The Hollyhock Wall
The Curious Garden
We had a garden this year and it has been wonderful. I got several books about the joy of gardens and this is one we like - The Curious Garden by Peter Brown. What happens when someone helps nature reclaim an old elevated railway? It's beautiful.
![]() | author: Peter Brown rating: ![]() asin: 0316015474 binding: Hardcover list price: $16.99 USD amazon price: $11.55 USD |
One boy's quest for a greener world... one garden at a time.
While out exploring one day, a little boy named Liam discovers a struggling garden and decides to take care of it. As time passes, the garden spreads throughout the dark, gray city, transforming it into a lush, green world.
This is an enchanting tale with environmental themes and breathtaking illustrations that become more vibrant as the garden blooms. Red-headed Liam can also be spotted on every page, adding a clever seek-and-find element to this captivating picture book.
The Gigantic Turnip
![]() | author: Aleksei Tolstoy asin: 1905236727 binding: Paperback list price: $9.99 USD amazon price: $9.99 USD |
This hilarious retelling of the classic Russian tale about a farmer whose turnip is impossible to pull from the ground uses simple vocabulary and is ideal for reading aloud. Its cumulative theme will soon have young readers gleefully joining in, and Irish artist Niamh Sharkey s wonderfully quirky illustrations will delight and fascinate all ages.
Mandy (Julie Andrews Collection)
![]() | author: Julie Andrews Edwards rating: ![]() asin: 0061131628 binding: Hardcover list price: $17.99 USD amazon price: $14.03 USD |
Mandy, a ten-year-old orphan, dreams of a place to call her own. Escaping over the orphanage wall to explore the outside world, Mandy discovers a tiny deserted cottage in the woods. All through the spring, summer, and fall, Mandy works to make it truly hers. Sometimes she "borrows" things she needs from the orphanage. Sometimes, to guard her secret, she even lies. Then, one stormy night at the cottage, Mandy gets sick, and no one knows how to find her—except a special friend she didn't know she had.
This new edition of a classic novel features beautiful black-and-white illustrations that capture the magic of finding a home.
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
![]() | author: Linda Williams rating: ![]() asin: 0064431835 binding: Paperback list price: $6.99 USD amazon price: $6.99 USD |
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything Linda Williams. Illustrated by: Megan Lloyd. 0nce upon a time, there was a little old lady who was not afraid of anything! But one autumn night, while walking in the woods, the little old lady heard . . . CLOMP, CLOMP, SHAKE, SHAKE, CLAP, CLAP. And the little old lady who was not afraid of anything had the scare of her life!
Charlotte in Paris
This book is Charlotte's diary (from 10 months in 1893 and 1894) and it is full of pasted in postcards, little sketches, copies of famous art, and maps of Paris. Charlotte's father is a painter and so she ends up meeting other painters, including Monet, Lilla Cabot Perry, and Edgar Degas. The story of her artistic explorations is cheerful and fun to read.
![]() | author: Joan MacPhail Knight rating: ![]() asin: 0811837661 binding: Hardcover list price: $16.99 USD amazon price: $11.55 USD |
It's 1893. Charlotte and her family have lived abroad in the famous artist colony in Giverny, France, for a year, when an exciting invitation arrives. The celebrated impressionist Mary Cassatt is having an exhibition in Paris. While in Paris, Charlotte dines at a cafe on the Champs-Elysees, watches a marionette show in the Tuileries gardens and celebrates her birthday at the Eiffel Tower. Illustrated with stunning museum reproductions of works by artists such as Monet, Degas, Cassatt, Renoir and Rodin as well as lovely watercolor collages, this sequel to Charlotte in Giverny also includes biographical sketches of the featured painters. Charlotte's charming scrapbook will leave fans of the first book, art lovers, Francophiles and readers of all ages shouting, "Vive Charlotte!"
Stone Fox
This is one of the books I wish I'd read all the way through before I read it to the girls (then ages 4 and 7). It is a really amazing book, the girls begged to hear it and at the end we all almost cried! This is an excellent story for older kids.
![]() | author: John Reynolds Gardiner rating: ![]() asin: 0064401324 binding: Paperback list price: $5.50 USD amazon price: $5.50 USD |
Little Willy's Grandfather is sick, and it's up to Willy to save their farm from tax collectors. Their only hope is the prize money from the National Dogsled Race. But a lot of other people want to win the race, too, including Stone Fox, who has never lost a race in his life.
Farmer Boy (Little House)
What an amazing look at how families used to farm - what a lot of work! We all really enjoyed this one.
![]() | author: Laura Ingalls Wilder rating: ![]() asin: 0060581824 binding: Paperback list price: $8.99 USD amazon price: $8.99 USD |
For the first time in the history of the Little House books, this new edition features Garth Williams’ interior art in vibrant, full color, as well as beautifully redesigned covers.
While Laura Ingalls grows up in a little house on the western prairie, Almanzo Wilder is living on a big farm in New York State. Here Almanzo and his brother and sisters help with the summer planting and fall harvest. In winter there is wood to be chopped and great slabs of ice to be cut from the river and stored. Time for fun comes when the jolly tin peddler visits, or best of all, when the fair comes to town.
This is Laura Ingalls Wilder's beloved story of how her husband Almanzo grew up as a farmer boy far from the little house where Laura lived.
The Secret Garden (Unabridged Classics)
First published in 1911, this is a children's classic. A fantastic story of friendship, compassion and encouragement. We listened to the audio book read by Anne Flosnik and enjoyed her accent. In this book one of the main characters speaks yorkshire, so it's really neat to actually hear that. It amazes me just how timeless this book is, our (then) 9 year old loves it.
![]() | author: Frances Hodgson Burnett rating: ![]() asin: 1402714599 binding: Hardcover list price: $9.95 USD amazon price: $9.95 USD |
Born in India, the unattractive and willful Mary Lennox has remained in the care of servants for as long as she can remember. But the girl’s life changes when her mother and father die and she travels to Yorkshire to live with her uncle. Dark, dreary Misselthwaite Manor seems full of mysteries, including a very special garden, locked tight for 10 years. With the help of Dickon, a local boy, Mary intends to uncover its secrets.













