[review + giveaway] Betty and the Mysterious Visitor by Anne Twist and Emily Sutton

~ jama

If there is one thing I learned from living in England, it’s that the British love their gardens. Residents take great pride in cultivating their own personal Edens whatever their domicile: terraced or detached house, cottage, bungalow, mansion. Even the smallest patch of ground flourishes under their loving care.

The infinitely charming new picture book, Betty and the Mysterious Visitor by Anne Twist and Emily Sutton (Candlewick, 2023), celebrates the specialness of a particular garden and the loving relationship between those tending it.

Every summer, Betty loves visiting Grandma at her cottage in the village of Wobbly Bottom. They spend hours in a large community garden adjoining Grandma’s back yard called Acorn Hollows, Betty’s favorite place in the whole world.

There, Grandma grows flowers as well as lots of berries — raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and gooseberries. Betty helps Grandma pick the fruit and cook it to make jam to sell at the farmers market.

But one morning, Betty discovers somebody has ruined the garden. “The grass was a mess, a higgle and puff. What had been smooth was now muddy and rough.”

Betty is quite sad and determined to find the culprit. That night, when she peers out her window, she sees a large creature “pushing its nose under the fence,” but she loses sight of it when the moon drifts behind a cloud.

She tells Grandma what she saw the next morning, noting “it had a striped head.” Grandma thinks it’s a badger, an animal bound to come back once it’s found access to food. Sure enough, over the next few nights, the badger destroys more and more of the garden.

Betty soon comes up with an idea. Up early the next morning, she immediately sets to work, fashioning a “monster” out of sticks, string, old clothes, boots, a pinwheel, bells and bright lights. She also sets a trail of nuts and seeds along the fence. Will her plan work?

That night, as she watches by her window, she sees the bushes move, then spots the badger pushing its way under the fence again! As soon as it eyes Betty’s monster, it stops in its tracks.

A whistling wind makes the monster spin and shake, scaring the badger. Then the monster flashes and jingles, and with a big gust of wind it suddenly BOOMS, prompting the badger to scurry away, but not before it turns around to look straight at Betty. Wow!!

In the morning, Betty tells Grandma what happened. Now that their naughty ‘friend’ has been chased away, they can look forward to a “new field of beautiful flowers.” They decide to celebrate with cups of hot chocolate in the garden before returning to the kitchen to make more jam.

This cozy, heartwarming story is a joy to read aloud. Twist’s text is an inventive hybrid of prose + verse, the occasional rhymes serving to accentuate and energize key moments of the narrative. She sneaks in this rhyme after a conventional prose opening:

She loved the garden — nature all around, bright with every color, alive with every sound.

And then when the badger returns, the mystery ramps up as the badger continues to destroy more of the garden:

It snuffled and sniffled and scurried along, searching for treats that were tasty and strong.

It dug and it scratched and it tore at the grass.

Betty worried more and more as the days passed.

Rhyming verse also effectively underscores the sense of urgency as Betty feverishly works to build her monster step by step.

In addition, I enjoyed the “veddy British” touches: have you ever heard a mess described as “a higgle and puff”? Who else but a British writer would name a village Wobbly Bottom? And ‘Acorn Hollows’ reminds me of Jill Barklem’s Brambly Hedge series, a big personal favorite (my post is here).

Emily Sutton has outdone herself with her gorgeous, exquisitely detailed ink and watercolor illustrations. Her pictures embody the very essence of an idyllic English village: rows of quaint cottages covered in blossoming vines, wide expanses of green grasses, gardens with flower beds in a riot of colors, a friendly menagerie of wildlife roaming about — mice, squirrels, rabbits, and lots of birds perched upon branches, rooftops, along fences. Kids will love looking for bugs, butterflies, and caterpillars too. Don’t worry, she hasn’t forgotten dogs, cats, horses, or chickens. It is easy to see why Betty loved visiting Grandma; no doubt kids will love revisiting these pictures, since there’s so much for curious, eager eyes to pore over.

I admit Emily had me at the beautiful cover and stunning endpapers, with its bird’s eye view of Acorn Hollows, a lovely ‘lay of the land’ before we meet the main characters. We see the charming row of Wobbly Bottom cottages with Grandma’s thatched roof cottage at one end. We see how each cottage has its own front and back gardens, and beyond back fences lies Acorn Hollows, which is shared by all.

Many of the spreads emanate pure joy, from Betty happily swinging from the big oak tree, to her and Grandma picking berries and making jam together, to the delightful bustle of shoppers at the market.

Evocative night scenes provide a nice contrast to this sweetness and light: Betty looking out from her lit room to the darkness outside, and later, the badger encountering the monster, who’s scary, but not too scary. Just the right amount of drama and suspense!

