The Bear’s Garden

K-Gr 2–An unnamed, brown-skinned girl with imagination, a seedling, and a stuffed panda bear is the catalyst for a community garden in her busy neighborhood. Despite being under her stuffed panda’s watchful eye, the girl’s seedling tumbles from her window, rolls across the street, and sprouts in the vacant lot where it comes to rest. “A baby garden!” cries the delighted girl upon finding her errant seedling. After she lavishes it with love, water, and protection, more seedlings grow, as does the interest of her busy neighbors. When the girl goes on a trip, she leaves her panda—stuffed full of her hope and love—in charge of watching over the garden. In her absence and with the help of the whole neighborhood, her baby garden becomes a place to grow, to play, and to love, for everyone. Colleen’s text captures the hope, humor, and love of the protagonist. Oliver’s illustrations not only mirror the text but tell important parts of the story. She uses single- and double-page spreads and panels, and her mostly dark background palette allows her foreground characters to pop in a wonderful way. She even manages to covey the emotions of the panda with subtle changes to its eyes and mouth.