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The sun managed to shine a few beams down this past week. Such a welcome sight considering that the snowman we built early last December still has not completely melted! It's been a long winter here and we are ready for some warmer, spring weather. Pretty soon those spring garden flowers will add color to the landscape, spreading cheer and happiness. We got a jump on the season with a brand new spring garden themed picture book, just released this week.

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, move over. There's a new girl in the garden -- a happy, little daydreamer who envisions chocolate rabbits and jelly bean bushes, and seashell fields. Kevin Henkes sows the seeds of imagination and illustrates with colors of spring in his newest picture book, My Garden. A barefoot little girl helps her mother in a cheery garden by watering and weeding the plants. All the while, she fantasies about her ideal garden.

"In my garden, the flowers could change color just by my thinking about it -- pink, blue, green purple. Even patterns."

My Garden by Kevin Henkes. Greenwillow Books (February 2010); 40 pages; ISBN 9780061715174
Book S

8 Comments on My Garden by Kevin Henkes - Book Review and stART, last added: 2/28/2010

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Amy said, on 2/25/2010 1:36:00 PM

This sounds fantastic, and I love the art activity. I'll have to try that with my own little artists!

Thanks for linking up to Read Aloud Thursday once again!

An Almost Unschooling Mom said, on 2/25/2010 1:44:00 PM

I've seen those reversible books, but never tried one with the kids - thanks for the pointers :)

Janet said, on 2/25/2010 2:27:00 PM

I've never seen this Kevin Henkes book. The sunflower alone is enough to make me want to read it! Love your art projects, too.

Jenny said, on 2/25/2010 6:19:00 PM

That sounds like a great book. I love the project too! I bet my daughter would really like this book.

Wonder Mom said, on 2/25/2010 7:14:00 PM

I do believe that the accordion fold is perhaps to "bestest" fold out there- for fans, paper gardens, and, uh, accordions, of course!

(Seriously, this simple project has many possibilities for school work...thanks for the idea...)

Playing by the book said, on 2/25/2010 10:12:00 PM

I'm always on the look out for new garden books so this is particularly good for us! And your accordion books look lovely.

ECarter said, on 2/26/2010 4:43:00 AM

It took me a while to decide on the Hooked On Phonics. The reason I finally chose that program were the recommendations from other home school moms. When I got the third raving comment from a friend, I finally decided that was the one! Each "grade" (use this term loosely) comes in two levels with 16 lessons in each level. I figure it is easier and cheaper to do the kindergarten levels with her now and decide in a few months whether to move up to HonP 1st grade or get a different one. I will say she is thrilled with the dvd portion and the entire set up though!

Rebecca said, on 2/28/2010 6:45:00 PM

wow, these are great!

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Want to play an animal guessing game? Try reading If Not for the Cat by Jack Prelustsky. But, if you really want to solve the puzzles yourself without cheating, have someone else read the book out loud, hiding the illustrations. Then take a peek after you make your guess. Prelustsky composed seventeen animal haiku for this masterfully written puzzle book of poetry filled with stunning illustrations by Ted Rand. Even those that typically don't enjoy poetry will most likely find the book entertaining. Seventeen syllables each haiku and seventeen different animals -- it's pure brilliance with lines like, "I, the hoverer, / Sip the nasturtium's nectar / And sing with my wings." Hum a happy tune whilst you try to figure that one out.

We won our copy of If Not for the Cat from Playing by the Book last month and have enjoyed the book immensely. For the last few months, I've been discussing syllables with my daughter and clapping words out, so she enjoyed learning the 5-7-5 structure. This is one of those books that appeals to all ages, and it is a perfect book for teachers to use while teaching the haiku format.

If Not for the Cat by Jack Prelustsky, illustrated by Ted Rand. Greenwillow Books (September 2004); ISBN 9780060596774; 40 pages

My daughter wanted to write a few of her own, based on a couple of the bird illustrations in the book. She came up with the main words and I filled in the rest to create each poem. (We are by no means as talented as Prelutsky, and the first really isn't a riddle, but we tried. The "stay out of the corn" bit is entirely my daughter's own words. I'm impressed.)

I am an Amazon affiliate and may receive a very small commission for products purchased through my Amazon links. View my full

4 Comments on If Not for the Cat by Prelutsky / Our Own Groundhog Day Haiku, last added: 2/2/2010

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Playing by the book said, on 2/2/2010 9:10:00 AM

I love your daughter's haikus :-)

MotherReader said, on 2/2/2010 10:21:00 AM

Oh, one of my favorite books - so lovely.

