The Curious Garden

In one of those lovely coincidences of timing, I picked up The Curious Garden, which came highly recommended by a friend, just one week after the departure of a visiting cousin from Texas. In town to see the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit at the Guggenheim Museum, he was also quite keen to take a look at the new High Line Park, on Manhattan's west side.

Newly opened to the public (at least in part) this past June, the park uses the old elevated High Line train-tracks, built in 1930 and derelict since the late 1980s, to create a beautiful garden and public space. As author Pete Brown notes in his afterword, this lovely picture-book was inspired by the High Line, and by other urban garden and wildlife projects.

That convergence of "real" life show more and print only added to my appreciation of The Curious Garden, in which red-haired Liam wanders the gray streets of his city, happy to be outside and eager to explore. When he discovers a way up onto the derelict raised train-tracks near his home, and finds a small, struggling garden, all he knows is that he wants to help it - to help it grow and survive. And so begins a gardening project that takes on a life of its own, and a curious garden that will eventually transform the city.

Brown may indeed have drawn inspiration from a specific place, but his story has a universal quality: his city could be any city, his citizens - awakened to the beauty of nature, of growing things - could be any citizens. His acrylic and gouache illustrations offer a magical exploration of the cityscape, and his tale gently persuades, without ever veering into more didactic territory. A fine achievement - and one that has convinced me that here is another(!) talented picture-book artist to watch out for! show less

In a dreary urban landscape, a nature loving boy starts to nurture plants. He precipitates a revolution of urban gardening, leading to a beautiful new hanging garden of a city. A bit Loraxian. Interesting in how it personifies the garden as an explorer, which is a familiar truth for those of us who fight weeds!

There are many reasons why I like this book. First, the illustrations are impeccable. The words go right along with the pictures and this helps young readers visualize what they are reading, making the comprehension much easier. Second, I really like the way Peter Brown decided to write the story. Instead of writing a boring, informational book about “saving our planet”, he decided to go with a narrative approach. The story is cute, simple, and easy to read. I really liked reading the author’s note at the end of the story because Brown explains how he used his own personal experiences (living in the city) to develop a story that would be child-friendly and engaging. The idea of this story is to show young readers how to take care show more of the planet we live in. Brown simply shows how by generating a story where the character simply plants flowers and shrubberies. show less

I love this book. The world Liam lives in is all grey and ugly, no plants at all. But then while out exploring one day, he finds a struggling garden and decides to take care of it. As time passes, the garden spreads throughout the dark, gray city, transforming it into a lush, green world. The illustrations are beautiful, growing more and more lush as the garden takes over the city. The environmental themes of how much better plants make our lives, and the guerrilla gardening aspect too are awesome!

A boy who lives in a city without a lot of greenery finds an abandoned garden on the top of an old elevated train track. Over time he cultivates the garden and it grows and grows. As others follow his gardening example, gardens spread all over the city, transforming it into a garden paradise, ha ha.

The illustrations are quite lovely, very calming. The variety of greens and vibrant blues make for very arresting illustrations, especially towards the end. There's also a somewhat sequential art/comic book feel to some of the illustrations. All in all it's very charming.

This story reminds me of the recent read-alike 'Grandpa Green.' I can visualize a short film of this story and how the original illustrations lend itself to a moving narrative. My favorite line of the book is "The plants patiently waited while Liam found a better way of gardening." The main premise seems to be learning how one person can make a difference. It can encourage a love of nature and making the world a better place. There are quite a few other read-alikes, fiction and non-fiction, that would go well with this picture book.

In a dreary city, Liam’s curiosity and love of being outdoors lead him to discover and nurture a hidden garden on an abandoned elevated railway. Peter Brown’s timely picture book The Curious Garden explores the tenacity of nature and its effects on both structures and people around it. Brown endows his growing garden with the human characteristics of sleeping, patience, and curiosity, making it a rather apt friend for the somewhat solitary but adventurous Liam. The almost three dimensional illustrations lend a realism to the world Brown is creating, similar to a digitally animated movie. The pictures slowly brighten from muted grays and earth tones in the beginning to vibrant greens, reds, and yellows as the garden slowly takes over show more the city. Likewise, the inhabitants of the city also begin to venture out-of-doors as the garden spreads, until trees grow as tall as high-rises and sprout treehouses for children and gardens are planted on roofs of buildings. Brown’s author’s note explains his real-life inspiration for the story, perhaps providing inspiration for the readers themselves. This would be a great addition to school and public libraries both. show less