Rose's Garden

by Peter H. Reynolds, Peter H. Reynolds (Illustrator)

Overview

A sweet fable dedicated to Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy that celebrates the spirit of community, the beauty of nature, and the power of faith and imagination. (All ages)

A sweet fable dedicated to Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy that celebrates the spirit of community, the beauty of nature, and the power of faith and imagination ——- After traveling the world in her fantastic teapot, Rose is ready to put down roots. She sets about planting flower seeds in a neglected corner of a bustling city. And then she waits - through rain and cold and snow. Rose waits, never doubting that the garden she envisions will one day come to be. With a simple narration and lovely, fanciful illustrations, this luminous picture book resonates with readers of all ages. Author-illustrator Peter H. Reynolds dedicates it to the matriarch of the Kennedy family - herself the namesake of the Rose Kennedy Greenway, a series of gardens, plazas, and tree-lined promenades.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763646417
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	10/13/2009
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 18 Years

About the Author

Peter H. Reynolds is a NEW YORK TIMES best-selling illustrator who has created many acclaimed books for children. He also runs FableVision, the interactive media comany he founded with his twin brother, Paul. Peter H. Reynolds lives in Dedham, Massachusetts.

Editorial Reviews

Inspired by and dedicated to the late Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, for whom Boston's new Greenway park is named, Reynolds's (The Dot) gentle story introduces an intrepid girl who sails the seas on an oversize teapot that she fills with seeds from the various locales she visits. Announcing “It is time to plant my garden,” Rose cruises into a port city, where she finds a “dusty, forgotten stretch of earth,” which she decides “needs some color.” After planting her seeds, she patiently waits—through four seasons—for flowers to bloom. As word of the girl's faith in her garden spreads, children from all over the globe appear “like seeds carried on a breeze,” and each presents Rose with a bright paper flower, bringing the first splashes of color to Reynolds's wispy, monochromatic art. Soon, Rose is rewarded as real flowers sprout among the paper ones, and her garden becomes “Everybody's garden.” The globe-trotting Rose clearly has an adventurous spirit and a strong sense of determination, and Reynolds's fable emphasizes that having faith (and patience) can pay off big. All ages. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Rose sailed to different parts of the world in her teapot. While on her adventures, she collected various seeds. Eventually, the day arrived when she had to dock her seed-filled teapot in a city's harbor. As Rose explored the city she discovered a vacant strip of land; she began to visualize how the desolate stretch of earth could transform. With an idea in mind, she returned to her teapot to find that the birds ate nearly all the seeds that she collected. She took the small handful of seeds that remained and planted them in the empty lot. She waited and waited through the seasons—spring, summer, fall, winter, and back to spring, but nothing appeared. Until one day, the dreams and hopes begin to grow and flourish. The illustrations are like the seeds in Rose's story; they bloom with her faith and transform to color as her dream comes alive. There are wonderful themes for class discussion. This story is in honor of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy and there is a website to explore to see the garden that is named after her in Boston. Reviewer: Carrie Hane Hung

Children's Literature - Carrie Hane Hung

K-Gr 3—This inspiring fable will capture the hearts and imaginations of readers and show them that anything is possible. Young Rose sails around the world in her incredible teapot and collects seeds from her many journeys. She reaches Boston Harbor and discovers a forgotten part of the city that needs attention, care, and beauty. Despite obstacles, including uncooperative weather, her unyielding faith, determination, and perseverance continue to fuel her vision that neighborhoods will connect and become thriving communities. Spring arrives, but nothing has peeked through the earth—yet. Children come with beautiful paper flowers to fill Rose's garden with color. Finally, she notices a real flower blooming, followed by many more, and she knows that she has succeeded in her quest. Reynolds's outstanding illustrations done in watercolor and ink begin in shades of gray and then explode with color and joy as the garden evolves and people come to enjoy it. This book is a tribute to Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy and her family's endeavors in the creation of the Greenway Conservancy and Park in Boston.—Anne Beier, Hendrick Hudson Free Library, Montrose, NY

School Library Journal

Sepia washes give way as pages turn to spots of color and at last a floral carpet of saturated hues in a small, brief tale of a young wanderer named Rose who plants seeds in an empty urban space. Dedicated to Rose Kennedy (and blurbed on the cover by her late son Edward), this tribute to her and to Boston's recently dedicated Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway contains heavy doses of twee-Rose is first met traveling the world in a big china teapot, for instance, and when her flowers don't grow right away immigrant children come trooping in bearing paper flowers and personal stories-but it may inspire young audiences to plant gardens of their own. As neither Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy nor Boston is explicitly identified in the text, however, adults will have to provide significant background to child readers for them to make the connection. This particular fable may well be too self-consciously fabulous for its own good. (Picture book. 5-7)

Kirkus Reviews