HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

A girl discovers that both planted seeds and weeds have their places in a garden in this debut illustrated children’s book.

Beginning with the old nursery rhyme about contrary Mary, Bird describes the frustrations of a girl who wears overalls, sports red braids, and deals with weeds taking over her garden. An adult with matching features (freckled pale skin and red hair) and a wide-brimmed hat tries to convince the girl that the weeds aren’t so bad: “Mary, Mary, please don’t worry / Your garden needs more space. / Can you think of something, / So they all have a place?” After the adult extols the virtues of the weeds, Mary reworks her garden (and her attitude) so that all of the plants have room to grow. The author’s rhymes begin with the pattern of the original nursery rhyme (with a longer third line and extra inset rhymes). But they shift to a more standard stanza, with alternate or paired lines providing the rhyme. The occasional use of British spellings (colours) and advanced vocabulary words (debut, taboo, adieu, and nutrients) may stymie newly independent American readers. A lengthy guide in the back describes folk remedies and the merits of common weeds, many of which are species brought to North America from Europe. Mentions of Irish, Scottish, and English origins offer specific geographic traditions while the general use of Native American implies a single, past culture rather than a rich variety of living traditions. The uncredited mixed-media illustrations feature cartoon humans against a background of realistically painted plants and settings. The flower images, especially in the end pages, are worthy of a field guide while the cartoon drawings of the humans are rough. Mary has a potatolike nose covered in dirt and her eyes are disproportionately oversized. Still, lap readers may enjoy spotting the bee and the snail hidden in every picture.

This tale about weeds delivers a valuable message but uneven rhymes and images.