Review: In a Garden by Tim McCanna

IN A GARDEN

by Tim McCanna

Illustrated by Aimee Sicuro

Little Simon

Picture Book

48 pages

ages 4 to 8

COMING...

FEBRUARY 18th!!!

“McCanna's superb scansion never misses...Like its subject: full of bustling life yet peaceful.” —Kirkus Reviews

Acclaimed author Tim McCanna celebrates gardens, nature, and all sorts of critters in this delightful and vibrant read-aloud picture book.

In the earth
a single seed
sits beside a millipede
worms and termites
dig and toil
moving through the garden soil

How does a garden grow? Follow along from seed to sprout to bud to flower as a garden blooms. Worms, ladybugs, millipedes, and more help a garden grow each season. Tim McCanna’s, rhyming text, combined with Aimée Sicuro’s stunning illustrations make this charming picture book as informative as it is fun to read aloud.

Bonus backmatter features tons of cool facts about ecosystems and the symbiosis between plants and bugs.

 MY TIDBITS

What a wonderful book to ring in Spring! Written in poetic form, each page rings almost like a happy, peaceful song as it describes the wonders of life on a hill.

Small and large, every part of life from worms to termites to birds and flowers are brought across in a bright, cheery way. This one is perfect for a read-aloud and will have listeners (and the reader) sinking into the garden scene and looking forward to heading out into nature themselves. Life abounds in each phrase, and yet, offers the lovely calm that only nature can. It's simply well done.

The illustrations have the same effect. These are busy and chucked full of life, and still they offer a general sense of satisfaction and comfort. Every part is bright and colorful, and even the tiniest creatures are done with love. There is so much to discover in each scene, making it one young listeners can explore again and again and always find something new.


And here they are...

The Author...
Tim McCanna  is the author of Bitty Bot, Bitty Bot's Big Beach Getaway, Dinosong, and Watersong, which was called a 'joyful, gorgeous book' by Booklist. When he's not writing books for children Tim enjoys volunteering for SCBWI and taking trips to the beach. Tim has worked in advertising, written musicals, and played accordion in several bands before becoming a children's book author. He lives in San Jose, California, with his wife and two kids. Visit him at TimMcCanna.com

The Illustrator...

Aimee Sicuro is an illustrator, picture book maker and surface pattern designer living in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and young son. She graduated from Columbus College of Art and Design with a BFA in illustration.