A Gardener's Alphabet [Hardcover]

Mary Azarian (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Revealing the variety of life underground, the bright comfort of a greenhouse on a winter's day, or the anticipation of starting seeds indoors in early spring, this striking alphabet book celebrates the simple joys of gardening. Without neglecting the frustrations -- the nibbling critters and the toil -- or wry, humorous moments spent in the garden. Mary Azarian's spare words and lovely woodcuts capture the essence of turning a bare plot of ground into fragrant flowers and lush vegetables and trees. Her depictions of insects, manure, and compost piles are as delightful as her fountains, pumpkins, and Queen Anne's lace. Whether we are young or old, our gardens both exhaust and renew us. They are our source of magic and wonder and perhaps our best way to live closer to the land and to the rhythm of the seasons.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2-True, there are great numbers of alphabet books, but when they are works of art they rise beyond teaching the letters. A Gardener's Alphabet is one of these. Azarian leads readers into the book with a two-page introduction that explains the importance of gardens in her life. The alphabet then begins, with one full-page illustration for each letter. The featured letter does not stand alone, but begins one word: "ARBOR," "BULBS," "COMPOST." The words are a mixture of nouns ("LAWN ORNAMENTS," "QUEEN ANNE'S LACE"); verbs ("DIG," "NIBBLE"); and types of gardens ("JAPANESE GARDEN," "KITCHEN GARDEN"). Words that may be unfamiliar to most children are not explained, e.g., "TOPIARY" and "XERISCAPE." The stunning black woodcuts, hand tinted with strong watercolors, are full of action and detail, showing men, women, and child gardeners with their tools and the rewards of their labors, with small creatures visible here and there. Each page can inspire conversation between an adult and child who may then do some gardening of their own.
Carolyn Jenks, First Parish Unitarian Church, Portland, ME
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

A master of the hand-colored woodcut, artist Mary Azarian shares with the viewer (of any age) her love of gardens - both vegetable and flower - and the work and joy that goes into their cultivation. Though there are appropriate words for each letter, it is the lovingly detailed pictures that reward our close attention. Turning the pages is akin to viewing a superior art exhibition. Children will also expand their gardening vocabulary: arbor, compost, topiary and xeriscape, the most obscure X ever to grace an alphabet book. (It means a garden of desert flower and plants.) This is a lovely picture-book, particularly for summer reading and viewing. A 2000 Parents' Choice® Silver Honor winner.

Reviewed by Selma G. Lanes, Parents' Choice® 2000 -- From Parents' Choice

The stunning black woodcuts, hand tinted with strong watercolors, are full of action and detail, showing men, women, and child gardeners with their tools and the rewards of their labors, with small creatures visible here and there. Each page can inspire conversation between an adult and child who may then do some gardening of their own.
School Library Journal

“Each print pulls back the curtain on a charming country scene, a stand-alone tableau telling the tale of a gardening-related word. . . . Mary Azarian knows gardening from her Wellingtons up, and her knowledge and love show in her artwork.” —New York Times Book Review New York Times Book Review Notable Book

“As satisfying for young armchair gardeners as a seed catalog in winter, and inspiration for all gardeners to get out there and begin digging.” —Boston Sunday Globe Boston Globe

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; 1ST edition (April 24, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618033807
• ISBN-13: 978-0618033805
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 9.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #147,354 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #12 in Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Nature > Gardening

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Illustrations match a Garden's Beauty, May 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A Gardener's Alphabet (Hardcover)

Mary Azarian was inspired by her own garden and has used the perfect form of illustration - woodcuts - to bring to life the alphabet of a garden.

The perspecives range from above and below the ground and show not only the joys but also hardships that come from creating a garden.

The simple words and strong visuals will be great for children learning about the natural world, but is also a beautiful gift for the gardener or nature lover in your life.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My children learned he alphabet with this book!, November 22, 2009

By 

Susan Gaelic - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Gardener's Alphabet (Hardcover)

Mary Azarian's woodcut prints are so beautiful, dreamy, and detailed. My children would stare at them for hours and I would also. We removed the pages of this book (which now could be copied for home use) and tacked them on the wall where they easily learned their alphabet in a very pleasant way.

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting early childhood book that parents and teachers will learn from as well, March 21, 2011

By 

Assoc For Natural Psych "world of nature" (Newark, NJ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Gardener's Alphabet (Paperback)

This is a nice early childhood book. It teaches children wonderfully about flowers and plants in the garden, an educational book based on the alphabet, one of those books where children will learn at about the same rate as the adult. It's worth having in the early childhood classroom up to the 3rd grade. Nice illustrations. As for the book being xenophobic (everyone is white in this book), the teacher and parent should already have a grasp on the idea of introducing children to a variety of cultures including African and African American, Asian, Arabic, and so on. There are many books which are effective in doing this, including,

Let's Eat: What Children Eat Around the World
One Child, One Seed: A South African Counting Book
Pass It On: African American Poetry for Children

Too many books to mention here to teach children to appreciate various cultures. This book is not purposely xenophoic, it just happens to be a book with white people in the garden, like in Britain. If the parent and teacher is conscious of the need for racial diversity in the literature and lessons of the classroom, then there is no problem with this book.