Rose's Garden Peter Reynolds

I love the teapot in this story. It reminds me of the whimsical teapots in books by Australia author/illustrators Stephen Michael King and Bob Graham.

Rose explores the world in her fantastic teapot collecting seeds. She reaches a bustling city and sets off to explore. She finds a forgotten stretch of earth in a busy part of the city - the perfect place for her seeds but when she returns to her teapot nearly all of the seeds are gone. She takes her tiny handful of seeds and plants then in this desolate space. Seasons come and go but nothing happens until one day a young child arrives with a beautiful flower made from paper.

Publisher blurb: A sweet fable dedicated to Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy that celebrates the spirit of community, the beauty of nature, and the power of faith and imagination — After traveling the world in her fantastic teapot, Rose is ready to put down roots. She sets about planting flower seeds in a neglected corner of a bustling city. And then she waits — through rain and cold and snow. Rose waits, never doubting that the garden she envisions will one day come to be.

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy is the mother of the famous US President John F Kennedy. There is a garden in Boston called the Greenway. This park is built on land that once contained an elevated highway. The highway was moved underground and the city transformed the area into a park which was opened in 2008. I really like projects like this - it reminds me of the High Line in New York.

Here is the trailer for Rose's Garden.

If we have patience, faith and a sense of community, there is so much that we can do to make the world a better place. Through the Looking Glass

As child after child offers Rose a flower of their own making and their stories, Reynolds reveals the openness of children to transform their world with hope, belief, and action. The blending of the paper flowers and the real ones (and perhaps they are the same?) show that roots develop in all sorts of ways and that we should not just find a home, but nurture one as well. Celebrate Picture Books

I would pair Rose's Garden with these books:

The Secret Sky Garden

Read more about Peter Reynolds beautiful books.

Image source: Kidengage