I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Quiet in the Garden
by
Aliki
picture book in Hardcover edition that was published by Greenwillow Books on February 3, 2009 and has 32 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Illustrator: Aliki
A standalone picture book for children about the hungry critters in the garden.
My Take
It is a prodigious garden with all sorts of things from flowers to fruits to vegetables and play areas with a pond for the water life. A very attractive place to find all manner of living beings.
It certainly could inspire your kids to go quietly out into the garden to see if they hear and see the same way as the little boy does. I do wish Aliki had given him a name. It’s sweet how Aliki incorporates the conversations between the wildlife in the garden with lessons for the kids in their eating habits.
It certainly does inspire the boy to provide them with a feast, sharing the bounty. And the how-to at the very end can help your child create his or her own very (not) quiet garden, lol.
The Story
It’s amazing what you can hear when you are very, very quiet in the garden. And you soon learn how very not-quiet it is.
The Characters
Little boy. A rabbit, robin, snail, butterfly, worm, squirrel, spider, frog, fish, mouse, turtle, lizard, and worm all live in the garden. We won’t mention the living critters that no longer live in the garden!
The Cover and Title
The cover has a cool feel to it with its blues and greens. It’s the little boy with his brown bunny nestled in his arms, as they lie back in a string hammock and look up into the wisteria blossoms and watch the flying wildlife. The title has a quilty feel to it with the yellow triangles edging the deep blue letters. The author/illustrator’s name is in a black-shadowed purple.
The title is all about how not Quiet in the Garden it really is.
