School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-Pierce uses cumulative poetry to depict a garden full of life and motion awaiting the grand reveal of a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis. The text is repetitive, with strong rhyme and an abundance of action verbs, well suited to the portrayal of the bustling garden. The end matter features supplemental information on the various critters mentioned within the poem, such as the buzzing honeybee and hungry chickadee. The visuals provide depth to the simple text, with vibrant colors and rich details, including droplets of water trickling down individual petals as well as a reoccurring snail and chipmunk scampering throughout the pages. Echoing the emergence of the butterfly, the illustrations are contained within a defined frame until the final stanza of the poem, when the garden's cleverly disguised surprise is unveiled and the illustrations burst from their frame to cover the pages in greenery. In addition to the animated cast of insects and animals, there are a tremendous variety of flowers shown within the garden, including forget-me-nots planted by the garden gate, echinacea, tiger lilies, and daisies. VERDICT An engaging read-aloud for young children and new readers, with a lot to discover among the diversity of both the flora and fauna shown in the illustrations.-Kelly Topita, Anne Arundel County Public Library, MD © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this addition to the Tilbury House Nature Book series, Pierce (Blackberry Bouquet) uses a "House That Jack Built"-style rhyme to introduce a succession of garden-dwelling creatures while teasing out the mystery of the "surprise/ in clever disguise,/ that hangs in my busy green garden." By book's end, the surprise, a cocoon, opens to reveal a large, bright yellow butterfly. Other garden residents include "an inchworm who creeps up and down,/ dodging the hummingbird fluttering 'round," and "a mantis awaiting his prey." Schwartz (How Strong Is an Ant?) works in a lush, detailed style that takes occasional liberties with scale (the mantis, in the foreground, appears significantly larger than a nearby hummingbird and chipmunk) but creates a strong sense of an environment abuzz with activity. A closing section provides detailed descriptions of each animal. Ages 4-6. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
