In the Garden with Flori by Sonja Danowski and Marshall Yarbrough - ADVISABLE

In the Garden with Flori by Sonja Danowski, translated from German by Marshall Yarbrough. PICTURE BOOK North South, 2021. $20 9780735844582 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

When Linn's grandpa ends up in the hospital with a broken foot, Linn offers to take care of his garden for him. Granpa's garden is in a greenhouse, so Linn gets to work watering, and Flori, her dog, gets to work digging, eventually digging himself out of the greenhouse. It rained that night, and by morning when Linn got to the greenhouse, there were snails everywhere! They had come in though the hole Flori dug and have munched on everything! Taking a picture for grandpa is now awkward - he's not going to like that the snails had a visit. Linn needs to think of something fast. 

Oh the beautiful illustrations! Linn's families clothes were so colorful, like patchwork quilts or harlequins. And the message of the story, being responsible and taking responsibility were great. I love the way grandpa reacted when he saw the damage the snails had done. It was also very interesting to read about the common snails in the "snail book".

Lisa Librarian