From Publishers Weekly
The heroine of Linnea in Monet's Garden returns with her own perspective on plantings, and offers an accessible guide to growing greens in small places. From an orange tree that started as a seed to garlic sprouts (from cloves placed in soil) to a silly game with plum pits and a suggestion for dyeing half a rose, Linnea has hints, step-by-step instructions and an occasional lesson in natural science offered by her friend Mr. Bloom. For all her enthusiasm, Linnea is wise enough to have realistic expectationsflowers don't always bloom by the book, and every now and then there may be setbacks. But her zeal is infectious; readers will be looking around the house for seeds they can press into soil or coax into germination. Anderson's two-color illustrations explicate the projects cleanly and clearly, giving gardeners an excellent idea of when to look for shoots and when to run for the insecticide. All ages.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 3-4 This is fun! Bjork offers a lively, chatty romp through indoor gardening with a grinning Linnea as guide, and a grandfatherly Mr. Bloom offering steady advice when needed. Activities with seeds, cuttings, bulbs, and pits range from the simple (planting lemon seeds in a peat pellet) to the complex (bringing an amaryllis bulb out of dormancy to bloom and back again). One of the best activities is mixing plaster of Paris with split pea seeds and observing which one will break out first (the winner swelled up and broke out in two hours). Possible problems and pests are discussed, and the recommended organic controls of the common insects likely to attack indoor plants are a good beginning for first-time gardeners. The drawings show exactly what the text says to do, plus they are charming. These activities are similar to the indoor plant activities found in Leutscher's Flowering Plants (Watts, 1984), but with more of them, plus recipes and trivia facts about gardening. Frances E. Millhouser, Arlington County Department of Libraries, Va.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.