Amelia Ellicott's Garden by Liliana Stafford illustrated by Stephen Michael King

Opening sentence: A long time ago, Amelia Ellicott's family owned most of Sampson Street, from the fish-and-chip shop on the corner to the roundabout on the main road.

But over time the street has changed and now number fifty-six is overshadowed by a block of flats and a high fence. In the past Amelia knew her neighbours but now she is all alone. Amelia has grown old and her garden as become hard to maintain. There are weeds and the roses badly need pruning. At least her chickens are happy. Every evening Amelia sits with her chickens and has a chat about her day.

"They are Pekin Bantams, the colour of sunshine and marigolds."

Sadly when the new chicks hatch, there is no one to share the joy. Her cat Mustafah refuses to be interest in chickens. 

Meanwhile, in those high-rise flats next door Tony Timponi watches the chickens too. He used to live in Italy and he had chickens and goats and fruit trees. Adrian Pop looks down too. He would love a garden where he could grow cabbage and zucchinis. Lin Li would love to see some ducks paddling in Amelia's little pond and the Martinovitch children dream of making a tyre swing in the big mulberry tree. 

"But no one ever says a word. They are too shy. And besides Amelia Ellicott never gives them the time of day"

Now pause. You have read about the problem which at its heart are themes of loneliness and longing. What would you add to the story to facilitate a change? Liliana Stafford adds a wild storm. Remember those neighbours have been watching the garden. Now they spring into action. 

"And there in the pouring rain are all the neighbours running around chasing chickens or trying to catch bits of Amelia Ellicott's garden." 

And the best thing, apart from everyone meeting over cups of tea, is that the fence that once separated residents of the high-rise flats from Amelia Ellicott and her garden, has fallen down. Go back and read all those dreams - a tree swing, a vegetable garden, sharing baby chicks, and friends - all of those dreams can now come true!

Amelia Ellicott's Garden was first published in 2000. The illustrations by Stephen Michael King are fresh and vibrant - I think his early books were among his best - I am thinking of The Man who loved Boxes, Henry and Amy, Mutt Dog, Pocket Dogs, Beetle Soup, Where does Thursday go? and Applesauce and the Christmas Miracle. Click this link to see the posts about lots of books illustrated by Stephen Michael King. 

When you open Amelia Ellicott's Garden spend some time on the first page, the imprint page, and the gloriously decorated title. I picked up Amelia Ellicott's garden at a recent charity book sale because I have always loved it. Sadly this book is now out of print, but I am sure it will be in most Australian school libraries. Here is a heart-felt review with teaching ideas from Children's Books Daily. In this video for the State Library of NSW Stephen Michael King talks about his book. 

Companion books (or perhaps you could read these as part of a mini theme about community life):

The Biscuit Maker

The Song for everyone

The Invisible

Old Fellow

Eugene the Architect by Thibaut Rassat

"Eugene was an architect - a rigorous architect and, some would say, a bit eccentric. Actually most people thought he was a little bit crazy. He preferred to stay at home in his high, angular, dark house."

The key words from this text quote are angular and dark. Eugene likes things to be ordered, neat and tidy including his buildings. He designs structures with straight lines and perfect geometric shapes. Eugene might be described as a 'control freak' because he takes time to supervise the construction of his buildings every step of the way. 

Now the for complication. One evening a strong wind blows a huge old tree right into the middle of the third floor of the newest building which is under construction. The workers expect Eugene to order them to cut down the tree but instead Eugene climbs up into the tree where he makes an amazing discovery. The tree has beautiful angles and proportions. It is perfect. Eugene has discovered the wonder of nature. 

Eugene now sees the whole world in a very different way. He makes amazing changes to his building giving space to all creatures - animals and humans.

"He had created something special in every little corner. The children were sliding down the huge toboggan. The older folk were daydreaming on their new benches."  

He even included a library!

Publisher Blurb Penguin Random House: Eugene the architect designs buildings that are incredibly straight and orderly. He is very proud of his latest work–an enormous house with perfectly perpendicular walls and windows. One day he is surprised to find a tree growing in what will be the house’s living room. Instead of cutting it down, Eugene studies the tree, marvelling at the way its branches, roots, leaves, and trunk grow in elegant proportions. Suddenly, Eugene sees nature in an entirely new way–not as the opposite of precise order, but as something with its own type of perfection. Thibaut Rassat’s playful illustrations introduce young readers to basic architectural and geometric principles while amusing them with Eugene’s prickly personality and joyful discovery. They will come away with a new appreciation for architecture and for the unexpected twists and turns that make the natural world–and our life in it–so fascinating.

Many years ago I had a student in my library who was the son of a very famous Sydney Architect. One day this young boy asked to borrow some architecture books - we didn't have many but from then on when I saw new titles on this topic I added them to my library. Eugene the Architect is a book I would have loved to put into his hands. I have discovered the author himself is an architect who lives in Paris.  Here is a house designed by the father of this boy from my previous school which gives you an idea of his talent. This is a house in a suburb near me:

If your young reading companion is a fan of the Andy Griffiths 13 Storey Treehouse series this book might give them a different perspective about architecture and an appreciation of creative fun in design. You might also look for this treasure - If I built a House by Chris van Dusen. 

Here is the cover of the French (Canadian) edition - Mauvaise Herbe.

My friend at Kinderbookswitheverything has an extensive Pinterest collection of books about architecture. You might try to find some of these:

We're Stuck by Sue DeGennaro

We are stuck! Where are we stuck? Why are we stuck?

Building 24 (my favourite number) has five floors all accessed by a central lift or perhaps you call this an elevator. Turtle lives on the top floor. His mum gives him a list - it is important. Turtle races out the door and jumps into the lift. As it travels down, the lift fills up with a delightful assortment of residents. The lift space soon becomes very squashy. Then the lights go out and the lift is stuck.

"I have a meeting to go to."
"I have a shop to open."
"I need to get to the hairdresser."

Look at these concerns - they all begin with "I".

It is our little hero Turtle who turns all of this around. He starts to cry and everyone looks at his list.

Today is his birthday.

Crocodile has a plastic glove - she turns it into a balloon.
Hippo grabs a newspaper and folds a set of paper hats.
Pelican has a delicious treat in his lunch box.

"And in Building 24, on the busy side of town, nothing was ever the same again."

There are not very many books on the CBCA Early Childhood Notables list this year that I truly like but We're Stuck is one exception. I especially love the first page where you need to turn the book lengthwise to see the whole building and I also like the variety of work wear worn by the animals characters who reside in this building and ride the lift.  Here is a set of excellent teachers notes from the publisher.

I have a horror of being stuck in a lift, especially a crowded one but this group of animal passengers in Building 24 work out a way to bring real joy to this very stressful situation. This is a perfect book to share with a young child aged 3+ and it poses the wonderful question - just what was written on that list?