Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (1997), Edition: 1st, 40 pages
Description
A series of letters relating what happens when, after her father loses his job, Lydia Grace goes to live with her Uncle Jim in the city but takes her love for gardening with her.
User reviews
LibraryThing member paroof
Written in diary format, this book chronicles a young girl's experience during the Great Depression. When her father loses his job, she is sent to the city to live with her grouchy Uncle Jim, a baker, and to help in the bakery. Her grandmother has instilled a love of gardening in her and she brings
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that passion with her to city. Lydia's presence brightens those around her, even that of her grouchy uncle. I was surprised at how much my five year old son liked this book, but he has asked me to read it over and over. This illustrations are beautiful, the story is warm, the format is unique, and even a good stepping stone to talk about the Great Depression. Overall, I highly recommend it! Show Less
LibraryThing member clamato
Beautifully illustrated and a sweet story. If only Uncle JIm smiled and there wasn't a spelling error it would have been perfect,
LibraryThing member Kaylinn_Hall
This Caldecott Honor books it about a girl that loves to garden. She moves in with her uncle to help with his store. Her grandma, mama, and papa send her seeds and bulbs to plant. She ends up planting several flowers in front of the store, in flower boxes outside her window, and she suprises her
I never read this book as a child, but think this is an awesome book when teaching children how to write letters. This book would also be good for a lesson that deals with gardens.
I think a good exercise with students would be to help them grow their own plant. The teacher could get cups and some soil and plant seeds. The students could care for them everyday and watch them develop. Then take them home and plant them. Another idea is to have the students write a letter to someone like Linda Grace did.
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uncle with a roof full of plants. This whole story is told through her letters she wrote to her uncle, mama, papa, and grandma.I never read this book as a child, but think this is an awesome book when teaching children how to write letters. This book would also be good for a lesson that deals with gardens.
I think a good exercise with students would be to help them grow their own plant. The teacher could get cups and some soil and plant seeds. The students could care for them everyday and watch them develop. Then take them home and plant them. Another idea is to have the students write a letter to someone like Linda Grace did.
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LibraryThing member ValerieStanley
Lydia Grace's family can't make ends meet, so she packs her things, along with a bag full of seeds, and gets on a train to her gloomy Uncle Jim's house. He has a bakery and Lydia is eager to learn how to bake but more eager to plant her seeds. Her main pursuit in the this book is to make her uncle
This is a wonderful book. I like how it is told through the letters that Lydia was writing back home to her family. It is different from any book that I have ever read. The pictures are wonderful and very colorful.
This book could be read with a science activity in mind. The class could plant their own seeds and watch them grow into beautiful flowers like Lydia did.
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smile. This is a wonderful book. I like how it is told through the letters that Lydia was writing back home to her family. It is different from any book that I have ever read. The pictures are wonderful and very colorful.
This book could be read with a science activity in mind. The class could plant their own seeds and watch them grow into beautiful flowers like Lydia did.
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LibraryThing member cpipkin1
This is a book set in the depression era. A young girl is sent to live with her uncle in the city because her parents can not find work and they can not take care of her. She works in a bakery with her uncle but begins to plant a secret garden. She wants to make her uncle smile. She befriends some
I loved this book. It was written in strictly letter format and I feel that it tends to make a story more powerful. You are not given a lot of detail about the character, but you can feel her wonder, sadness, hope, and excitement through her letters.
In my classroom, I would use this book in two ways. One as a way to begin a lesson on the depression. I would read the story aloud and then have a oral discussion on what the children thought of the story and ask them if they have ever heard of the depression. The other way I would use this story is, to introduce my students to letter format writing. I would have students start a journal of their own, and each day they have to tell a story of something that happened to them that day. At the end of each 9 weeks, each child will read aloud an entry.
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of the people she works with and they help her plant her garden. In the end, she takes her uncle up to show him what she has done, but he has a surprise for her as well, her father has found work and she can go home.I loved this book. It was written in strictly letter format and I feel that it tends to make a story more powerful. You are not given a lot of detail about the character, but you can feel her wonder, sadness, hope, and excitement through her letters.
In my classroom, I would use this book in two ways. One as a way to begin a lesson on the depression. I would read the story aloud and then have a oral discussion on what the children thought of the story and ask them if they have ever heard of the depression. The other way I would use this story is, to introduce my students to letter format writing. I would have students start a journal of their own, and each day they have to tell a story of something that happened to them that day. At the end of each 9 weeks, each child will read aloud an entry.
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LibraryThing member Book_Shelter
I love this book! The illustrations are beautiful, the story is wonderful. Great to open the door of dicussion with younger readers on the Great Depression. What life must have been like....etc. The characters are so real.
