Me, Toma and the Concrete Garden

While his mother recovers from surgery, Vincent stays with his easygoing aunt Mimi in an unidentified city. When someone mysteriously leaves Mimi a box containing balls of dirt, Vincent invites Toma, a neighborhood boy, to help him toss them into a vacant lot. Over the summer, flowers grow in the lot; the dirt balls, the boys learn, contained seeds. With a neighbor they had previously dismissed as “Mr. Grumpypants,” Vincent and Toma water and tend to the flowers. Returning the following summer, Vincent brings more seeds to plant in what has blossomed into a lively community garden. Illustrating in watercolor and ink, Villeneuve blends pale green with light pink accents; modest apartment buildings, brick walls, and sidewalks sharply contrast with the garden’s bright blooms, underlying the missive about the solace of community. Ages 3–7. [em](May) [/em]