By Sarah Stewart, Illustrated by David Small
Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC 1997, Square Fish reissue, 2007
Picture Book, 40 Pages, ages 5-9
It’s 1935, and Lydia Grace is living in the country with her parents and grandmother. Everybody is out of work and the decision has been made to send her to the city to live with her Uncle Jim until things get better. Lydia loves to garden with her grandmother and is concerned that this will be difficult in the city.
This Caldecott Honor Award winner shines brighter than the silver emblem on the cover.
This book has so many wonderful qualities it’s difficult to know where to begin. Told entirely through letters, first to Uncle Jim about coming to live with him, and then to her mother and grandmother about her life in the city. This unique quality of narration serves its purpose well as her letters radiate her sunny disposition and determination in the face of a very difficult time.
Her second letter tells us more about this incredible young girl.
September 3, 1935
Dear Uncle Jim,
I’m mailing this from the train station. I forgot to tell you in the last letter three important things that I’m too shy to say to your face:
- I know a lot about gardening, but nothing about baking.
- I’m anxious to learn to bake, but is there any place to plant seeds?
- I like to be called “Lydia Grace” – just like Grandma.
Your Niece,
Lydia Grace Finch
When she arrives in the city she discovers that the building has window boxes, and the seeds that her grandmother put in her pocket and suitcase before she left will come in handy. But as the story continues, she tries her best to make her Uncle Jim smile, something he doesn’t do often despite his love and caring for his niece. Her determination is part of each and every letter to her family about her life in the city during the Depression.
The story structure lends itself to so many aspects of learning; writing letters and vocabulary, history, and gardening, but most of all it’s a sweet and delightful story about a girl who lived through some very hard times. The illustrations are detailed without being overwhelming and the silent complexities of the story continue to delight with each reading. This book would get 10 stars from this reviewer if that was an option.
The Gardener by Sarah Stewart receives five stars from this reviewer.