The story tells a little girl who has a suitcase full of seeds and brings it to a city to stay with her Uncle who is baker. The city is going through a lot during this time and wants to try to make people smile and be happy again. The city is in a dark era because it is during the Depression. She starts to work in the shop and bring smiles to the customers faces with the flowers that she grows. She also has a secret that nobody knows about and that is where she works on her garden. It is a rooftop garden that she hops will make her uncle smile and see that she can make things happen. The story is told through letters that are written at home and there are many illustrations that express what the Depression era was like and different observations that the characters make. I feel that this book expresses many elements of what it was like in the Depression era and also the connection between a girl and her uncle. Letter are also a reflection of how many people communicated back then. It is written in a child friendly way and you could see the culture back then. I feel that the book is a great representation of historical fiction but I feel that there should be a little more information on the depression era specifically. I would give this book a 4 out of 5 stars based on my explanations.
Title: The Gardner
Author: Sarah Stewart
Illistrator: David Small
Publishing Date: August 30th 1997
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
ISBN:0374325170
I feel that telling the story through letters is a great idea. It introduces a new reading format to children. It also lets children know how they communicated back then since now letters are not often used.
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