THE GARDENER

A child decides to read a story in this picture book.

The young narrator opens this tale explaining that no one wants to play and there’s nothing to do, so “I’d rather read with you. Is that okay?” As the narrator continues, different fantasies spring to life in rhyming phrases, starting with the adventures of brave princesses, knights, and ogres and moving into SF and spaceships. Talking animals, including the stuffy Professor Igneous Rhinoceros, fill the pages, and the story soon turns to the pictured children convincing the professor that anyone can daydream. In the concluding pages, the tale diverges again, saying that the professor and the diverse kids with various skin tones who appear in the illustrations aren’t the stars of the story: “Is it ME this book is REALLY about?” Using the metaphor that the imagination is a seed and readers are the gardeners, Stanton delights in the imaginary, dancing between fantastic genres with ease. The longer phrases and fun vocabulary words (mathematician, buckaroo, buccaneers) will delight confident independent readers while the scansion and stanzas make the book a good choice for reading aloud. Pantuso, who partnered with Stanton for Beast Bot (2020), paints pictures that are as whimsical as the poetry, adding floating islands, a bearded T. rex with a monocle, and a surprising fisherman’s catch that should have readers giggling.

An inspiring tale for kids who embrace their imaginations.