ANNA'S GARDEN SONGS

by Mary Q. Steele ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 20, 1989

An odd, charming blend of fantasy, poetry, and garden lore--the result of a collaboration between Newbery Honor winner (for Journey Outside) Steele and a well-known Swedish author-illustraTor (Linnea in Monet's Garden), who wrote the original Swedish text for this book. In her captivating illustrations, Anderson plays freely with size: Anna, a cheerful, sturdy blonde child, is first seen peeking out of one of a row of heroically large, translucent peapods, and next sharing one of them--as a boat--with her rabbit (who is almost as large as she is). The table of contents reads like a seed order: beet, potato, rhubarb, etc; each item is given a double spread with a poem, along with pictures of Anna planting, growing, and harvesting her larger-than-life crop. Anna appears dressed in huge lettuce leaves, and an occasional vegetable is personified: e.g., a leek wears glasses and an apron. Anderson not only conveys the essence of these homely plants but also makes her illustrations admirably accurate (with the possible exception of a cabbage butterfly). The verse, an adequate accompaniment, is amusing in context, though perhaps too slight to stand on its own. Lighthearted and imaginative.

Pub Date: March 20, 1989

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Greenwillow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1989

Categories: CHILDREN'S