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The creators of Over and Under the Snow have a new picture book out about what goes on, over, and under the soil in a garden.
As the story goes through the four seasons, a grandmother and her granddaughter tend to their small country garden of raised beds. It’s an organic garden that grows tomatoes, beans, carrots, sunflowers and squash. The girl plucks June bugs from the basil, and grandma sprays away aphids with a garden hose.
The garden is shown in the day and at night. The mixed media illustrations include insects and small animals that make the garden their home. When the gardeners finish their work, they are shown enjoying the garden. They eat the beans and tomatoes from the vine, and they read amongst a house of sunflowers. Readers will see how they share their harvest with family and neighbors and how the growing season is cyclical in terms of plant- and animal-related activities.
The long vertical pages allow different views of the soil. Above the soil, plants begin to grow and compost is spread. The chickens look for bugs and weeds, and bees fly away with pollen-loaded legs. Higher up, robins enjoy the spray from the garden hose and skunks eat the cutworms at night. Underneath the soil there are worms and ants tunneling. During the winter, the insects are seen “hiding…biding their time.”
Back material includes an author’s note about nurturing gardens, a bibliography for further reading, and sixteen small paragraphs of facts about the animals featured in the book. Labeled drawings of herbs, vegetables, and wildflowers appear on the end papers. This is a beautiful book which will help or inspire any budding gardener.
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Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt