Review by Booklist Review
Ages 3-5. The strength of this alphabet book is in its horticultural appeal, thanks to Wolff's lively, well-designed color drawings. A fetching border collie, aided by a plump green-and-yellow frog, begins his garden in April ("A is for April--warm rains at hand. Bees begin buzzing. Gardens get planned") and continues throughout the year organizing, planting, cultivating, and harvesting. Each letter, defined by a rhymed couplet, introduces crops (kale, lettuce, onions, peas) and garden visitors (frogs, grasshoppers, inchworms, snails) as well as miscellaneous terms (boundary, hoe, munch, underground). Although the text is, at times, pedestrian, the sprightly canine and his amphibian friend make an amusing, hardworking pair. The clever drawings (two with cutaways of the soil showing activity both above and below ground) are peppered with captivating bunnies, mice, and bugs. The verdant plants and plump vegetables will be the envy of gardeners of all ages. This is not only a good selection for preschool story hours, but also a springboard for planting projects. ~--Deborah Abbott
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Rhythmic couplets and robust watercolors depict the 26-step planting and harvesting program of a horticulturally minded dog and frog. Ages 3-8. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K--``Aa is for April--warm rains at hand./ Bees begin buzzing. Gardens get planned.'' On it goes, rhyming through the alphabet, recognizing the crops, the creatures, the weather, and other gardening accouterments. Each page contains one letter's rhyme with a brightly colored illustration. The humanized animals match the text; both are a little too cute and not very funny or interesting. There are many fine alphabet books available that are preferable to this one.-- Carolyn Jenks, Oyster River Elementary School, Durham, NH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
An unusual alphabet book with gardening as the focus. Beguiling illustrations feature an appealing black-and-white dog as the gardener, and his companion, the frog, as his helper. A celebration of the joy of gardening and growing things rather than an alphabet book. From HORN BOOK 1991, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A fine anthologist (The Poetry Troupe, 1977) fashions garden facts and practices into adequate, if sometimes forced, verse. Wolff's gardener is an appealing dog, both assisted and impeded by other creatures in various scales (a frog friend is dog- sized); some vegetables are nicely accurate (including underground views), while others are more casually rendered. Best are the whimsical touches: a mouse with a kale bonnet; the frog's book--Bad Bugs. A mixed effort: not essential, but with some charming bits. (Picture book. 4-8)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
