In the Garden

Delicately illustrated spreads and a simple rhyme composed of nouns and two-word phrases show a boy planting seeds and waiting for them to grow in this first book in a seasonally themed board book series. The boy, with eyes the color of leaves and hair that matches the soil, “Hoes rows./ Pulls weeds./ Digs holes./ Drops seeds./ Covers/ Wets/ Waits/ Forgets.” Oliphant’s illustrations express the passage of time through changes in light, weaving subtle geometric textures into the sky, while Spurr’s careful descriptions capture the slow but gratifying process of planting and harvesting. Ages 1–3. Agent: Natalie Fischer Lakosil, Bradford Literary. (May)