LibraryThing member aengle
The Gardener is written in the form of letters throughout the book. This picture book is based during the time period of the Great Depression and the affect it had on one type of person's lifestyle during that era
LibraryThing member melissaboyd
this is a great book for any child who enjoys gardening it shows that with a little time anything can become beautiful.
LibraryThing member barbaratozzano
I love the story. A little girl living with her uncle in the city because her father has lost his job. Lydia Grace loves to grow things and quickly wins over the other people living near her. Even if I read the story 4 times a day to different classes, I always cry at the end. Kids love the story
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too. Show Less
LibraryThing member theblindlibrarian
The Gardener
By Sarah Stewart
2007, Square Fish, MacMillan
Caldecott Honor Book
Review by Debra Louise Scott
The Gardener is written from the point of view of young Lydia who has to go live with her gruff uncle until her unemployed parents can find work again. We hear her story through the letters she
In true Pollyanna fashion, she finds the best in her situation, learning to work in the bakery and discovering a place where she can create her own urban garden. Her Grandma sends her flower bulbs and seeds, and Lydia brings home dirt from the vacant lot nearby to plant them in. Even though Uncle Jim never smiles, she catches the little clues that tell her he cares for her, like putting the poem she wrote in his pocket and patting it. He gives her a big surprise at the end along with the news that Papa found a job and she can go back home.
It’s a very sweet little story, for all the tragic undertones. I’m sure there are many children today who will relate to Lydia’s situation and feel a little less alone.
By Sarah Stewart
2007, Square Fish, MacMillan
Caldecott Honor Book
Review by Debra Louise Scott
The Gardener is written from the point of view of young Lydia who has to go live with her gruff uncle until her unemployed parents can find work again. We hear her story through the letters she
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writes as she compares life in the city with her rural home. In true Pollyanna fashion, she finds the best in her situation, learning to work in the bakery and discovering a place where she can create her own urban garden. Her Grandma sends her flower bulbs and seeds, and Lydia brings home dirt from the vacant lot nearby to plant them in. Even though Uncle Jim never smiles, she catches the little clues that tell her he cares for her, like putting the poem she wrote in his pocket and patting it. He gives her a big surprise at the end along with the news that Papa found a job and she can go back home.
It’s a very sweet little story, for all the tragic undertones. I’m sure there are many children today who will relate to Lydia’s situation and feel a little less alone.
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LibraryThing member CamilaDeVeau
Summary: Lydia Grace Finch is a young girl living during the great depression and has to go to her uncle’s house while her father looks for a job. Lydia Grace is a wonderful gardener and has learned from her grandma and mom and is nervous about going to her uncle’s bakery where she doesn’t
Teaching Implications: The Gardner is a Caldecott Honor winning book that is packed with simple but elegant pictures depicting emotions. This book could be used to teach about the great depression and how hard life was in the 1930’s. It could also be used to show what families had to do to make it through the tough times. The story is told through letters and The Gardner could be used to teach about letter writing. Teachers could use the book to introduction classroom pen pals.
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know how to bake. The story is told through letters from Lydia Grace to her family. She tells them about the bakery and how she uses seeds sent to her from her family to create a garden surprise for her uncle. Throughout the year she is at her uncle’s house the plants grow into a beautiful garden and the book ends with her showing her uncle her surprise and her father getting a job so she is able to return home. Teaching Implications: The Gardner is a Caldecott Honor winning book that is packed with simple but elegant pictures depicting emotions. This book could be used to teach about the great depression and how hard life was in the 1930’s. It could also be used to show what families had to do to make it through the tough times. The story is told through letters and The Gardner could be used to teach about letter writing. Teachers could use the book to introduction classroom pen pals.
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LibraryThing member Meg_Harrison
The gardener is written entirely in letters from a young girl sent to live with her uncle in the city during the Great Depression. The beautiful pictures change from dark to bright, marking a change in mood as the young girl finds a way to cheer up her grumpy uncle.This is a touching story that
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teaches endurance, history, and finding good in hard places. Show Less
LibraryThing member MrsLee
Another book given my for my 44th birthday this year. This is a very special book which embodies the spirit of my mother, grandmother's and on back as far as I know. We all love gardening and can't imagine a life without some plants somewhere. I love the moral of this story, told as much through
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the illustrations as through the words. Make the world a better place wherever you are. Show Less
LibraryThing member IEliasson
Written and illustrated by the wife and husband team, Sarah Stewart and David Small, The Gardener is a book that resembles classics of years past, but was in reality published in 1997. Consequently, historical fiction does not adequately describe this picture book that transports the reader back to
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the hard scrabble life of the Great Depression. Lydia Grace Finch, the author of the letters that narrate this story, is a farm girl sent to live in the big city with her Uncle Jim, the baker. Lydia Grace’s perseverance and optimism lift the story and its characters out of the doldrums of the depression with her kindheartedness and gardening acuity. David Small’s pen and ink, and pastel illustrations with occasional washes of watercolor are poignant depictions of each of Lydia Grace’s letters; the urban images are reminiscent of hand painted tintypes and rural representatives picture sun-filled bucolic prospects. For young readers, The Gardener is charming introduction to the dying art of letter-writing and the vicissitudes of life during the Great Depression. Show Less
LibraryThing member megjwal
The Gardener by Sarah Stewart
This historical fiction story is about a young girl named Lydia Grace who had to move to the city with her Uncle Jim. Lydia loves to garden so she is afraid that she will not get to have a garden like she used to. Lydia learns to work in the bakery her uncle owns and
I think this is a great story about how growing things can make life cheery even through the toughest times. It also reminds me of how children can make the world seem so happy by looking on the bright side.
