Today I read Gwendolyn’s Pet Garden by Anne Renaud.

From School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 3—Although it is Gwendolyn's dearest wish, her parents refuse to let her have a pet. Not a cockatoo, not a gerbil, not even a shrimp. However, since Gwendolyn is so eager to have something to care for, her parents do give her a wooden box—full of dirt. Gwendolyn's displeasure doesn't last once she's read up on gardening, and after a librarian offers her free seeds from the seed library. Patient and attentive, she names her marigolds, zucchini, and herbs, and observes garden magic. At last she has something of her own to talk to, care for, and watch grow. Gwendolyn's ebullience and can-do spirit spring from a jaunty text that is well-matched by the mixed-media illustrations. The bendy bodies, surprised hair, and ski-slope-shaped noses of her parents will bring smiles, as will the concentration and glee captured in Gwendolyn's facial expressions and body language. A final page gives fun suggestions for creating a garden of one's own (pizza garden, anyone?) and explains how seed libraries work. VERDICT Die-hard pet lovers may wish for a different outcome but will appreciate how Gwendolyn makes the most of disappointment in this appealing and spirited book.—Jan Aldrich Solow, formerly Fairfax County Public Sch., VA

Review

“Gwendolyn’s ebullience and can-do spirit spring from a jaunty text that is well-matched by the mixed-media illustrations. The bendy bodies, surprised hair, and ski-slope-shaped noses of her parents will bring smiles, as will the concentration and glee captured in Gwendolyn’s facial expressions and body language. A final page gives fun suggestions for creating a garden of one’s own (pizza garden, anyone?) and explains how seed libraries work. Die-hard pet lovers may wish for a different outcome but will appreciate how Gwendolyn makes the most of disappointment in this appealing and spirited book.”—School Library Journal

About the Author

Anne Renaud is the author of fifteen children's books, including Mr. Crum's Potato Predicament, which was a Bank Street Best Book and an Ontario Library Association best book. Her nonfiction titles include The Extraordinary Life of Anna Swan (nominated for the Quebec Writers Federation Prize for Children, the Silver Birch Award, and the Rocky Mountain Book Award) and Fania's Heart (winner of the Canadian Jewish Literary Award). Her poems, articles, tales, and craft projects appear regularly in children's magazines. She lives in Westmount, Quebec, Canada.

Rashin Kheiriyeh is an award-winning illustrator, author, animator, and painter who has published over eighty children's books in more than a dozen countries. She has received fifty national and international awards, including the Sendak Fellowship Award, the Bologna Book Fair New Horizon Award, the Golden Apple Award (Slovakia), and the FAJR Film Festival's Crystal Roc Award (Iran). She has a Doctorate in illustration and a BFA and an MFA in graphic design. She's the artist for Sugarland (Shekarestan), the most popular animated TV series in Iran, and is also a lecturer in the art department of the University of Maryland. Some of her clients include the New York Times, Google, Kennedy Center, and Stanford University. She was born in Iran, and now lives in Washington DC.

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