The Gardener by Sarah Stewart

This book is about a young girl named Lydia Grace Finch who leaves her Grandmother, Father, and Mother to live with her Uncle Jim while her Father finds another job. Uncle Jim lives in a city and while there, Lydia plants a garden on the roof of the building. On the Fourth of July, she surprises her Uncle by showing him her garden. Lydia then learns that her Father has found a job and she will be moving back home.

The entire book is written in letter format. In the beginning, Lydia writes to Uncle Jim and throughout the rest of the book, she is writing to her Grandmother, Father, and Mother. I like this book because it is different. There aren't many books written in this kind of format and I think kids enjoy reading something that is different. This book would be great to use during a lesson. It shows the many purposes for writing, such as writing letters. It also gives ideas how kids can write in their writer's notebook or ideas for a story. I also like how this book centers around one topic: gardening. It can inspire kids to write a story about a certain topic that they enjoy.

The pictures in this book are by David Small and they are amazing. He adds so much detail in every picture which helps make them realistic. This book is good for all ages. Younger children would enjoy this book and older children can use this book as an example for ideas or writing purposes.