Review: Millie Fleur's Poison Garden

By Christy Mandin

New York: Orchard Books, 2024. Picture Book.

The town of Garden Glen is "a picture-perfect place," which means that everything is lovely, perfect, and exactly the same. Except for the the decrepit old house on the edge of town where no one has lived for years. Until Millie Fleur La Fae and her mother move in. Millie loves her new house, but it's missing one thing. Millie Fleur sets to work planting a wicked and wonderfully wild garden filled with plants like "sore toothwart," and "grumpy gillyflower." And though the uptight town elders deride her garden as "poisonous," the other kids in town start to show interest -- which eventually trickles into the other gardens in town.

This is a simple and sweet picture book that would be so fun to share with children during spooky season. The illustrations are charming and Tim Burton-esque, with a protagonist who resembles Wednesday Addams, yet the pictures still feel original. Children will love to study the illustrations with each re-reading. A bonus is an author's note at the end that explains the author was inspired by a real life Poison Garden.

Comments

Painting for Peace in Ferguson

Painting for Peace in Ferguson By Carol Swartout Klein Treehouse Publishing Group, 2015. Nonfiction. When the city of Ferguson was overrun with so much hate and despair that homes and businesses had to be boarded up to protect property, citizens of the community decided to bring a message of hope by painting the boarded windows. Klein’s rhyming text supports the photographs of the hundreds of artists and volunteers and their artwork as they bring the messages of peace, hope, love, and that by being united they can make a difference. A great book to show children how a community rallied to make a positive change and that even a small gesture can make a huge difference. A great discussion opener on how we should treat each other.

Dragon Run

Dragon Run by Patrick Matthews Scholastic, 2013. 336 pgs. Fantasy Al Pilgrommor is excited for Testing Day, when he will receive his rank, a tattooed number on the back of his neck, and a path forward to his future occupation and life. He feels confident because his parents were fours on a scale of seven, but he is worried for his friend Wisp who doesn't have much of a chance of scoring above a two at best. But when Al is scored a zero, he not only has no prospects, he may lose his life as the dreaded Cullers are unleashed to kill him and his family to purify the land's bloodlines. Al's world is ruled by dragons--the lords and supposed creators of humankind--so he thinks that even if he survives, he will have to make his living as a beggar or thief. But when Al sticks up for his Earther friend in front of Magister Ludi, he is drawn into the struggle of a secret organization hoping to destroy the Cullers, and perhaps the dragons them...

De la hora del cuento: Semana 8 de verano

Cuentos Quizás algo hermoso Escrito por F. Isabel Campoy y Theresa Howell Ilustrado por Rafael López Boston ; New York : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018. Libro ilustrado. "Viendo lo que Mira y sus vecinos descubren, ¡más de lo que nunca pudo imaginarse! Basado en una historia real, "Quizás algo hermoso" nos revela cómo el arte puede inspirar la transformación -- y cómo incluso la más pequeña artista puede llegar a conseguir algo grande. ¡Toma un pincel y únete a la celebración!" --Editor Cuentitos ¿Dónde estás, Cerdito? Por Margarita Del Mazo y Laure du Fay Madrid, Spain: NubeOcho, 2021. Pequeño libro ilustrado. "¿Alguien ve un cerdito por aquí? ¡Shhh! Creo que está en el árbol ..." --Editor

Provo Library Children's Book Blog

Search This Blog