The Gardener

 

Title- The Gardner
Author/Retold- Sarah Stewart 
Illustrated by David Small
Genre- Historical Fiction
Grade level- 1st - 5th Grade
Award- Caldecott Medal 

The book is filled with letters on page and illustrations on another. The story starts off with a letter from Lydia Grace to her Uncle telling that she will be living in the city with him. Her grandma sends seeds with Lydia Grace as she goes to the city. Lydia Grace goes to the big city and meets her uncle, he doesn’t smile much. Her uncle owns a bakery and there are garden boxes in the window for her to plant her seeds. Ed and Emma beech help her uncle in the bakery. She found out that there was a secret place and she turned that place into an amazing garden. Emma helps her to water and take care of the plants. The plants start to grow and neighbors are helping to give seeds and flowers, many people are starting to come to the bakery as well. She finally shows her uncle the secret place on July Fourth. The next week, her uncle brings up a big cake with frosting flowers all over it and it has a letter saying her father has found work and she is going home. The last illustration is of her uncle holding her tight as she is about to board the train. 

This is an amazing representation of the hardships and the rebound of the US in the Great Depression. I would use this book to introduce the topic of the Great Depression in my class. I thought that it was very unique for the author to make the story out of letters going from Lydia Grace to her parents and Grandmother. I would also use this book as an example for my students. 


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