Review by Booklist Review
In Garden Glen, every house and yard are pristine and identical until Millie Fleur La Fae moves in. To make the new house feel like home, she plants seeds from her old garden. The fast-growing plants are fanged, tentacled, and glowing; she feeds them bones to help them thrive. The stuffy Garden Glen Rosebud Club thinks her garden is odd, unruly, and appalling. They protest it loudly, but Millie adores her Sneezing Stickyweed, Belching Huckleberry, and Fanged Fairy Moss and invites her class to come tour her weird, wild Poison Garden--which they all agree is wonderful. The messaging of being true to yourself and accepting and celebrating others' differences is proudly stationed at the forefront of this simple and sweet story. Mandin's illustrations are charming and original, with plenty of details within the eyeball-encrusted and sharp-toothed plant personalities to delight young readers. Fans of witches and monsters will be especially thrilled with the author's note, which shares that this was inspired by the true story of a British Duchess growing her own Poison Garden.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The sign at the entrance to Garden Glen boasts "a picture-perfect place," a phrase that hints at the neighborhood's stifling conformity. But young Millie Fleur--who's vaguely reminiscent of Wednesday Addams in Mandin's measured, sepia-toned digital illustrations--changes all that when she and her mother move into a lone, decrepit gothic house on the edge of town. Pet frog in tow, Millie plants a garden that is gloriously unruly, filled with anthropomorphic plants whose names include "sore toothwort," "tentacled tansy," and "grumpy gillyflower." The town elders declare the garden "poisonous," but Millie rallies her classmates and teacher, who "all agreed... Millie Fleur's garden was wonderfully weird!" The child's example doesn't completely unleash the forces of unconventionality in Garden Glen, but final images depict homeowners expressing themselves, at least in their horticultural pursuits. Millie and her mother are portrayed with pale skin; background characters are shown with various abilities and skin tones. An author's note concludes. Ages 2--6. (July)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A girl plants a fantastical idea. Millie Fleur La Fae and her mom move to Garden Glen, where all the houses are "flawless" and identical--except theirs. Located on the edge of town, it's run-down and scruffy. Millie Fleur loves it, but something's missing. Fortunately, Mom brought seeds from Millie Fleur's old garden, which Millie Fleur plants immediately. They grow quickly, wildly, and weirdly, bearing names like Fanged Fairy Moss and Sore Toothwort. Garden Glen's Rosebud Club members are displeased; the club's president dubs them "poisonous." They're not, but, as Mom explains, "Some people are scared of things that are different." Millie Fleur loves her "wild, weird little garden" and invites her classmates to see it. Everyone visits the garden, including the teacher. All concur: Millie Fleur's garden is "wonderfully weird." Eventually, thanks to Garden Glen's Youth Plant and Seed Swap, bits of her garden work their way into other town gardens; soon, they're no longer identical, making Garden Glen "a truly one-of-a-kind place." This charming, low-key tale celebrates those who unabashedly find unconventional things exciting and reassures readers that it's OK to have off-the-beaten-track interests. The digital illustrations brim with fun; readers will be amused by the plants' bizarre appearances and names. Millie Fleur (who's reminiscent of Wednesday Addams) and her mom are pale-skinned; background characters are racially diverse. No poison here; just a garden of delights about someone who improves things in a unique fashion. (note about snapdragons and spider plants, author's note) (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