It's so different from Pretlutsky's other poetry and the artwork is amazing.

A Grandma said, on 2/2/2010 12:27:00 PM

This post was so much fun to read. Loved each and every haiku.

Susan Quinn said, on 2/2/2010 12:54:00 PM

If Not for the Cat makes me laugh every time I read it. Which was many times, all in a row.

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I’m incredibly excited about fellow 2010 author Amy Brecount White’s book, FORGET-HER-NOTS because I love love love flowers. The idea of using a flower's secret power to change behavior is fascinating to me—cannot wait to read this one!

Here’s Amy’s deal report from Publishers Marketplace:

Virginia Duncan of Greenwillow Books has acquired FLOWERSPEAK by Amy Brecount White, in a pre-emptive offer. In the novel, a girl discovers that she can use flowers and their magical potency to make people change their behavior – even fall in love. The novel is tentatively scheduled for a spring 2009 release. Steven Chudney of the Chudney Agency did the deal.
[We didn’t make the spring 2009 release, and Greenwillow really wanted a spring release. The title was also changed to the more fun and catchy FORGET-HER-NOTS.]

Hi Amy, can you tell us how you met your agent?
I had heard good things about Steven Chudney from several people and checked out his website. Our taste in books seemed very similar. At that point, his website asked for the first three chapters. He loved them so much he said he was tempted to offer representation just based on those! He did read the whole novel, though, before I signed.

Can you tell us how your book deal happened?
Over the years, I had lots of agents and editors express interest in my novel mostly at SCBWI conferences, because I have such a great premise, imho. It took a few years, though, for me to get the story exactly right and to find the perfect house—Greenwillow. Once we did, Virginia Duncan made an offer within two weeks and right before Christmas. It was the best present ever!

What was the inspiration for FORGET-HER-NOTS and how long did it take you to write?
I used to write a lot of articles for newspapers and magazine—mostly lifestyle and travel pieces—so I was always on the lookout for new ideas. I found out about the language of flowers from a book called, TUSSIE-MUSSIES, which is the Victorian name for symbolic flower bouquets. Once I knew about it, I started seeing the language everywhere. I also gave several friends symbolic bouquets, and I definitely wished that the messages I was sending to them came true. So it was an easy jump from wishing to imagining real magic in the blooms. And I do believe there is a special magic any time anyone gives flowers.

How long did it take you to write it?
Hmm, how long was it? From conception to an offer, about 8 years. I was working on lots of other projects, too, and taking care of my three kids. (I like to say it had the longest gestation period of all my children.) But, I must admit, my learning curve on the craft of novel writing was a little steeper than I expected. It’s a lot different from writing an article, but I think–I’m hopin’—I’ve got it now.

What's your publication date and where in the process are you now?
Right now they’re saying February 2010, and I’m on copy edits.

If you could have any magical power, what would it be?
Flower magic, of course! I’d love to be able to awaken emotions and transform lives with a few lovely blooms. Actually, there are several scientific/psychological studies showing how receiving flowers elevates your mood and feelings of happiness for several days. And patients who have flowers in their room generally have shorter stays and respond better to medications, according to another study.

Soooo… what are you waiting for? Go give someone some flowers!

What are you working on now?
I’m writing a YA novel tentatively called, STRING THEORY. It’s about relationships, growing up fast, and taking care of the earth. I’ve described it as HOOT meets STORY OF A GIRL. No magic, but a few flowers sprinkled in.

Do you have any words of wisdom for writers trying to get published?
Read everything you admire in your genre and then read it again. I was a very good prose writer, but it took me awhile to get a novel right. Even if you can string words together, it’s a real craft and skill to be able to tell a story well, so people want to keep reading. I still go back and read some of my favorite novels – GRACELING, WICKED LOVELY, and THE WITCH OF BLACKBIRD POND – to see exactly how they’re sewn together. It takes also practice and dedication to learn to read like a writer.

Where can we find out more about you and your book?
If you want to learn more about me, FORGET-HER-NOTS and the language of flowers, or read my blog, check out my website.

(There’s a really cool list of flowers and their meanings on Amy’s website – just found out that my favorite flower means fantastic extravagance! Love it.)

Thanks for the interview, Amy! What flowers should we send for congratulations?