A vacant lot, rat-infested, and filled with garbage, looked like no place for a garden. Especially to a neighborhood of strangers where no one seems to care. Until one day, a young girl clears a small space and digs into the hard-packed soil to plant her precious bean seeds. Suddenly, the soil holds promise: to Curtis, who believes he can win back Lateesha's heart with a harvest of tomatoes; to Virgil's dad, who sees a fortune to be made from growing lettuce; and even to Maricela, sixteen and pregnant, wishing she were dead. Thirteen very different voices—old, young, Haitian, Hispanic, tough, haunted, and hopeful tell one amazing story about a garden that transforms a neighborhood.
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"I don't know what to say besides delightfully charming. How can the author convey so much feeling in so few words! Amazing! " — Julie (5 out of 5 stars)
"I don't know what to say besides delightfully charming. How can the author convey so much feeling in so few words! Amazing! "
“A gift for hearts of all ages, this gentle, timeless story will delight anyone in need of a sprig of inspiration.”
“Each character springs to life, complete with attitudes, prejudices, and opinions, and as the viewpoints shift, Fleischman shows how the different members of a multi-ethnic urban neighborhood overcome the barriers of language and background to enrich one another and forge new connections. The characters’ vitality and the sharply delineated details of the neighborhood make this not merely an exercise in craftsmanship or morality but an engaging, entertaining novel as well.”
“A heartwarming story.”
" I've used this book in my class for students with disabilities for about 5 years. They love it and I love it. "
" I loved it. One day, I'm hoping to be able something like this. It's just incredible! "
" I only read this book because I had to for English and I was struggling through it. I found it annoying that it kept switching people and you never knew what happened to them from their view. I would stay away from this book its very short and boring. "
" Great read...but probably more suitable for middle school. "
" i thought this was a very intersting book "
" This is a good read about a community overcoming, rasism,sterotypes and social injustice. "
" This is a really great book about plants and being green! "
Paul Fleischman has written more than twenty-five books for children and young adults. He received a Newbery Medal for Joyful Noise and a Newbery Honor for Graven Images. His novel Whirligig was named a Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and Booklist. His Breakout was a finalist for the National Book Award.
Neil Hellegers grew up in New Jersey and attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a BA in theater arts and a minor in psychology before getting an MFA in acting from the Trinity Rep Conservatory in Providence, Rhode Island. He moved to New York City in 2003 and, since then, has made a career of theatrical performance, percussion, theater education, and audiobook narration. He currently lives in Brooklyn with his wife and son.
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