• Age: 3 to 6
• Grade: p to 1

From Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winner Jack Wong, a story of a boy who discovers that the more he learns, the more there is to know!

On their neighborhood walks together, a boy learns from his older sister all about the plants they see — magnolias that smell like lemon cake, creeping weeds that used to be planted for decoration, and even how dandelion greens can be eaten with spaghetti! But what makes a plant a flower, vegetable or weed, anyway? How can his sister tell, and how does she know so much?

The boy’s head spins as he realizes how vast the universe is and how much there is to learn … until he resolves to let his knowledge grow in its own way and time, just like the mysterious plants he has decided to nurture in the garden.

Award-winning creator Jack Wong brings us a delightful, nuanced story about cultivating patience and letting knowledge grow.

 

Key Text Features

dialogue

illustrations

 

Correlates to the Common Core States Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2

Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4

Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7

Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.

JACK WONG a créé un chef-d’œuvre inspiré de son expérience vécue avec une grand-mère qui a passé son enfance dans les rivières de Bornéo et une mère ayant grandi dans la Chine de la fin des années 1950, à qui l’on a interdit d’apprendre à nager. Né à Hong Kong et élevé à Vancouver, Jack est titulaire d’une licence en beaux-arts du Nova Scotia College of Art and Design de Halifax, au Canada, où il vit aujourd’hui avec sa femme et leurs deux chats.

 

JACK WONG has created a masterpiece drawn from his lived experience of growing up with a grandmother who spent her childhood in the rivers of Borneo and a mother — growing up in late 1950s China — who was forbidden to learn to swim. Born in Hong Kong and raised in Vancouver, Jack holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax, Canada, where he now lives with his wife and two cats.

Jack Wong's profile page

A charming picture book ... Wong's illustrations are tender and dreamlike. STARRED REVIEW

Quill & Quire

A delicate but powerful ode to curiosity and the delights to be found in the natural world. STARRED REVIEW

BookPage

A gentle story that encourages readers to engage with their own surroundings and discover the place they inhabit.

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

A thought-provoking book about the joys of the natural world, with a sprinkling of kid-friendly philosophy. STARRED REVIEW

School Library Journal

Beautifully illustrated.

Montreal Gazette

Wong's lush pastel illustrations are part of the magic of a picture book that will especially delight young gardeners.

Globe and Mail

Wong's impressive command of color, light, and shadow in his textured pastel illustrations makes each scene thrum with life ... A gentle and meditative origin story of a budding young gardener. STARRED REVIEW

Kirkus

Played out through quiet internality, the narrator's questioning curiosity, and the discovery they make while trusting their own intuition, provides quiet satisfaction.

Publishers Weekly

A celebration of nature and of a ­loving sibling bond.

Horn Book

With every page-turn, Wong's exquisite synchronicity of words and art create a welcoming wonderland to explore and appreciate.

Shelf Awareness

Wong's pastel pictures are large and expansive.

Winnipeg Free Press