If I had to pick a favorite spread (very hard to do), I would choose the market scene or the final interior of the kitchen. Both are masterfully done, showcasing Emily’s intricate line work and brilliant layering of colors, patterns and textures. Her compositions are striking and appealing with multiple points of interest, while the visual narrative complements and expands on the text, inviting the reader to linger in every picture.

She does make you wish you could browse the market with its glorious largesse of fruits, veggies, cheeses, flowers, and breads; chat with fellow shoppers, then queue up to buy Grandma and Betty’s strawberry jam. It’s fun studying the interactions between the people. And of course, I’d love to live in Grandma’s kitchen, with its sunny yellow walls, crockery, jam jars, and baskets full of juicy berries. Adopt me, please!

This feel-good story is comforting and suspenseful, as well as an engaging study in problem solving, teamwork, and celebrating nature’s bounty. Readers will admire Betty’s ability to ward off the mysterious visitor, while noting how much she enjoyed canning homegrown fruit with Grandma. They may even be inspired to plant a garden of their own or to spend more time exploring the outdoors.

Step into the enchanting world Anne and Emily have created in this beautiful book. Who could resist such a welcoming invitation?

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🍓 Jamming with Basil and Cornelius 🌺

Naturally, after reading this charming story, all we could think about was JAM. Basil and Cornelius wanted to have hot chocolate just like Betty and Grandma did, and the resident bear chefs whipped up some jam tarts to go with it.

We know you’re probably hungry after reading this review, so please enjoy a warm buttermilk biscuit with raspberry jam (my fave!) with your cocoa.

Back in September when I tuned into the Blue Willow Bookshop webcast featuring a conversation with Anne and Emily, they happened to answer a question I had submitted beforehand about sharing a favorite childhood garden memory.

Anne fondly remembered spending many happy hours in her grandparents’ garden, which had flower beds, fruit trees, a greenhouse and pond. She and her brother used to pick plums, her favorite fruit.

When Emily was around 13, she stayed home from school for a little while because of anxiety. Her parents gave her a small plot of land so she could plant her own garden. How proud she was of her first crop of carrots! She’s loved getting her hands dirty ever since, and looks forward to moving to the country in the not-so-distant future.

What’s also interesting is that this story actually started out as a poem and was based on a real incident where Anne’s garden was ruined by a badger.

Another biscuit? More jam? Please help yourself, then read below about how to enter the book giveaway.

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BETTY AND THE MYSTERIOUS VISITOR
written by Anne Twist
illustrated by Emily Sutton
published by Candlewick Press (September 2023)
Picture Book for ages 3-7, 32pp.

Amazon
Bookshop

♥️ Enjoy Anne Twist reading from the story (love her warm storytelling voice):

♥️ Click here for a downloadable Activity Sheet at the publisher’s website that includes a jam recipe. 🍓

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🐱 SPECIAL BOOK GIVEAWAY! 🐶

Candlewick Press is generously offering a brand new copy of Betty and the Mysterious Visitor for one lucky Alphabet Soup reader. For a chance to win, please leave a comment at this post telling us what your favorite jam is no later than midnight (EDT), Wednesday, October 18, 2023. You may also enter by sending an email with “BETTY” in the subject line to: readermail (at) jamakimrattigan (dot) com. Giveaway open to U.S. residents only, please. Good Luck!

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Matt Forrest Esenwine is hosting the Roundup at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme, where he is celebrating the release this week of his new picture book, The Thing to Remember About Stargazing (illustrated by Sonia Possentini). Be sure to swing by to check out the full menu of poetic goodness being served up around the blogosphere this week. Happy Weekend!

*Interior spreads posted by permission, text copyright © 2023 Anne Twist, illustrations © 2023 Emily Sutton, published by Candlewick Press. All rights reserved.

**Copyright © 2023 Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.

45 thoughts on “[review + giveaway] Betty and the Mysterious Visitor by Anne Twist and Emily Sutton”

  1. Pingback: chronological book review archive (2008-2023) | Jama's Alphabet Soup

  2. I love apricot jam! However, this past summer I’ve learned to love peach jam. My youngest son lives in the woods of western New Jersey on 11 acres. He has chickens and lots of fruit trees and veggies. His favorites are tomatoes which he cans and eggplant which he cans with oil garlic and vinegar which is a lovely compliment to an Italian meal. Anyhow, he made peach jam, and I love it. I also love this book having visited the Lake district of England last year! What a charming blogpost for a Friday morning! Thank you, Jama.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yum to peach jam! Lucky you, having visited the Lake District recently. Did you visit Beatrix Potter’s house in Near Sawrey?

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  3. Jama, Emily Sutton’s painterly drawings do stir my mind to remembering our ambles in lvillages thru in The Cotswolds. I return from the UK always in awe of residents’ garden skills/passion.
    I love seeing your selected spreads & reading the interior line rhymes.
    This duo should make more story books together.
    My favorite spread is of the MONSTER. Maybe because Halloween in on my mind.

