Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Is it possible for one child to make a difference? The book opens with a girl and her tiny germ of an idea to transform an overgrown vacant city lot into a beautiful garden park. Once children see her pulling weeds and turning soil, they join in and help. From there, readers witness more and more people come together. This is a great story about a young person with an ambitious idea and a community working together to accomplish something for all to enjoy. The text is spare, but the illustrations assist in telling the story. The background consists of typical city life with cars and busses lining the streets and people heading toward their destinations. Most of the skyline is a mix of gray and brown, while the main character wears a peachy colored shirt that immediately sets her apart. As more people arrive to help, the landscape becomes brighter and more colorful. The artwork shows people of different races, ages, and various physical abilities. -VERDICT This is a simple book with a powerful lesson. A solid read-aloud and a great lead-in to group projects.-Barbara Spiri, Southborough Library, MA © Copyright 2018. 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
Once there was a girl who had a little seed of an idea." Against a spare text, gentle, naive-style pastel illustrations show people slowly gathering in the child's gray neighborhood. A lot is cleared. Seeds are planted. Neighbors work together, talk, and share snacks. Ultimately, the dull buildings fade behind the colors of a community garden party in this satisfying tale of hope and cooperation. (c) Copyright 2019. 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 girl and her neighborhood band together to bring a little color to a drab city in Platt and Holden's hopeful picture book.In the bustling city, there is a vacant lot full of dreary weeds, litter, and not much else. Walking near the lot one day, a girl comes up with "a little seed of an idea." The girl soon gets to work, pulling out weeds and cultivating the soil. Her actions, meanwhile, attract the attention of others. Neighbors join in to assist the girl, and the merry group clears the lot and enjoys their time together as seasons come and go. In her picture-book debut, Holden crafts a sequence of lovely pastel pictures, which convey the narrative in snapshots. The nondescript city stirs with typical city life that fades to the background as the neighborhood project grows. Plain and direct, Platt's text offers platitudes wrapped in a wistful tone brimming with earnestness. At times, the text is too gentle to transcend the page, although it delivers enough zest to suggest optimism. The book's message surfaces more clearly through the communitydiverse in skin color, physical ability, age, and body sizedepicted in the illustrations. The girl who acts as catalyst has dark skin and long, black hair. With the lot cleared, the girl and her neighbors plant seeds. Before long, a garden blooms in the once-empty lot, and a community comes together to celebrate.A buoyant read to sweeten the spirit. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
