Kate Mayes (text), and Tamsin Ainslie (illustrator), In my garden, HarperCollins Publishers, August 2023, RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780733340253
The end papers are glorious. They invite enquiry, curiosity, discovery of the myriad of flowers, trees, plants, wildlife on this planet. Inside the picture book, gardens are revealed through the eyes and experiences of children from many parts of the world. The gardens are beautiful and exploratory as children search for ‘the sweetest nightingale’ in Aiko’s garden; Francisco’s ‘Joshua trees as far as the eye can see’; Tenson catching ‘fish down by the edges of a great lake.’
The final page reveals what part of the world each child comes from. There’s Sami in Syria. Kawaii is from Laos. Olivia lives in Australia. Children are from many parts of the world. The gardens are rich, diverse and reflect the gardens in their unique country. It inspires children to go even further than the book and search for other gardens across the world.
Kate Mayes’ text unveils the depth and breadth of each garden reaching into history, the present and future. Her final lines give hope to everyone.
Planting, watching, growing, dreaming.
In our gardens something out of nothing comes,
And we help turn the world into something new.
Tamsin Ainslie’s illustrations are superb and open the world of nature to children and all of us.
Suitable for ages 3 + and for all ages.
Highly Recommended
Reviewed by Susanne Gervay
