The Gardener

"April showers bring May flowers." Sarah Stewart's The Gardener brings us the winsome story of a young flower lover, Lydia Grace Finch. Forced by the hard times of the Depression, Lydia leaves her family to go to the unfamiliar city to stay with her Uncle Jim, an unsmiling baker. While traveling by train, Lydia writes to Uncle Jim, admitting she knows nothing about baking, but a lot about gardening. In Lydia's subsequent letters to her Mama, Papa, and Grandma we discover just what Lydia thinks of the city, subdued Uncle Jim, and learning to bake bread. David Small's pen and ink drawings with their softly hued watercolor washes fill the large pages with detailed views of Lydia's adventure. Where in the big gray city can Lydia ever grow all the seeds and bulbs her Grandma sends her? Will Lydia ever coax a smile from Uncle Jim? Read Lydia's charming letters to find out how one determined slip of a girl brightens her city corner of the grim 1930's world.

"Please, make me the gardener of your flower garden", a lover asks his beloved. He calls himself a servant and his beloved the queen. He dreams to serve her idle days. He wants to keep fresh the grassy path where she walks in the morning; he wants her feet to be greeted with praise at every step by the flowers.
And what he wants for his reward? He asks to be allowed to hold her little fists like tender lotus-buds and slip flower chains over her wrists; to tinge the soles of her feet with the red juice of flower petals and kiss away the speck of dust that may chance to linger there.
This is the way Rabindranath Tagore, the greatest Indian poet of all times, introduce us to this enchanted collection of poems, poems that touch the most profound strings of our hearts. His poems tell us about love and life - and they are rich with the description of nature and beauty. Anybody that loves or has loved cannot remain indifferent to his poems. Some readers "have smiles, sweet and simple, and some a sly twinkle in their eyes. Some have tears that well up in the daylight, and others tears that are hidden in the gloom." But we all have need for him, the poet, who is "ever as young or as old as the youngest and the oldest of the village".
His poems tell us of impossible love - like the love of the free bird and the cage bird: "Their love is intense with longing, but they never can fly wing to wing. Through the bars of the cage they look, and vain is their wish to know each other. They flutter their wings in yearning, and sing, 'Come closer, my love!' The free bird cries, 'It cannot be, I fear the closed doors of the cage.' The cage bird whispers, 'Alas, my wings are powerless and dead.' "
His poems tell us of secret love: "The young traveler came along the road in the rosy mist of the morning. He stopped before my door and asked me with an eager cry, 'Where is she?' For very shame I could not say, 'She is I, young traveler, she is I.' "
His poems tell us of lovers' emotion: "When my love comes and sits by my side, when my body trembles and my eyelids droop, the night darkens, the wind blows out the lamp, and the clouds draw veils over the stars. It is the jewel at my own breast that shines and gives light. I do not know how to hide it."
His poems tell us of the need for love confidence: "Do not keep to yourself the secret of your heart, my friend! Say it to me, only to me, in secret. You who smile so gently, softly whisper, my heart will hear it, not my ears."
His poems tell us of a love story: "Hands cling to hands and eyes linger on eyes: thus begins the record of our hearts. It is the moonlit night of March; the sweet smell of henna is in the air; my flute lies on the earth neglected and your garland of flowers is unfinished. This love between you and me is simple as a song."
His poems tell us of lovers departing: "An unbelieving smile flits on your eyes when I come to you to take my leave. I have done it so often that you think I will soon return. To tell you the truth I have the same doubt in my mind. For the spring days come again time after time; the full moon takes leave and comes on another visit, the flowers come again and blush upon their branches year after year, and it is likely that I take my leave only to come to you again. But keep the illusion awhile; do not send it away with ungentle haste. When I say I leave you for all time, accept it as true, and let a mist of tears for one moment deepen the dark rim of your eyes. Then smile as archly as you like when I come again."
Reading those poems I felt like visiting a flower garden full of scents and beauty in a magic ancient kingdom.

Lydia Grace Finch lives in the country, and she loves gardens. However, when the Great Depression causes her family to struggle for money, off she must go to a strange city to live with her uncle. Life may get frightening and bleak. But just spend some time with this little girl, and it's easy to forget. She keeps looking at the world like Grandma does: "I've tried to remember everything you ever taught me about beauty."

Brilliant expressive illustration and Lydia Grace's own candid letters tell the story of THE GARDENER. Life becomes what you make of it. Many things can "equal" a smile, and flowers can grow anywhere. Take the time to plant, and anyone can become a gardener.

This book has such an unexpected gut-level impact on everyone who reads it! I have read it aloud to people of all ages and there is never a dry eye in the room! Each of the short letters begins with a date which will be meaningful to anyone who lived through the depression. Oddly enough, disasters and hard times seem to bring out the best in people and this book sets out to show just how that is true. Lydia Grace Finch is such a universally loveable little character - she is unforgettable! The text and the illustrations are so perfectly suited to each other - they seem to have been created by the same person -but they aren't! (Just a "marriage of true minds" I guess.)The book gets at the heart of what a family can give a child even without money - what it means to be poor and what it means to be rich.
This is a lovely gift book for children or adults and I hope it stays in print for a long, long time!

As young Lydia is sent to live with relatives during this depression-era setting, she writes notes home. She tells of her new life helping her sullen Uncle Jim in his bakery and of her joy in making things grow from the seeds she brings with her from back home. Each colorful double-page illustration reveals intricate details of Lydia's life in the city, and her letters are the only text. Page by page, letter by letter, a quiet theme is revealed until we see the lovely rooftop garden that Lydia surprises Uncle Jim with that finally produces the smile she has been seeking. In the end we see that correspondance, gardening, and family relationships grow and flourish when given careful attention. Pair this lovely book with _Dear Mr. Blueberry_ or _The Jolly Postman_ to study the form of writing through letters. This book is especially perfect for sharing in the spring, and it will be enjoyed again and again no matter the season.

Parents be warned! I don't think you can possibly read this story to your child for the first time without crying all the way thru. The second time was a little easier, but it's so sweet! We love this book.

I appreciate the subtle overtones and the elaborate illustration of this book. Both my children and I received the strong message that any individual can make his/her life fun and give an impact to others.

The Gardener is the heartwarming story of a delightful girl who has to live for a time with her dreary uncle because of hard times. Her efforts that transform not only her uncle, but all the people around her, are touching and beautifully illustrated. I seldom make it through reading this story to my children without shedding a tear.

What a delightful book about a young girl who must move to live with her uncle since the Depression has forced her parents to send her to someone who can care for her. She takes with her the love of gardening that her grandma taught her. She sprinkles the gardening all over her neighborhood and brings smiles and good cheer to her uncle and his clients. Her goal is to get her uncle to smile, hopefully at some point.

Well written story with the shadow of the Depression in the background but the little girl isn't bothered, she just wants to make people smile. A great children's book.