A companion to the new Over and Under the Pond and the beloved Over and Under the Snow, this sweet exploration of the hidden world and many lives of a garden through the course of a year "could not be more lovely," according to the Washington Post. Up in the garden, the world is full of green—leaves and sprouts, growing vegetables, ripening fruit. But down in the dirt there is a busy world of earthworms digging, snakes hunting, skunks burrowing, and all the other animals that make a garden their home. In this exuberant and lyrical book, discover the wonders that lie hidden between stalks, under the shade of leaves...and down in the dirt.
The New York Times Book Review - Maria Russo
Neal's lovely, dusky art lavishes the same attention on a grasshopper as on the people, capturing a mood that's both languid and teeming with life.
From the Publisher
"Offers excellent coming attractions for what youngsters can expect when they try to grow something."—Reading Today"Will have readers itching to get their hands dirty."—Baltimore Sun"
This is a really sweet book that explains how nature helps make a garden, with teamwork."—This Kid Reviews Books"
This beautifully illustrated work shines a light on life beneath the surface."—Modern Luxury: Manhattan"
The harmonious relationships above and below ground, and those between the two, emphasize the complexities of the garden ecosystem, as well as the joys of sustained engagement with the land."—The Horn Book Magazine
Children's Literature - Carol Wolfenbarger
A girl, about the age of the intended readers of this book, and her grandmother plant and harvest their garden with an often unseen, but not unnoticed, community of insects and animals laboring beneath the ground and sometimes under the cover of dark. The story begins in the early spring with snow on the ground and continues as the girl narrates the sequence of planning, planting, cultivating, and lastly enjoying what they’ve grown. Many of the readers will have some experience with growing plants but are likely not as familiar with what bugs and slugs, skunks, spiders, snakes, and wasps contribute. The artist uses mixed media to create the world above and below the garden. Rich, opaque colors define the garden and reveal what grows and lives in the dirt. Drawings of garden vegetables and herbs fill the front endpapers and flowers fill the back endpapers. This book will find a place within the elementary science curriculum. Reviewer: Carol Wolfenbarger; Ages 4 to 8.
School Library Journal
03/01/2015
Gr 1–3—Beneath every garden lies a secret world down in the dirt. In this enchanting follow-up to Over and Under the Snow (Chronicle, 2011), Messner explores that underground realm. This yearlong adventure begins early in spring, with a young girl learning from her grandmother that the soil is still too cold and wet to begin planting. The pair make plans while earthworms and insects work in the dirt. As the year goes by, they tend to the garden, weeding, watering, and keeping away pests, and later harvesting vegetables. The illustrations are marked by rich brown earth tones, highlighted by brighter colors here and there (a red wheelbarrow, yellow boots) as the seasons reveal themselves slowly. Spreads detail the often unseen life all around the garden, such as a praying mantis that eats mosquitoes, pill bugs that chew through leaves, honeybees that pollinate flowers, and a garter snake that hunts grasshoppers. Neal effectively uses light and dark to show the contrast between night and day; an image of foraging rabbits by day is eventually replaced by a nighttime scene of skunks "[working] the night shift." Each page invites readers to linger over the quiet text, which gently moves the story along. Back matter includes an author's note and a complete listing of the many creatures mentioned throughout. VERDICT A beautiful, informative addition to any collection.—Frances E. Millhouser, formerly at Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Read More
