It’s a perfect Perfect Picture Book Friday, and I hope everyone has been enjoying the kind of perfect beautiful spring weather we’ve been having on Blueberry Hill this week! It makes the heart sing! 😊
Before we get to today’s Perfect Picture Book, I’d like to announce that the lucky winner of the giveaway copy of last week’s Perfect Picture Book, LISTENING TO THE STARS, is Carole Calladine! Congratulations, Carole! I know you’ll love Jodie’s wonderful book! Please contact me and let me know your snail mail address so the publisher can send you your book!
Spring has sprung, so today I have a delightful rhyming picture book about nature and gardening, just perfect for picture book aged gardeners and their families at this time of year!
Title: In A Garden
Written By: Tim McCanna
Illustrated By: Aimee Sicuro
Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, February 2020, fact-based fiction
Suitable For Ages: 4-8
Themes/Topics: gardening, nature, community garden, seasonal cycle
Opening: “In a garden
on a hill
sparrows chirp
and crickets trill.”
Brief Synopsis: In a community garden surrounded by apartment buildings, life is busy as seeds sprout, plants and flowers grow, and a wide variety of insect and animal life flourish.
Links To Resources: the book itself is a resource, detailing the wonder of life and growth in a garden; the end of the book includes back matter about how a garden grows, cool facts about ecosystems and the mutually beneficial interaction between plants and insects; grow a seed in a cup on your windowsill, or plant a little garden of your own and watch nature in action!
Why I Like This Book: written in Tim McCanna’s spot-on, lively, such fun to read-aloud rhyme, this delightful book will make anyone want to try growing something 😊 I love that it is set in a community garden in the city, encouraging all kids to experiment with gardening, not just those who live in the country. The garden cycles through the seasons – a robin digging for worms in spring, summer fireflies, cool autumn breezes, and a blanket of snow – showing how life goes around and around. The illustrations are colorful and appealing and show a wide variety of insects, animals, plants, and children. All in all a lovely book!
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 😊
For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.
PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific blog links (and any other info you feel like filling out 😊) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! 😊
Susanna Leonard Hill 
Susanna, I love this book. Tim McCanna’s one of my favorite authors and this one looks amazing. I hadn’t seen it last year. Thank you for featuring it! I think my #PPBF book will make a wonderful complement with rain and a garden, too.
This book looks lovely, Susanna! I especially appreciate that this story features an urban setting – gardening truly is possible anywhere, as the peas and morning glories sprouting on my tiny balcony attest. Enjoy the glorious springtime weather!
I love Tim McCanna. Anything to do with a garden and I’m hooked. Thanks for sharing this!
What a PERFECT book for the season. And I love Tim’s books. So I can’t believe I overlooked this one!
Hi Susanna, I’m away from home without my passwords. I enjoyed Perfect Picture Book Friday book! Here’s my response: Tim’s books are wonderful and this is no less!! Thank you, Susannah, for bringing this one to our attention. Let the robins sing:) Here’s my book recommendation: A Mother for Choco by Keiko Kasza. Putnam 1992 Adoption Nature Birds
Have a great weekend!
Cheers, Phyllis
Also, here’s my book recommendation:
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I love garden and nature books! Thanks, Susanna!
This looks like a new gem! I love the concept, rhythmic text, and illustrations! Thanks for bringing In a Garden to my attention.
Susanna, You plucked a perfect book for me to read during our up-and-down, springtide weather in Kansas. Scanning the sample pages of Tim’s lyrical rhyme gave me goosebumps. So simply beautiful, alive and fun. I’m asking our library to order a copy for our community. Our diverse population will be inspired by the story and hopefully, grow gardens of their own. Thank you for applauding such a stellar book. Sending you seeds for your own inspiration….
Tim McCanna’s books are all such fun to read. Thanks for giving me a new one to check out!
If it’s by Tim McCanna, I know I’m going to love the rhyme! A perfect springtime read!
Tim McCanna is a rhyme master. He has such a distinctive voice that permeates all of his work. And these beautiful illustrations match his rhyme. Great pick!
I love the artwork in this book as it appeals to a child’s natural curiosity about planting flowers, and vegetables in a garden. It was my favorite time of year as a child — still is and I have many fond memories of being given my own plot to plant whatever I wanted to plant. This is a perfect spring share and also relates to Earth Day. Thanks for sharing. Perfect for a grandchild.
Susanna, you chose a perfect book to balance our feelings as Spring touches all our senses.
Tim McCanna is such a delightful writer and such a fun person to listen to.
I am so thrilled that the choice was an urban garden. So many kids are totally surrounded by concrete. Wonderful words and such delightful illustrations.
What a delightful book. I love books that encourage children (and adults) to take an intererst in nature and the world around them. Gardening opens up a whole new perspective.