t miss this heartwarming mystery, perfect for fans of The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street and Book Scavenger.
Hi Kid Lit Friends,
It’s the height of summer, and my little NYC container garden is exploding with color. Gardening is something my 10-year-old daughter has taken great interest in this summer, and everyday she runs out into our building courtyard and examines all the little changes among our plants. The Mexican sour gherkin has attached itself to a nearby bush! The sunflowers are blooming! The lettuce is getting flowers!
There are many lovely picture books about gardens. The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver by Gene Barretta, illustrated by Frank Morrison, follows the life person who was born into slavery and later became a celebrated botanist, scientist, and inventor. When he was a young child, George Washington Carver had a secret: a garden of his own where he studied his plants, trimmed flowers, and studied life cycles. His passion and determination are the seeds to this lasting story about triumph over hardship—a tale that begins in a secret garden.
Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal, is a terrific picture book that follows a young girl and her grandmother as they journey through a year of planning, planting, and harvesting their garden. Up in the garden, the world is full of green—leaves and sprouts, growing vegetables, ripening fruit. But down in the dirt exists a busy world—earthworms dig, snakes hunt, skunks burrow—populated by all the animals that make a garden their home.
In My Garden is a new book by Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by Philip Stead. Like Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt, the story follows a young girl and her older companion. Together they watch birds, fly a kite, plant flowers, and play in the snow, watching flowers bloom and leaves fall as the year passes. Philip Stead’s beautiful illustrations are lovingly paired with Charlotte Zolotow’s luminous story, and I am a big fan of this remixed classic!
The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin is a funny and tender story about a Chinese-American girl who wishes for a garden of bright flowers instead of one full of bumpy, ugly, vegetables. Nevertheless, her mother assures her that “these are better than flowers.” And when it’s time to harvest, her mother creates a delicious soup to share with all the neighbors and the young gardener learns that regardless of appearances, everything has its own beauty and purpose.
Flowers are Calling by Rita Gray, illustrated by Kenard Pak is a beautifully illustrated picture book that tells about the pollinators who feast on the flowers’ nectar. In rhyming poetic form and with luminous artwork, this book shows us the marvel of natural cooperation between plants, animals, and insects as they each play their part in the forest’s cycle of life.
What are you reading these days? Let me know! Find me on Twitter at @KarinaYanGlaser, on Instagram at @KarinaIsReadingAndWriting, or email me at KarinaBookRiot@gmail.com.
Until next time!
Karina
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