The Plant Sitter by Gene Zion & Illus by Margaret Bloy Graham

As a kid, this was one of my favorite books. I loved this book. 

I still love this book. 

Partly I love Margaret Bloy Graham's illustrations.

But a kid who loves plants and fills his house up with them while starting an innovative business? 

My dream come true!

He started a plant sitting business for neighbors on vacation. 

Of course, our hero thought the situation was too fabulous for words. 

His parents weren't as entranced. 

Eventually all the care and responsibility of his business got to him. One night in the bath, he had a dream...

He dreamed his house filled up with plants to much that his house was nothing but plants.

He went to the library (love it!) found information on what to do when plants get too big, went to the gardening center, and headed home. 

This was one of my favorite parts! All those little plants! All those little plant pots! 

At the end, all of his neighbors went home happy and their children got the tiny little plant pots. 

I was a little plant obsessed even as a kid apparently. 

Turtle in Paradise and Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm

Rather cluelessly, I read Full of Beans before I read Turtle in Paradise. Which is interesting. Because Full of Beans takes place just BEFORE Turtle in Paradise, but was written AFTER. 

So I feel like I read it backwards even though technically I read it chronologically. 

First of all, both are great historical fiction books set in Key West during the Great Depression. This was just before Key West became a tourist destination, so there is certainly some gritty reality in them. 

(Also, avocados are called alligator pears. I enjoyed this detail for no real reason.)

Turtle in Paradise deals with a girl named Turtle who is sent off to live with relatives in Key West because her mother took a job as a live in housekeeper to someone who won't have kids around. In Key West, Turtle gets to know her family and finds adventure. 

Full of Beans gives us a backstory for Turtle's cousin Beans. I know Turtle in Paradise won a Newbery Honor, but I definitely liked Full of Beans more. Beans is an opportunistic realist, which makes him a fascinating character. He is an entrepreneur where there are no jobs and hardly any money. But somehow, Beans figures out a way to make a few bucks. Not surprisingly, Beans has a few moments of moral quandary or two as he makes money doing odd jobs that are not always strictly legal. If no one is hurt, does it matter? A question for the ages.

I liked Turtle, but Beans captured my heart.