I would use this book with Pre-K to 2nd grade students. I would use it in the spring to talk about gardens. I would have the students draw a picture and write or have someone else write about what they would have in their garden.
This historical fiction story is about a young girl named Lydia Grace who had to move to the city with her Uncle Jim. Lydia loves to garden so she is afraid that she will not get to have a garden like she used to. Lydia learns to work in the bakery her uncle owns and
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also finds a new way to garden. She is also determined to make her uncle smile with a surprise. Lydia starts making the bakery and eventually her uncle happy again, even though it is a hard time for everyone.I think this is a great story about how growing things can make life cheery even through the toughest times. It also reminds me of how children can make the world seem so happy by looking on the bright side.
I would use this book with Pre-K to 2nd grade students. I would use it in the spring to talk about gardens. I would have the students draw a picture and write or have someone else write about what they would have in their garden.
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LibraryThing member mrindt
In this picture book set during the Great Depression, a young farm girl named Lydia Grace goes to the city to work at her Uncle Jim's bakery after her father loses his job. But Lydia Grace remains a country girl at heart, and brings her love of gardening with her to the city. Soon her uncle's
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apartment and bakery are bursting with Lydia Grace's flowers, but she is disappointed because she's never seen her uncle smile. Then Lydia Grace comes up with a plan for a surprise that's sure to make Uncle Jim smile. This story, told via Lydia Grace's letters, is illustrated with colorful drawings. Show Less
LibraryThing member allawishus
I liked this Depression-era look at a young country girl, Lydia, who goes to live in the city with her Uncle Jim. The story is communicated via letters she writes - first to her Uncle Jim, and then to her mother, father, and grandmother back on the farm.
Lydia has arrived in the city with a present
I loved how the illustrations did so much of the storytelling - the letters do the job of telling what Lydia wants her family to know, but the illustrations amplify the story - we see the never-smiling Uncle Jim, the hopefulness of Lydia, her aloneness, and then the warmth in the illustrations starts to build as Lydia grows her garden and attracts a community/substitute family of people around her. Really really good job of a sort-of dual-storytelling method.
Lydia has arrived in the city with a present
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of seeds from her grandmother and immediatly begins utlizing Uncle Jim's flower boxes to begin her garden. Lydia works in her Uncle's bakery, goes to school, and gardens. Soon her garden begins overflowing - from the window boxes, to the apartment, to the bakery, and finally to the roof - where she is planning to surprise her Uncle Jim with a beautiful garden. I loved how the illustrations did so much of the storytelling - the letters do the job of telling what Lydia wants her family to know, but the illustrations amplify the story - we see the never-smiling Uncle Jim, the hopefulness of Lydia, her aloneness, and then the warmth in the illustrations starts to build as Lydia grows her garden and attracts a community/substitute family of people around her. Really really good job of a sort-of dual-storytelling method.
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LibraryThing member frances2791
The book is told through letter the character Lydia Grace sends to her Mama, Papa and Grandma in her experiences while visiting her uncle. This book is very emotionally involved. Feelings of sadness and loneliness are experienced by the character but does have a great happy ending. This is a great
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read aloud. Show Less
LibraryThing member Ebinns
Award: Caldecott Honor Book. This book is for grades k-3. This book is about Lynda Grace who lives in a small town with her mother, father, and grandmother. They all enjoy to garden. When Lynda's father loses his job her Uncle Jim offers to take her in and have Lynda work at the bakery. Lynda does
This book could be used in the classroom to show students how to write letters to people. The book could also be used to introduce pen-pals where students will write letters to another student from a different school.
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not like how her Uncle Jim wont smile. She use her talent of gardening to crate a secret spot that will surly put a smile on her Uncles face. Soon after she revels her surprise to her Uncle she gets news that she can come back home because her father has found a job. This book was written as letters going to her family. The letter would sharing the events of her life with her family back home. This book could be used in the classroom to show students how to write letters to people. The book could also be used to introduce pen-pals where students will write letters to another student from a different school.