    As always, your table arrangements & soft friends placements make me want to brew another cup of my jasmine tea, emptied whilst I read the tasty post & nosh with them.
    [Not adding a fave jam, to be exempted from the bk. offer. ]

    jan/Bookseedstudio

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    1. There is an even better picture of the monster in the book! The Cotswolds is a magical place. In the webcast, Anne mentioned that another story is in the works — not about Betty, but about another character from the same village.

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  4. What a fun book! I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy and pore over those detailed illustrations. As for the biscuit and jam with a a cup of cocoa…yes, PLEASE!

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  5. Oh so luscious! Emily’s artwork is such a dream. And as for jam. . . well, since orange marmalade is technically not a jam, I’d have to say raspberry jam please. . . Thank you Jama!

    Liked by 1 person

  6. This book is just precious! I’m trying to curtail my consumption these days but I may have to make an exception here! It puts me in the mood for my favorite jam —elderberry! Hard to find but absolutely scrumptious!

    Jama, your blog is the cat’s meow! Thanks for all you do!

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      1. I’d say it’s more like huckleberry or blueberry  but with a richer more complex flavor.  If you ever find homemade elderberry jam, grab it 🙂

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  7. Jama, I always love the comforting and adorable feel of your posts. You pay attention to every detail, as with your review of Betty and the Mysterious Visitor. The illustrations are indeed gorgeous. Thank you for sharing!

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  9. Pingback: Poetry Friday Roundup: Celebrating a #BookBirthday by taking a look back at its conception – Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme

  11. Raspberry jam is my favorite as well, right behind frozen strawberry jam. What a delightful book. I loved the rhythm and the rhyme.

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  12. I certainly would love to visit “Wobbly Bottom”, agree that the name is a winner, Jama! I just picked up this book from the library, will dig into it later this morning, but for now, I loved hearing Anne Twist read & reading every bit of your special review. My favorite jam has always been strawberry, and on biscuits of course. Thank you for the morning treat! (no need to put me in the drawing)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Anne has the best reading voice! She should do audio books (if she doesn’t already). Very soothing and pleasing to the ear. Glad your library has the book. Know you’ll enjoy it (it’ll wobble your bottom). 😀

      Liked by 1 person

  13. Lovely, Jama! Most of my PB manuscripts begin as poems. Interestingly, one that I’m polishing right now is about a bear who comes to visit my kitchen! I look forward to being able to read this story with my grandson. I love the idea of hunting throught the illustrations to find the hidden details. And then, making jam with him! My fave: raspberry!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Excited to hear about your bear story!! I remember your telling us about the time a bear really visited your kitchen. Perfect idea for a picture book.

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  15. What a delightful post, Jama! I just put Betty and the Mysterious Visitor on my TBR list. Thank you for the detailed review and the scrumptious photos. It’s hard to pick a favorite jam, so I’ll just say Mixed Berry.

    Liked by 1 person

  16. It is a nice story but i did feel bad for the poor badger. What will he eat now?
    not a jam lover at all. But i do enjoy hot chocolate.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Not a jam lover?! You have a point about the badger. I find them fascinating as we don’t have them in our neck of the woods. No gooseberries either. . .

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    1. Those little cottage boxes are actually cases holding Emma Bridgewater children’s tea sets. One is a polka dot pattern, and the other, hearts. I don’t think they make them anymore. Here’s the polka dots:

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  19. Jama, so many of your posts take me back to days of living in England, too! This book looks absolutely adorable. You had me at the town name of Wobbly Bottom! Like Anne, I love plums, and my favorite jam (when I can get it) is plum jam!

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  20. What a delight! Yes, the terms “higgle & puff,” and “wobbly bottom” are great! Not only veddy British….but, easy for non-Brits like my students to figure out from the context. I love text that does that without any implicit teaching involved. And, I’m a sucker for a great activity sheet. This one is super. Not only is it good for kids, but I like tucking some of these pages into junk journals for “older” kids 🙂
    As for me, there is NO tastier jam than raspberry! Thank you, Candlewick. You remain one of my fav. publishers…just LOVE the beauty you put into the world.

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  21. Yes, “village of Wobbly Bottom” is so very British and is what immediately made me want to read this story. In addition to Emily Sutton’s illustrations. Thank you for this appetizing review, Jama. You inspired my purchase of plum jam from the farm shop up the road. 🙂

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  22. I do so love the photos you add to a post and a review!

    My favorite preserve is – as my kids called it – razzamatazzberry!

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  23. What a smart way to deal with a child’s anxiety. She must have found great comfort in getting her hands dirty and growing things. I love the name Wobbly Bottom. It is very British. Cornelius and Basil look like they are having a lovely party. Thanks for such a lovely post.

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  24. The book looks gorgeous, and I love the story. I am not a gardener, but I do enjoy seeing what other people grow. Biscuits and jam! YUM!

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