After a long, cold winter, doors finally open, and children spill out like candies from a box.Amanda is the last one out of the apartment building, with a carton of chalk in her hands. On every inch of the pavement outside, the children draw pictures of flowers and trees, mushrooms and snails, and a few very unexpected things. It’s a concrete garden. Their creativity, unfettered in the open air, brings something beautiful, something hopeful, to the residents there, and to many more across the globe. From master storyteller Bob Graham comes a charming, gentle post-pandemic story about finding optimism after a dark spell, and the nurturing power of community friendships in an urban setting. The Concrete Garden will resonate with anyone who has been apart from their loved ones, and will encourage us all to find the brightness and color within ourselves.
- Books
- Kids Fiction & Indies
- Kids Fiction
- The Concrete Garden
The Concrete Garden
Author(s)
Publisher
Age Range
4+
Release Date
November 07, 2023
ISBN
978-1536233803
Buy This Book
A timely, inspiring, and uplifting story about hope and the power of creative expression from one of the world’s most treasured storytellers
Editor reviews
2 reviews
The Joy of Shared Community
Overall rating
4.7
Plot
4.0
Characters
N/A
Writing Style
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
5.0
The Concrete Garden is a fanciful tale of children coming together to create art. The children have been cooped up after a long winter and are excited to get outside. Their apartment complex has a huge concrete area just perfect for sidewalk chalk. Each child bounces off the ideas of others and use their own imagination to create an overall masterpiece. I love the idealistic vision this author creates of each contributing their own ideas to make an overall joyful end piece. In real life there might be more a few more squabbles but I like in this book that it focuses on the joy of shared community. The illustrations perfectly complement the idea of children of varying art skills coming together to make something beautiful. Overall, this is a satisfying read making me ready for warmer days and sidewalk chalk fun.
How much sidewalk chalk would you need?
Overall rating
4.3
Plot
4.0
Characters
4.0
Writing Style
4.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
5.0
During the pandemic, children in an apartment house finally get to go outside. One girl brings a box of chalk, and starts with a large drawing on the concrete outside the building. Other children add various drawings, expanding on the original. Since there is a lot of green chalk, there are plenty of flowers and plants. When one girl, who is missing her mother who is far away, sends out a picture of the chalk garden, it is seen by many people, and the neighbors go to their windows to applaud. Of course, chalk doesn't last forever, and the garden disappears in the rain. Undeterred, the children go out side when it is clearer, and use the remains of the box that held the chalk to continue their play.
Good Points
The illustrations mimic chalk very well, and the brights and pastels show up well against white backgrounds. Graham's familiar illustration style (Let's Get a Pup, Jigsaw: Mystery in the Mail) is spare, and he is able to evoke a lot of emotions through very simple lines. A nice variety of children are represented, including characters in hijabs.
There are a few masks at the beginning of the book, worn by the adults, do this might require a little historical background for young readers who were born after the COVID-19 lockdown. A note at the beginning mentions that this book was written during that time, but there isn't anything more about the pandemic. The people on the balconies cheering, however, will evoke memories in older readers.
This is a great book to pair with other books that highlight neighborhood art, like Campoy and Howells' Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood or Verde and Parra's Hey, Wall: A Story of Art and Community, and is also great for fostering a sense of community through sharing, like Kramer and Wen's Empanadas for Everyone.
There are a few masks at the beginning of the book, worn by the adults, do this might require a little historical background for young readers who were born after the COVID-19 lockdown. A note at the beginning mentions that this book was written during that time, but there isn't anything more about the pandemic. The people on the balconies cheering, however, will evoke memories in older readers.
This is a great book to pair with other books that highlight neighborhood art, like Campoy and Howells' Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood or Verde and Parra's Hey, Wall: A Story of Art and Community, and is also great for fostering a sense of community through sharing, like Kramer and Wen's Empanadas for Everyone.
User reviews
There are no user reviews for this listing.
Already have an account? Log in now or Create an account
Latest Additions
GET A YABC BUTTON!
We have all sorts of YABC buttons for your website. Grab one here and link to YABC!