Every spring the little girl who lives next door to Rosario helps him plant vegetables. One spring, Rosario plants a fig tree, which soon bears sweet purple fruit. But when fall comes, he bends it over and buries it in the ground. What kind of magic is Rosario performing? The next spring, on planting day, the little girl and Rosario make holes for tomato plants, push in stakes for beans and plant other vegetables. Then Rosario begins to unearth the buried fig tree. It looks dead, for sure. But one hot sunny day, a fresh green leaf appears. Inspired by her next-door neighbor, Charis Wahl has written a sweet and simple story about a little girl’s first-hand experience with the magic of gardening. The story is complemented by Luc Melanson’s gently humorous illustrations.
K-Gr 2—"Garden magician" Rosario has a friend and helper next door who devotedly follows his miraculous effect on things that grow. His garden is full of vegetables—radicchio, potatoes, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, beans, zucchini, cucumbers, and eggplants. Each day, the girl next door marvels at his knowledge: "He knows the perfect day to put in every plant and seed. It never snows or gets too cold after that." The elderly gardener's addition of a fig tree entrances the child as it provides friends and neighbors with sweet fruit all summer, but she is mystified and deeply concerned when the tree receives a "burial" and then disappears, covered in snow through the winter. As the cycle turns and the warmth brings back Rosario's helpful friends, their sage counsel, a resurgence of green everywhere, and a tiny new leaf on the fig tree, this first-person narrative emphasizes the bond between generations, the value of learning, and the passing on of knowledge. "No magic…You just learn, and then you know." Illustrations include full-page digital paint images and smaller, more focused and telescoped views of the narrator, Rosario, and his garden within a palette of warm gold, greens and brown. Exaggerated heads on slender frames, the faces in profile and large, expressive eyes convey a host of emotions and the warmth between a young girl and her dear friend. VERDICT Perfect to introduce the wonder of growing things, this title is a recommended general purchase.—Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano ISD, TX
"[A] story of cross-cultural neighborliness." —
New York Times
"Melanson’s digital art has a charming oddness, capped by a witty scene of Rosario and his elderly Italian friends debating." — New York Times
"This sweetly thoughtful story explores life and the wonders of gardening, as well as the edifying nature of intergenerational friendships." — Booklist
"A child's wonder at the care it takes to make things grow and the joys of fresh figs make an engaging story." — Kirkus Reviews
"Perfect to introduce the wonder of growing things, this title is a recommended general purchase for all libraries." — School Library Journal
"Rosario lives next door.
He’s a magician.
He doesn't pull rabbits out of hats or find pennies behind your ears. He’s a garden magician."
from the book
Charis Wahl is an author and editor of books for children and adults. She co-authored
Doris McCarthy: My Life and co-edited
Love, Hope, Optimism: An Informal Portrait of Jack Layton by Those Who Knew Him. Her next-door neighbor of 35 years inspired her to write
Rosario’s Fig Tree. She lives in downtown Toronto.
Luc Melanson won the Governor General’s Award (Illustration) for
The Grand Journey of Mr. Man by Gilles Tibo, and he was a finalist for the Governor General’s Award (Illustration) for
My Great Big Mamma by Olivier Ka,
Les Compositeurs by Claudio Ricignuolo and
La petite Kim by Kim Yaroshevskaya. He has illustrated many books, including
Book of Big Brothers by Cary Fagan, and
Pink by Nan Gregory, both finalists for the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator’s Award.
Pink was a finalist for the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award and the Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature Prize. Luc lives in Laval, Quebec.
