Gwendolyn's Pet Garden

Description

A unique solution is found when a little girl dreams of getting a pet. Gwendolyn longs for a pet. What kind? Any kind! How many legs? Two, four, ten--she's not picky! But her parents have other ideas, and instead they give her . . . a box of dirt. "It smells of swamp," Gwendolyn says--but her parents say it smells of possibilities. And once Gwendolyn gets savvy about seeds and soil, sun and shade, she finds they are right. The dirt starts performing some amazing tricks, and soon she has a whole pet garden of her very own--it might not have "any legs at all, but it was alive, and Gwendolyn could talk to it, care for it, and watch it grow." Dynamic illustrations full of funny details show the love Gwendolyn puts into caring for her "pet," and her enthusiasm and pride are sure to inspire gardeners and aspiring gardeners alike.

Anne Renaud is the author of fifteen children's books, including Mr. Crum's Potato Predicament, which was a Bank Street Best Book and an Ontario Library Association best book. Her nonfiction titles include The Extraordinary Life of Anna Swan (nominated for the Quebec Writers Federation Prize for Children, the Silver Birch Award, and the Rocky Mountain Book Award) and Fania's Heart (winner of the Canadian Jewish Literary Award). Her poems, articles, tales, and craft projects appear regularly in children's magazines. She lives in Westmount, Quebec, Canada.

"Gwendolyn's ebullience and can-do spirit spring from a jaunty text that is well-matched by the mixed-media illustrations. The bendy bodies, surprised hair, and ski-slope-shaped noses of her parents will bring smiles, as will the concentration and glee captured in Gwendolyn's facial expressions and body language. A final page gives fun suggestions for creating a garden of one's own (pizza garden, anyone?) and explains how seed libraries work. Die-hard pet lovers may wish for a different outcome but will appreciate how Gwendolyn makes the most of disappointment in this appealing and spirited book."-School Library Journal "Gwendolyn launches a new pastime engendering self-education, patience, and delight. . . . Renaud appealingly conveys the parents' wryness and daughter's enthusiasm. . . . Kheiriyeh's collages capture Gwendolyn's bouncy exuberance and present the plants in oversized, stylized fashion. . . . Another sturdy upstart in a perennially popular genre."-Kirkus Reviews