In Our Backyard Garden
Grade 1-4-Through a series of poems with garden themes, Spinelli details a year in the life of a loving, extended family. The book opens with a tree planting in honor of the birth of the narrator's sibling ("Oh, my baby brother,/even the garden spiders/spin you a welcome/on their sun-dotted webs") and concludes as the girl stands in the spring rain ("Here, in my backyard garden/memories twinkle like stars./I can easily/fill my pockets with them"). In between are poems describing family picnics, quarrels, and celebrations. The tone is quiet, and some poems speak to adult sensibilities-a spread of Granddad staking tomatoes features an annoyed grandmother and a selection entitled, "Granddad Makes Use of the Handkerchief Wayne Newton Tossed to Grandmother in 1998 and Almost Ends up in Divorce Court." Still, the verses are filled with the warmth of close family ties. When the girl's father finds a job, everyone rejoices, "I want to hug/the fading/golden light./I do not want/this perfect day/to end." Ramsey's watercolor and oil-pastel paintings bring the characters to life and depict the changing colors of the seasons. This offering will encourage readers to savor and celebrate the wonders to be found in their own backyards.-Kathleen Whalin, York Public Library, MECopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.