Planting the Wild Garden

by Kathryn O Galbraith (Author) Wendy Anderson Halperin (Illustrator)

Planting the Wild Garden
Reading Level: K − 1st Grade
An exploration of the different ways seeds are dispersed into the environment.
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Hardcover
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Kirkus

In this softly colored, richly detailed cogitation, Galbraith and Halperin explore the many ways seeds are transported and sown in nature. While in the first spread a “farmer and her boy” plant a tilled plot suggestive of springtime, ensuing pages primarily hone in on summer, as wind, rain, birds, the sun’s heat, fish in a stream and woodland mammals play supporting roles as scatterers. People help too: “Seeds travel on muddy boots. / Hitchhike on sweaters. Snag on socks. / And whoosh! Sail on a puff of breath.” Halperin divides double spreads, bordered in pale pink and dusty lavender, into scores of squares and rectangles, each holding a watercolor-and-pencil treasure—from barbed and winged seeds in flight, to a raccoon family’s moonlit blackberry feast. She generates a bit of drama in three spreads that follow a fox stalking a rabbit. Therein, a small quibble: While the text, focusing on the fox, reads “Seeds catch on her thick coat. / They hook onto her white-tipped tail and— / JUMP! / —fly off everywhere!”—the illustration shows the fox in the background and the fleeing rabbit as the one knocking the seeds about. There’s plenty to pore over and savor; this title would germinate nicely in primary classrooms and sow curiosity in one-on-one sharing. (bibliography) (Picture book. 4-8)

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

Most children know that domestic seeds are sown and cultivated by farmers, but how do wild plants grow and spread? In lighthearted prose punctuated with sound effects ("Per-chik-o-ree! Per-chik-o-ree!" cries a goldfinch) and enlivened with typographic curves and swoops, Galbraith (Arbor Day Square) explains that seeds from wild plants float in the wind, snap off plants, fall in the rain, and get carried--intentionally or unintentionally--by animals to new places where they sprout and thrive. "A family of raccoons feasts on blackberries.... When they amble home again, bits of berries and seeds go with them. Next spring, new prickly canes will pop up everywhere." Halperin's (My Father Is Taller Than a Tree) spreads are divided into contiguous panels tinted in the lightest of watercolors, with delicate pencil shading that conveys the force of wind and rain alike. Small natural dramas are writ large as she shows plants and seeds in tender closeups, the small panels complementing sweeping landscapes watered with rain, sparkling with stars, or glowing in the sunset--sometimes all at once. It's a thoroughly handsome book, suffused with calm. Ages 4-8. (Apr.)

Copyright 2011 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4--No one "plants" a wild garden, but this attractive book, with its simple, often lyrical text and watercolors full of motion, shows how wild seeds make it in an unplanned world. A flock of goldfinches "bobbles" among the thistle-heads, a fox-chased rabbit scatters cockleburs as she flees, and a child blows on a dandelion--all dispersing seeds across the landscape. Galbraith's gentle words remind readers that wind, water, birds, animals, and people plant the wild meadow--"All of us. Together"--while Halperin's soft watercolors in pastel shades of peach and lavender, tan and green show young wonderers how it all happens. A shade more identification of some seeds (or their development stages) would be helpful, but, from the elegant seed-full endpapers to the carefully selected font, this is a lovely introduction to the modes of seed dispersal evolved by some common meadow plants.--Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Kathryn O Galbraith
Kathryn O. Galbraith grew up in Michigan with four brothers and several pets. The award-winning author of seventeen books, she taught writing for children at the University of Washington for nine years and has spoken at conferences across the country. She lives in Washington.

Wendy Anderson Halperin was born in Illinois and attended Syracuse University, Pratt Institute, and the California College of Arts and Crafts. She is the illustrator of over twenty-five books and also created the award-winning project Drawing Children into Reading. She lives in Michigan.
Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9781561455638
Lexile Measure
490
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Peachtree Publishers
Publication date
April 05, 2011
Series
-
BISAC categories
JNF037030 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Science & Nature | Flowers & Plants
Library of Congress categories
Seeds
Dispersal
Parents Choice Awards (Spring) (2008-Up)
Gold Medal Winner 2011 - 2011
Cybils
Finalist 2011 - 2011
Georgia Children's Book Award
Nominee 2013 - 2013
Kentucky Bluegrass Award
Nominee 2013 - 2013
Delaware Diamonds Award
Nominee 2012 - 2013
Keystone to Reading Book Award
Nominee 2013 - 2013

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