children’s book illustration

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.

Continue reading →

Chirp chirp, ribbet ribbet, whoo whoo!

Have you heard the buzzzzzz? Just listen.

This is the time of year when curious bunnies venture out of their burrows for a good look around. Since 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit, who better to celebrate Easter with than our good friend Peter?

He’s very excited about his new interactive picture book, Peter’s Nature Walk (Puffin Books, 2023). Just released in February, it tells about his delightful dawn to dusk amble around the countryside with his mother and sisters, Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail.

What makes this book extra special is that on each page there is a special “Press Here” button, so readers can hear the sounds of birds, bugs, and frogs, along with the rustling of leaves and the rummaging of squirrels! There are ten wonderful sounds in all, including opening music, so it feels like we’re right there with them! 🙂

As the story opens, Peter and his family are greeted by the blackbird’s morning song. After breakfast, they head outside, where Mrs. Rabbit points out several nearby trees – oak, horse chestnut, and sycamore (the ladybirds are eating mildew off its leaves) – while Peter’s sisters make bark rubbings.

As the sun rises higher in the sky, they wander through the meadow for a picnic by the pond, stopping to admire marching ants. Peter learns how crickets and grasshoppers make their sounds.

When they finally reach the pond, they’re greeted by Mr. Jeremy Fisher, who is surrounded by noisy animals. Not to worry, as Jeremy loves to hear “the ducks quacking and the gentle fluttering of dragonfly wings.” As Peter and his sisters feast on pudding, pie, berries, and tarts, they’re serenaded by the ribbits and croaks of tadpoles who have finally turned into frogs.

Continue reading →