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LibraryThing member klordy66
Winner of the Caldecott Honor Award. Use for a variety of grade levels. Younger children will see that writing is used for communication. Older children can learn about the time period of the story, as well as traveling alone, the importance of family, hobbies, etc. The story is a Great Depression
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time piece about a girl, named Lydia Grace, who travels to a city to work for her uncle. It is written through letters, first to Uncle Jim, and then to her parents and grandmother after she arrives in the city. Aside from her bakery job, Lydia Grace becomes the town "gardener". A love of gardening is one thing that closely relates all the characters in the story. Addresses issues surrounding the Great Depression, and also having hobbies, family, ambition, motivation, etc. Use as an example in younger grades (K-2) to show that writing is used for communication. Have young children write their own letters to family, peers, classroom guests, or pen pals. Use in higher grades to discuss the Great Depression era. Have students write their own stories about the time period or, have them role play as a child like Lydia Grace and write letters to their own family. Good for developing imagination and an understanding of the purpose of writing in all grade levels. Show Less
LibraryThing member Glenajo
Beautiful story of a young girl who has to go live with her uncle when her father does not have a job. She makes the best of the situation, and brings beauty to all those around her. The story shows how even a child can make a difference in her surroundings.
The story is written in letters to her
The story is written in letters to her
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family at home. Show Less
LibraryThing member MaestraDixon
The Gardener tells a beautiful story of a girl using her love of gardening to cheer up her time in the city. She creates beauty in a place that could have been ugly and sad for her. The book is written with a series of letters, and the detailed pictures tell part of the story. This is a good book
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to inspire the imagination and think about how to make the best of whatever situation you are in. Show Less
LibraryThing member kairstream
Lydia Grace Finch is sent to live with her Uncle Jim in the city. It is the time of the Great Depression and she is leaving her family behind to be of help in the uncle's bakery. In a simple, sweet story Lydia sets to work planting her suitcase full of seeds she brought to the city. Her roof top
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garden surprises her uncle. Show Less
LibraryThing member AnnaMoody
This is one book I would recommend to anybody. The illustrations are gorgeous and full of life. You could look at them over and over and always see something new. It has great writing through letters, it allows for some mystery in to what is coming next because the writer leaves out information
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that the illustrations are showing. I believe this could be used as a lesson about flowers or friendship. Show Less
LibraryThing member alexis.smith
Summary:
This is a story presented through a series of letters back home from a little girl named Lydia Grace. When she traveled to the city, she brought a suitcase full of flower seeds. She hopes that as she plants her flowers and vegetables, she can get her uncle to smile. Each day, as her flowers
Personal Reaction:
This is a beautiful story. Just as the flowers bloomed, this story truly bloomed with each passing page. Lydia Grace took even a dreary situation and made it okay. It reminds me that sometimes I should just take a step back and be thankful for the little things that make me smile from day to day.
Extension Ideas:
1. Have students grow their own flowers.
2. Students can write a letter to someone special everyday for a week.
3. How can you help your family during a rough time financially or emotionally?
This is a story presented through a series of letters back home from a little girl named Lydia Grace. When she traveled to the city, she brought a suitcase full of flower seeds. She hopes that as she plants her flowers and vegetables, she can get her uncle to smile. Each day, as her flowers
Show More
bloom, she feels that city becomes more and more beautiful. After a while, she receives a letter from home stating that her father had gotten a job! She could return home and help her grandmother garden. Personal Reaction:
This is a beautiful story. Just as the flowers bloomed, this story truly bloomed with each passing page. Lydia Grace took even a dreary situation and made it okay. It reminds me that sometimes I should just take a step back and be thankful for the little things that make me smile from day to day.
Extension Ideas:
1. Have students grow their own flowers.
2. Students can write a letter to someone special everyday for a week.
3. How can you help your family during a rough time financially or emotionally?
Show Less
Awards
Caldecott Medal (Honor Book — 1998)
Nebraska Golden Sower Award (Nominee — 2000)
BCCB Blue Ribbon Book (1997)
Kentucky Bluegrass Award (Nominee — Grades K-3 — 1999)
Red Clover Book Award (Nominee — 1999)
Christopher Award (1998)
Grand Canyon Reader Award (Nominee — Picture Books — 1999)
IBBY Honour Book (2006)
Growing Good Kids Book Award (Classics)
Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Award (Nominee — 2000)
Show Me Readers Award (Nominee — 2000)
Friends of American Writers Award (Juvenile Book — 1998)
CCBC Choices (1997)
NCTE Adventuring with Books: A Booklist for Pre-K—Grade 6 (12th Edition: 1996-1998)
Notable Children's Book (1998)
Teacher Favorites Award (1998)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1997
Physical description
40 p.; 8.53 inches
ISBN
0374325170 / 9780374325176