"Love to all, Lydia Grace."
Title: The Gardener
Author: Sarah Stewart
Illustrator: David Small
Publisher: Berryville Graphics
Date of Publication: 1997
Genre: General Fiction
Readability Lexile: 570L
Summary:
This is the story of Lydia Grace, a young girl from the country who must go to live with her crabby uncle in the big city. Her father recently lost his job and so times are really tough for the Finch family. Lydia Grace is going to work in Uncle Jim's bakery. What Lydia Grace really loves to do is garden.
This story is told in letters by Lydia Grace, at first to Uncle Jim and then to her family back home. Lydia Grace is very nervous to go to the city and to meet Uncle Jim. She brings her love of gardening with her and with help from her new friends, Ed and Emma (a young couple that work in the bakery) transforms Uncle Jim's bakery from a dreary place into a cheerful shop that the people in the community love to come to.
In her letters back home, Lydia Grace details her experiences of working the bakery, the people she meets and works with, and her quest to make Uncle Jim smile.
Throughout the story Lydia Grace creates a secret place for Uncle Jim on the roof of his bakery. She fills it with potted plants and makes it beautiful. She is sure that it will finally make Uncle Jim smile.
Evaluation:
This a beautiful story of friendship, family, and gardening. The plot of this story is very believable, especially for the time that it is set in, the Great Depression. Many families had to send their children to live with other relatives because of the hard times. The main character in this book, Lydia Grace Finch must overcome several problems throughout the story, 1. leave her family and move to the big, unfamiliar city; 2. make Uncle Jim smile and be happy; 3. tend to the garden she creates at Uncle Jim's shop; and 4. help her family by working in her uncle's bakery while her father and mother are out of work. Lydia Grace is pretty tough and very optimistic for having to go through such hardships. She begins this story being very unsure and frightened and leaves being a strong, young woman.
The style of dress and the language used in this story fit with the time and setting of this story. It helps the reader understand that this story was set in the past. When I read the letters from Lydia Grace I can imagine a young, spirited girl saying them. The characters also fit well with the setting of the story. It is easy to picture a real life situation where a young girl like Lydia Grace had to move to the big city and leave her family. Uncle Jim is just the typical crabby old man who deep down has a soft side.
I think the author does a good job of including historically accurate details in the story such as the style of dress, language, vehicles, and even a picture of Franklin D. Roosevelt (the president during the Great Depression).
Lydia Grace is a young white girl and Ed and Emma are an African American couple. All of the characters are accurately depicted in the illustrations. The author doesn't use any offensive, degrading, or stereotypical language in this story.
Literary Elements:
1. Theme: The themes in this story are very worthwhile for students to learn about. I think this story teaches us the power of optimism. Lydia Grace never shows her uncertainty or fear. Instead, she just takes things as they come and makes the best out of her situation. She does the things she does best and learns to do the things she has never done before. She works throughout the whole story to make her Uncle Jim smile when many people would just give up on this crabby old man. Lydia Grace shows us that being optimistic can get you a lot more out of an experience.
2. Foreshadowing: Throughout the story the author keeps bringing up the idea of Uncle Jim smiling. In each letter that Lydia Grace writes to her family she tells that on Uncle Jim's "smiling status". This tells the reader that eventually in the story, probably at the end, Uncle Jim will smile.
3. Voice: Since this story is told in letters, the author uses voice to convey the personality and emotions of the character. Lydia Grace is quite the letter-writer. When she write you can imagine what she would sound like if she were reading it to you.
Illustrations:
The pictures in this book really help to tell the story by showing the emotion of the characters. In the first few pages, the characters look sad because the text is telling the reader that Lydia Grace is leaving her family to live with her Uncle. The expressions on Lydia Grace's face tell the reader exactly what she is feeling. My favorite illustration is the very last page of the book. There is no text but it shows Lydia Grace about to get on the train to go home. Uncle Jim is down on his knees giving Lydia Grace a hug and Ed and Emma are standing behind them. Emma is dabbing her eye with a handkerchief and Ed is looking sad. This shows that these people have a strong relationship and will miss each other.
Mini-Lesson Idea:
I would use this book to teach about gardens, letter writing, and even the Great Depression. I think this book would be an excellent book to use to teach voice in one's writing. Many students struggle with making their writing expressive and making it sound like them. This book would be a great example of writing that does both of those things well. Students could write their own letters to their families or friends and work on writing in the way that they speak.
I think the author does a good job of including historically accurate details in the story such as the style of dress, language, vehicles, and even a picture of Franklin D. Roosevelt (the president during the Great Depression).
Lydia Grace is a young white girl and Ed and Emma are an African American couple. All of the characters are accurately depicted in the illustrations. The author doesn't use any offensive, degrading, or stereotypical language in this story.
Literary Elements:
1. Theme: The themes in this story are very worthwhile for students to learn about. I think this story teaches us the power of optimism. Lydia Grace never shows her uncertainty or fear. Instead, she just takes things as they come and makes the best out of her situation. She does the things she does best and learns to do the things she has never done before. She works throughout the whole story to make her Uncle Jim smile when many people would just give up on this crabby old man. Lydia Grace shows us that being optimistic can get you a lot more out of an experience.
2. Foreshadowing: Throughout the story the author keeps bringing up the idea of Uncle Jim smiling. In each letter that Lydia Grace writes to her family she tells that on Uncle Jim's "smiling status". This tells the reader that eventually in the story, probably at the end, Uncle Jim will smile.
3. Voice: Since this story is told in letters, the author uses voice to convey the personality and emotions of the character. Lydia Grace is quite the letter-writer. When she write you can imagine what she would sound like if she were reading it to you.
Illustrations:
The pictures in this book really help to tell the story by showing the emotion of the characters. In the first few pages, the characters look sad because the text is telling the reader that Lydia Grace is leaving her family to live with her Uncle. The expressions on Lydia Grace's face tell the reader exactly what she is feeling. My favorite illustration is the very last page of the book. There is no text but it shows Lydia Grace about to get on the train to go home. Uncle Jim is down on his knees giving Lydia Grace a hug and Ed and Emma are standing behind them. Emma is dabbing her eye with a handkerchief and Ed is looking sad. This shows that these people have a strong relationship and will miss each other.
Mini-Lesson Idea:
I would use this book to teach about gardens, letter writing, and even the Great Depression. I think this book would be an excellent book to use to teach voice in one's writing. Many students struggle with making their writing expressive and making it sound like them. This book would be a great example of writing that does both of those things well. Students could write their own letters to their families or friends and work on writing in the way that they speak.
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