Juanita Havill

Reviewed by Julie M. Prince for TeensReadToo.com

GROW is one of those books that goes down easy. It just has all those elements that makes the reader immediately relax and enjoy the unfolding story. Beginning with great voice and characterization right on the first page, the prose in verse flows right through this entire book so that it's swallowed in one smooth gulp.

Kate may be the narrator of this tale, but Berneetha is the glue that holds everything together. When Berneetha the cat lady show more decides to grow a garden in the middle of nothing, twelve-year-old Kate is reluctant to help. Everyone is sure to think the two of them are crazy. Except, soon it's not just the two of them. As people join the crusade to clean up the empty lot, more than just a garden is grown from nothing.

"A weed is anything growing
Where you don't want it to grow.
I don't know
where Harlan lives,
only that he looks hungry most days
and he doesn't want
to go home in the evening.
I don't think I'll tell him
about that garden-book
theory of weeds."

This emotional story is shown in brilliant illustrations by Stanislawa Kodman, whose name will stick in my mind because I cannot forget the person who created these drawings. The simple, everyday items that are twisted into beauty. Junk into treasure. The theme of the book perfectly drawn out by both author and illustrator. What a team.

And not to be overlooked is the quality of the book itself. A silky smooth dust jacket, featuring brilliantly composed illustrations by Kodman. Large, light print on the inside that makes an already easy-to-read book even easier on the eye.

The only thing missing from this book is an award sticker. show less

Oh! Major points for the little black girl who figures out the right thing to do almost all by herself, and the fact that the secondary character is the white girl. What a sweet story, perfect message, charming illustrations. Too bad it's not #ownvoices, but it reads as if it is, so imo it's still worth recommending.

When Mel, visiting her grandmother in the country, sees a pinto horse in a field while bicycling by, her curiosity is aroused, and she returns for a visit the next day, carrot in hand. It is then that she realizes that something is drastically wrong, as the pinto's bony back and exposed ribs, and his pain, when shuffling toward Mel and her carrot, make plain. Alerting her grandmother, who telephones the Humane Society, Mel witnesses the horse being removed from the field, and taken to a show more local rescue ranch, run by a woman named Lisa. Here, Lucky - so named to attract luck - is nursed back to health, and prepared for his new home.

Published by The Gryphon Press, whose aim is to produce high quality picture-books that "foster empathy as well as animal well-being," Call the Horse Lucky is a poignant story of a horse who gets a second chance, because someone saw something wrong, and did something about it (a common theme in books from this publisher). The artwork is very expressive - you really feel Lucky's dejected apathy, at the beginning - and a brief afterword gives young readers additional information and resources, when it comes to helping horses in need. Recommended to young horse lovers (with the caveat that there are some disturbing scenes here), and to anyone looking for quality animal stories to be used in humane education. show less

How can you not love a book that begins with this poem:

"In the still chill of a winter night
seeds on the gardener's bench
rattle their packets
with chattering.

'When I grow up,
I'm going to be…'"

In this beautifully illustrated, slim volume of poetry, Juanita Havill takes us through a year of gardening - from the seeds sitting on the shelf, to the early spring pea pods chanting, to Alice Zucchini and some of the other vegetables gossiping in the garden, and finally to the snow covered show more garden.

This would be a wonderful book to use as a read aloud while studying seeds and plants. This collection would also serve as great examples to inspire young poetry writers.

Here are some lesson links I put together for this book - http://www.teachingseeds.org/1/post/2014/02/i-heard-it-from-alice-zucchini-poems... show less