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MY BACKYARD GARDEN

Name: MY BACKYARD GARDEN
Author: Carol Lerner
ISBN: 0-688-14755-0

by Carol Lerner & illustrated by Carol Lerner ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1998

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An aesthetically pleasing year-round guide to gardening; Lerner (Backyard Birds of Summer, 1996, etc.) takes a well-organized, sensible approach to growing. The first half of the book covers aspects of organic gardening, beginning with choosing a site, formulating a plan for preparing the ground, testing the soil, composting, and combating unwelcome pests. Sample spring and summer layouts are presented in diagrams of “Paul’s” garden and “Lori’s” garden, to demonstrate possibilities for gardens of differing sizes as well as the inclusion of cool and warm weather crops. The progress of each fictitious garden is then tracked through the months. The latter half of the book addresses monthly stages of gardening from March through October; frost charts and insets show how to identify seedlings, weeds, and pests, with instructions for what to plant when, from the first onion to the last pumpkin. Helpful tips sprout up in context, e.g., about using soap and human hair to discourage deer and placing powdered milk in a jar with seed packets to prolong their life span. The narrative, more useful as an overview than as a handbook, is laced with delicate watercolor illustrations that are as ornamental as they are instructive. A handsome atlas for the more intent diggers of dirt. (maps, charts, diagrams, index) (Nonfiction. 7-12)

Pub Date: March 1, 1998

ISBN: 0-688-14755-0

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1998

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
BUTTERFLIES IN THE GARDEN
by Carol Lerner & illustrated by Carol Lerner

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE WING
by Carol Lerner & illustrated by Carol Lerner

- BOOK REVIEW
BACKYARD BIRDS OF SUMMER
by Carol Lerner

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FRINDLE

by Andrew Clements & illustrated by Brian Selznick ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1996

With comically realistic black-and-white illustrations by Selznick (The Robot King, 1995, etc.), this is a captivating...

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Nicholas is a bright boy who likes to make trouble at school, creatively.

When he decides to torment his fifth-grade English teacher, Mrs. Granger (who is just as smart as he is), by getting everyone in the class to replace the word "pen'' with "frindle,'' he unleashes a series of events that rapidly spins out of control. If there's any justice in the world, Clements (Temple Cat, 1995, etc.) may have something of a classic on his hands. By turns amusing and adroit, this first novel is also utterly satisfying. The chess-like sparring between the gifted Nicholas and his crafty teacher is enthralling, while Mrs. Granger is that rarest of the breed: a teacher the children fear and complain about for the school year, and love and respect forever after.

With comically realistic black-and-white illustrations by Selznick (The Robot King, 1995, etc.), this is a captivating tale—one to press upon children, and one they'll be passing among themselves. (Fiction. 8-12)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1996

ISBN: 0-689-80669-8

Page Count: 105

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1996

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
THE FRIENDSHIP WAR
by Andrew Clements

- BOOK REVIEW
THE LOSERS CLUB
by Andrew Clements

- BOOK REVIEW
ABOUT AVERAGE
by Andrew Clements & illustrated by Mark Elliott

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RIVER STORY

by Meredith Hooper & illustrated by Bee Willey ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2000

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Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)