One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road” a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee.

She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. More gift book than storybook, this is a meaningful addition to nursery bookshelvesĮllis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”

The child, accompanied by an adorable piglet and sporting overalls and a bird-beaked cap made of leaves, presents white. It’s unlikely that members of the intended audience have begun to wonder about their life’s purpose, but this life-affirming mood piece has honorable intentions. This quiet read, with its sophisticated central question, encourages children to reach for their untapped potential while reminding them it won’t be easy-they will make messes and mistakes-but the magic within can help overcome falls and failures. The oversized flora and fauna seem to symbolize the presumptively insurmountable, reinforcing the book’s message that anything is possible. Later, they stand on a ladder to place white spots on tall, red mushrooms. The precisely inked and colored artwork plays with perspective from the first double-page spread, in which the child contemplates a mountain (or maybe an iceberg) in their hands. The no-frills, unrhymed narrative encourages readers to follow their hearts and tap into their limitless potential to be anything and do anything. Maybe you’re here to make a difference with your uniqueness maybe you will speak for those who can’t or use your gifts to shine a light into the darkness. “Have you ever wondered why you are here?” asks the second-person narration. Thoughtful, entertaining fare for the middle grades.Ī young child explores the unlimited potential inherent in all humans. Hahn uses her satisfyingly mysterious, spooky story to illuminate the interaction of people in the present: Ashley's abduction of the doll not only parallels the earlier one but is a manifestation of her unresolved grief moreover, it is because Mom and Ashley have a healthy, loving relationship that each has tried to protect the other by keeping her grief to herself the incident with the doll is the catalyst that causes them finally to confide in each other. Carrie proves to be Miss Cooper, who-with the girls' help-is finally able to return the doll to her dear friend. Then the cat takes her next door, where she meets Louisa-a child who died of consumption in 1912-and learns that 'Carrie' borrowed her beloved doll but never returned it. To her own surprise, Ashley feels compelled to take the doll for herself, hiding it from Kristi. Despite Miss Cooper's unreasonable restrictions on her every move, Ashley manages to make friends with Kristi, a younger child next door together, they explore the forbidden, overgrown garden and discover an old doll that is buried there. Ashley and her newly widowed mother have just moved into Miss Cooper's upstairs apartment so that Mom can complete her dissertation. A ghost cat leads ten-year-old Ashley through a hedge-and back to the time when her fiercely disagreeable old landlady was an unhappy child who committed a wrong she still regrets.

Garden story review