PPBF: Isabella’s Garden and a WINNER

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Author: Glenda Milllard
Illustrator: Rebecca Cool
Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2009 (First US edition 2012)

  • Age: 3-7
  • Themes: gardening

Opening: This is the soil, all dark and deep, in Isabella’s garden. These are the seeds that sleep in the soil, all dark and deep, in Isabella’s garden.
Summary: (Provided by publisher) “In Isabella’s garden, amazing things come from the tiniest of seeds as they bloom and flourish and make way for a whole new season of growth.”

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Why I Like This Book: It’s bright, cheery illustrations have a fair-tale quality to them, enough to pick this off the shelf, but I was really attracted to the lyrical word play tip-toes on the tongue! Read this aloud: “But despite what the mantis begged of the moon, winter comes swiftly and silent and soon.” Note how the softness of the alliteration holds your hurry back and gently releases the words from your lips. Ahhhh!

Look at this fantastic resource/activity: coloring sheets from the artist! Or create a garden image collage from magazines or fabric scraps. What ever you do – read this ALOUD! I have been trying my hand at simulating another piece of book illustration recently, with a simple app on my tablet. I attempted a quick sketch from one of the pages in this book – sooo much harder than I though, but a lot of fun, especially with the colors.

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And now for the WINNER of my FIRST EVER GIVEAWAY:

Each name was scribbled in graphite, with great care, on precisely folded and torn paper (I didn’t go to art school for nothing!), yet no trees came to harm as I selected prime quality used hold slips from my very own stash! And now . . . *enough with the drumroll, Erik, I can hear it all the way over here!*

A signed copy of Mr. Tiger Goes Wild goes to…

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Thanks to all 40 participants! That was fun! I may just have to do it again – soon!

For more Perfect Picture Book Picks and teacher/parent resources, go to Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog – HERE 

30 thoughts on “PPBF: Isabella’s Garden and a WINNER”

  1. LOL – using more of your library hold slips for good purposes, I see! No trees were harmed…

    Love the SOUND of this book from your examples. Instantly thought of one of my kiddo’s favorite childhood readalouds: Alyssa Satin Capucilli’s INSIDE A BARN IN THE COUNTRY. It’s a rebus book with a marvelous thumpity-thumpity-thump rhythm. Will have to pull it out for a PPBF post!

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  2. Great story, Julie! I haven’t read this, but I will have to buy it for my library. I love books like this. Books that pull a child in with such velvety alliteration. Nice. 🙂 The activities are funtastic!

    Congrads Catherine! Hahaha, Erik. Julie, so glad your stash of hold slips helped in this endeavor.

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