"And I grew it all by myself."
In January, Lily receives a box of fresh oranges from her grandmother in California. In February, Lily sends her grandmother maple syrup harvested from the trees on her family's farm in Maine. And so the year goes on, as Lily plants her garden and collects its produce: daffodils in April, peas in June, tomatoes in August, pumpkins for Halloween, a tree for Christmas.
Lily's Garden creates a calendar of the year seen through the lens of things planted, grown, and harvested and dramatized in Lily's letters and phone calls to her far-away grandparents. The procession of months and the change of seasons, the holidays, and ultimately the passage of an entire year in the garden are celebrated in this captivating and informative picture book.
awards and reviews
Kirkus Reviews: "Ray's art, expressive, informative, and filled with detail, is perfectly suited to the natural setting. Not least, Lily's enthusiasm is catching and may well provoke a few more seedlings to be incubated in late-winter windows."
The School Library Journal: "Team this up with Donald Hall's Ox-Cart Man (Viking, 1979) and Natalie Kinsey-Warnock's A Farm of Her Own (Dutton, 2001) for an engaging unit on New England farms, old and new."
illustrations from the book
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