• Is it age appropriate?

  About our ratings

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  Not age appropriate for kids under 0, age appropriate for kids over 0; suggested age 4.

• Is it any good?

  4.0

• Common Sense says

  Hopeful tale with unique artwork will inspire all ages.

Why We Rated This for Ages 4 and Up

The good stuff

• Educational value:

  Teaches that one person, even a kid doing something small, can make a big difference in the world. Also, shows kids that they can get better at something if they work at it, and read about it too.
• Messages:

  A little boy's love of exploring leads him to the plants. His curiosity leads him to start tending the plants. He studies and learns to become a better gardener, and all of his efforts pay off to make the world a better place.
• Role models:

  The boy is a wonderful role model for kids. He is good-hearted, curious, earnest, and responsible.
• Illustrations:

  Colorful and expressive, but not over-the-top glossy, the almost surreal artwork in this book really tells the story. The cover itself, with its shrubs in the shape of birds and butterflies, promises a magical world teeming with green grasses, fields of daisies,  and billowing white clouds in the blue, blue sky. And the rest of the book delivers. Painted in acrylic and gouache, the boy's city changes from a plant-less, grey industrial place to a very colorful one filled with gardens and gardeners. Sans words, several full-paged illustrations in the middle of the book are particularly amazing in color and detail.

What Parents Need to Know

About The Curious Garden

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