Behold Our Magical Garden
Poems Fresh from a School Garden
Age 8+
Poetry
Witty and inspiring, Allan Wolf’s upbeat poems are poised to cultivate a new crop of gardeners, aided by Daniel Duncan’s bountiful illustrations.
In our garden, can you see?
A grand adventure? And it’s free!
A green delicious fantasy?
Behold our magical garden.
There’s a lot more to gardens than meets the eye! In this collection of buoyant poems filled with fun facts, young nature enthusiasts and budding gardeners are called on to help solve a mystery by the compost bin, join a Wild West–style standoff between some good bugs and a few bad ones, interview the sun to find out what happens when it drinks a glass of water, and learn the fancy names of plants to spice up dinner conversation. They’ll be spurred to grab their own gardening tools, drop in some seeds, encounter a few insects, gather fresh vegetables, and find a whole lot of magic. Allan Wolf’s playful poems and Daniel Duncan’s whimsically detailed, welcoming illustrations combine in a charming celebration of the many wonders and lessons to be learned from a school garden. For further inspiration, engaging notes on the poems and an author’s note on jotting down observations can be found in the back matter.
Creators
Allan Wolf is the author of many award-winning books for children and teens, including No Buddy Like a Book, The Day the Universe Exploded My Head, The Blood-Hungry Spleen and Other Poems About Our Parts, and The Blanket Where Violet Sits. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina.
Daniel Duncan is the author-illustrator of the picture book South and the illustrator of The Purple Puffy Coat by Maribeth Boelts and Mr. Posey’s New Glasses by Ted Kooser. Daniel Duncan lives outside London.
Reviews
A school garden flourishes with the help of enthusiastic students in this idyllic poetry collection. . . . an enjoyable read, and one that will likely inspire young readers to grow their own gardens.
School Library Journal
From the poetic mind of Allan Wolf comes a vast collection of poems fresh from the garden. Illustrated by Daniel Duncan, readers will go on a journey from germination to compost, learning along the way.
Tiny Beans
Well tuned to cultivate a deeper appreciation for both poetry and the pleasures and rewards of planting.
Kirkus Reviews
A bevy of delightful poems on every imaginable aspect of school gardening. . . The illustrator obviously absorbed each poem, because the pictures range from humorous to accurate biological renderings to lovely. Wolf has provided a teaching suggestion for each of the poems at the end of the book.
Denton Record-Chronicle
This story-in-verse of a school garden from beginning to delicious end captures the joy of growth and creation.
The Virginian Pilot
