Planting Hope
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
A child discovers a secret ingredient for nurturing plants—and for helping ailing loved ones, too—in this tender story by a two-time New York Times best-selling author celebrating the power of hope. Everyone in Henry’s family loves plants and gardening. So why can he never get his little plant to grow, no matter how hard he tries? His mom has been able to grow anything since she was young, and even cultivated a whole orchard to help feed people who were hungry. Henry imagines his mother as a great tree, with branches wrapping around the whole community. “People and seeds have a lot in common,” his mom likes to say. “If you want them to grow strong, nourishment and sunlight aren’t enough—they also need hope.” When Henry’s mom becomes sick and it looks like she may not recover, this belief that she’s sown in her son becomes key to what happens next. Frederick Joseph, award-winning author of The Black Friend, offers a bighearted story about keeping hope alive in the face of grief—and a gentle allegory with an upbeat message about healing a fragile planet.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Gardening provides a youth the opportunity to cultivate hope in Joseph and Kellam's sensitive story. Young Henry "could never seem to get his little plant to grow," despite support from his mother, who's so skilled that "she once grew an entire orchard to help feed people who were hungry." When a long-term illness keeps his mom indoors, her garden becomes "droopy, weak, and sad," despite Henry's efforts to keep it watered. Things look dire until a neighbor connects the child with the power of positive thinking. Henry begins telling his plants "I believe in you," and their recovery presages that of his mother. Painterly backlit digital renderings embrace verdure inside and out, while dialogue-driven and emotion-laden narration point to the healing that can arise from nurturing. Characters are portrayed with brown skin. Ages 5–8.
