Miss Emma's Wild Garden

From School Library Journal PreSchool-Grade 2. Chloe loves Miss Emma's garden because it is wild and not all in rows like her father's. As she romps in her neighbor's yard, she constantly asks Miss Emma to name things, from plants to the animals that come to nibble on them. Young readers will enjoy this naming game and will soon join in with Chloe to ask, "What else is in your garden?" All of Hines's borderless acrylic paintings, including the cover, spread over two pages, thus affording panoramic views of a colorful garden in full bloom. While it would take special conditions to have all these plants bloom at the same time, it is possible, and the sight is a joyous celebration of spring. Deer, rabbits, woodchucks, skinks, squirrels, and birds are welcomed by Miss Emma, as is "the best wild creature in [her] wild, crazy garden"?young Chloe herself, who, like the butterflies that flit among the flowers, brings spark and energy to the otherwise tranquil scenes. Joanne Ryder's picture book poem Dancers in the Garden (Sierra Club, 1992) would make an excellent companion for a seasonal story hour.?Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community-Technical College, CTCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Scientific American Predictable as spring, but in its simplicity, almost as pleasing. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.