The Gardener

By the author-and-illustrator team of the bestselling The Library

Lydia Grace Finch brings a suitcase full of seeds to the big gray city, where she goes to stay with her Uncle Jim, a cantankerous baker. There she initiates a gradual transformation, bit by bit brightening the shop and bringing smiles to customers' faces with the flowers she grows. But it is in a secret place that Lydia Grace works on her masterpiece -- an ambitious rooftop garden -- which she hopes will make even Uncle Jim smile. Sarah Stewart introduces readers to an engaging and determined young heroine, whose story is told through letters written home, while David Small's illustrations beautifully evoke the Depression-era setting.

The Gardener is a 1997 New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of the Year and a 1998 Caldecott Honor Book.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)
Published: 08/30/1997
ISBN: 9780374325176
Pages: 32
Weight: 0.77lbs
Size: 11.08h x 8.72w x 0.34d
Award: Red Clover Award - Nominee
Award: Caldecott Medal - Honor Book
Award: Book Sense Book of the Year Award - Nominee
Award: Bookseller's Choice - Winner

Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 06/02/1997 pg. 70
School Library Journal 08/01/1997 pg. 143
Kirkus Review - Children 06/15/1997 pg. 958
Booklist 06/01/1997 pg. 1722
New York Times 11/16/1997 pg. 53
SLJ's Best Books 12/01/1997 pg. 28
NY Times Notable Bks of Year 01/01/1997 pg. 80
ALA Notable Children's Books 01/01/1998 pg. 1219
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/1997 pg. 48 - Superior,Well Above Average
NY Times Notable Bks of Year 01/01/1998 pg. 80
School Library Journal 12/01/1997
School Library Journal 08/01/1997

Accelerated Reader Quiz #/Name: 18674 / Gardener
Reading Level: 3.9 / Interest Level: Lower Grade / Point Value: 0.5