Review by Booklist Review
After a visit, an aunt writes to her niece and mentions how much fun they had tending to the aunt's many plants. Auntie sends along a pothos plant as a reminder of her love, and a spider plant delivery soon follows. As the seasons pass, the room and windowsill grow crowded, with a fern arriving amongst autumn leaves and a cactus materializing as snow falls outside. When a fiddle-leaf fig arrives, the plant is so tall that readers must rotate the spread vertically to take it in. Auntie finally arrives in person for another visit, plant in tow, and the story sweetly concludes with her declaration that "just like your new plants, my love for you grows." Spiro's epistolary rhyming text makes for a delightful reading experience, and each delivery features a tag serving as identification and descriptor of the gifted plant. Splashy illustrations in gouache, colored pencil, and crayon have an appealing scribbly quality that feels casual and inviting. Sure to make a budding botanist out of any young reader.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Foliage proves the food of love for a child recipient in this epistolary primer on how to cultivate the spirit of Valentine's Day any time of year. At book's start, an auburn-haired child with pale skin, and their ever-present canine pal, receive a leafy pothos plant and a special rhyming note from their beloved Auntie, as a reminder of a recent visit to "our 'plant family!' " The months and seasons pass, and Auntie sends additional notes, and more greenery, which soon lushly flood a windowsill. Spiro and Cummins tenderly vine a green-thumb vibe through every scene, noting each plant's name and a brief fact alongside accurate renderings. When Auntie and her own peppy pooch arrive for a reunion, it's a reminder that "from the top of your head/ to the tips of your toes,// just like your new plants/ my love for you grows." End pages provide additional plant details. Ages 4--8. (Dec.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3--Spiro's (Made by Maxine) new picture book is about the love between a niece and her aunt, told through a year's worth of letters and gifts. The letters are told in rhyme and include feelings of familial love and plant care tips, as each letter is accompanied by a plant. The plants come with an interesting fact or name that will appeal to children. The spider plant is named Spider and sent as a friend for Pothos, her first plant (which has heart shaped leaves). The appearance of the Monstera plant is linked to a favorite food of kids (cheese), and the fern, which comes just in time for Halloween, segues into another topic kids love: dinosaurs. The white gift tags that appear on each page supplement the plant information contained on the front and end pages of the story. A through line of coziness and continuity is conveyed by the interactions with the main character and her pet dog. They each seem to be enjoying the plant gifts, and in a safe way, because the little girl teaches her dog not to eat or touch the plants that may harm an animal. The author also includes a note at the beginning of the book about handling plants safely. VERDICT Kids are going to ask for plants to tend to after this book; pair it in the classroom with real plants and more straightforward nonfiction guides.--Tanya Boudreau
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Following a visit, a beloved aunt sends a child a series of houseplants and letters written in verse. Each letter contains facts about the plants, like their varying needs for light and water or a Monstera plant's Swiss cheese--like holes, while sidebars shaped like tags provide more specific information. After the child and a pet dog examine the plants, they're set in a window or by the child's bed, accumulating gradually, just as the aunt's clear affection for the child likewise builds in the letters. Several months go by, with holidays and seasonal changes showing the passage of time, before the child and aunt reunite. The combination of accurately depicted plants with occasional silly rhymes and loving endearments from the aunt make for a delightful balance of education and fun. The sidebars do occasionally interrupt the rhythm and flow of the letters, but the neat details they include make up for this mild inconvenience. Whether read aloud to a child just becoming interested in plants or gifted from an aunt to a beloved nibling, this book brims with both warmth and information. The aunt, child, and other family members are depicted with light skin. The endpapers include facts about plants, and the book opens with a note to adults warning about the dangers of potentially toxic plants. A sweet introduction to houseplants. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
