The Rough Patch by Brian Lies

As soon as I saw this book, I knew I would love it. I have an unreasonable delight in personified foxes. Plus, it vaguely reminded me of the Fern Hollow Books I read as a kid. Nostalgia. It is pretty hard to beat. 

Evan and his dog.

This won a Caldecott Honor this week. 

They were the best of friends

Doing everything together. 

But especially gardening. 

Evan and his dog spent a great deal of time in the garden.

And then.... the unthinkable happened. His dog died.

For days, Evan did nothing. Then, he destroyed his garden--that reminder of his dog and indicator of life moving on when Evan's world had ground to a halt. 

Weeds grew. And Evan took care of them because these weeds reflected his feelings better than pretty, tidy plants. 

Soon his garden was a desolate, soulless place, just how he wanted it. 

But when a green vine sneaks in, Evan decides to let it stay.

 See the hoe about to chop it out? Love that detail. 

That vine turns into a pumpkin....

...that turns into a trip to the fair. 

When his pumpkin places third, he has the choose of $10 or a puppy. He takes the $10 of course. 

But.....

....somehow, the puppy heads home with him anyway. 

A story of hope and love. Of death and life going on. 

AND of the importance of gardening in living a happy life and healing. 

Gardens and dogs are important. 

Red vintage pickups don't hurt either.

The Gardener by Sarah Stewart & illus by David Small

This book was a Caldecott Honor book in 1998 because it has amazing pictures. Did you know Sarah Stewart and David Small are married? Well they are. They have collaborated on a number of books, all of which are fantastic. The Gardener is a favorite of mine simply because it would be impossible to not love this sweet, plucky little gardener doing her best to make the world, her world, more beautiful.

Gardening with Grandma

This book is a collection of letter from Lydia Grace Finch. first to her Uncle Jim who she was going to live with due to the depression and her family's lack of money, and later in the book, when she was living with Uncle Jim, back to her family.

Sending her off to Uncle Jim in the city. What a terrible time the Depression was.

She had packed some of her favorite seeds though, so she was assured of having a few of her good friends near her, even if there was no one she knew at Uncle Jim's.

The cavernous city train station. 

When she gets to Uncle Jim's, in true gardener fashion, she looks at the potential for flowers. Window boxes!!

She also notices that Uncle Jim doesn't smile.

Lydia learns to work in Uncle Jim's bakery, under the tutelage of  Ed and Emma Beech, Uncle Jim's friends who work in the bakery. 

One day, she decides to go up the fire escape and finds a secret place of her very own to beautify.

Her grandmother sends her seedlings, making Emma Beech laugh.

Lydia and Emma have the window boxes looking marvelous. Neighbors bring containers for Lydia to plant for them. She is now known as The Gardener.

Finally it is time to show Uncle  Jim the secret place that she has been working so hard on.

Since it was the fourth of July, they greet him with sparklers. 

A week later, Uncle Jim closes the shop early and invites everyone up to the rooftop garden Lydia made. He brings a fancy cake and a letter from Lydia's parents that she can come home. 

And then there are goodbyes. Lydia leaves her plants in Emma's care. And hurries home.

Home, where her and Grandma can get back to their gardening.

First Tomato by Rosemary Wells

This is the story of Claire, an adorable bunny who is tired of snow, cold, and school and longs to be in the garden, tasting the ruby red sunshine of the first tomato. While waiting for the bus, after an exhausting day Claire takes a trip to the Bunny Planet.  

The Bunny Planet is where The Day That Should Have Been lives. 

This is one of Elsie's precious little books. Last year she carried this book around almost continuously for two months. We read it over and over. Which was okay, since before Elsie liked it, I loved it. (I actually censor my kids reading quite a lot. Censor as in, if I think it is a dumb book, I don't buy it. So there aren't a lot of books hanging around that I don't like.) 

The morning starts all wrong. Claire's cereal spills, her shoes fill with snow.

Oh, I remember this feeling--bored/confused/tired of school. 

After missing her bus in the afternoon, Claire sits in the cold, waiting for another bus. 

It was a hard day.  

As she sits in the cold, the bunny queen swoops down and takes her to the Bunny Planet.

"Far beyond the moon and stars, 

Twenty light years south of Mars, 

Spins the gentle Bunny Planet.

And the Bunny Queen is Janet."

"Here's the day that should have been."

Her mother sends her to the garden in her old, old clothes to pick a tomato for her.

I love Claire, reveling in the dirt, the tomato-y smells, the warmth. 

I love Claire. 

Although Claire really, really wants to take the first tomato for herself, she brings it to her mother. And her mother makes her "first tomato soup because I love you so."

We all have days when we need a visit to the Bunny Planet. And as Claire sees, "It was there all along!" Each person's Bunny Planet looks different. But it is there. Ready to be escaped to when we feel like giving up. 

At least for those with vivid enough imagination.