Errol's Garden 8x8 Edition

Gillian spends much of her time making beautiful things in the basement studio under her dad’s bicycle shop, which she shares with a selection of friendly (but not very chatty) inner tubes and mudguards. Despite her underground work space, Gillian loves being outside in the garden, although she would probably be a more successful gardener if she was a bit less scared of wriggly things.

Errol dreams of having a garden of his very own and, with the help of his family and community, creates a beautiful rooftop oasis.Errol notices that he is pretty good at growing things when he has run out of items around his home to use as planters. He wants to create a “real garden” and thinks about having one “a lot.” When Errol discovers that his apartment building has a rooftop, he realizes he has discovered the perfect place to build a small garden. After researching with his father and sister, he enlists his neighbors to help, and following collaborative planning and gathering donations, everyone in the community helps to build the garden. This charming tale makes for a light and engaging picture book that is early-reader friendly. The bright illustrations are reflective of a loving community, widely diverse in race, ethnicity, age, and ability, that works together to build an urban farm. Errol himself has brown skin and curly black hair, while his father and sister have brown skin and straight black hair. His neighbors include same-sex and interracial couples, a man who uses a wheelchair, and a woman in hijab.The brief text is upbeat and straightforward, sure to inspire young green thumbs in urban, suburban, and rural dwellings alike. (Picture book. 4-8)