Where does one go for the ultimate review of a children’s book? The Children’s Book Review, of course. Their tag line is ‘growing readers’, and they can propel an author to the top—or, well not. They review and promote a variety of children’s book by age and type, and here’s what they had to say about The Upside-Down Gardener:
‘Along with some fundamental gardening skills, author Chrysa Smith has created a lively short story that nicely highlights qualities such as patience, resourcefulness, creativity and kindness. Pat Achilles’ illustrations are the perfect accompaniment, bringing life to the gloomy New York City brownstone scenes bit by bit with Dory’s enigmatic personality and the finale of spring flowers. All in all, this imaginative, illustrated easy reader lends itself well to newly independent readers or kids ready to sit for a tale presented in a slightly different format for a picture book. The Upside-Down Gardener would also make a great addition to a classroom collection for group reading time. This is a lovely springtime or baseball season read.
The story came to me as a result of a thwarted gardening experiment, following a trip to the Philadelphia Flower Show. Since then, happy to report that my gardening skills have been honed and my garden is indeed, coming up roses.