Janet Fox's second picture book, Wintergarden, is a lyrically hopeful story about a young girl who learns nurturing green-thumb lessons from her patient mother. Artist Jasu Hu augments Fox's smooth text with exquisite spreads created with watercolor, pencil, and mixed media, resulting in synchronous perfection.
"In winter/ when it snows/ my mama grows/ a garden," Fox's idyll opens. While soft flakes swirl beyond the apartment windows, mother and child ready the kitchen windowsill with green pots. The girl is eager to help: Mama "lets me put some [seeds] in the soil/ because my fingers are/ so nice and small." While the seeds gather energy to emerge, the family stroll the city streets, enjoying their wintry wonderland. At home, the girl watches and waits, anticipating the oregano, parsley, and baby greens about to become sprouts. And then the "plants grow fast," creating nourishment for everyone to enjoy. Soon enough, they "need more seeds!" and "This time I get to pick the packets," the girl revels.
Fox's enchanting verses deftly relay multiple sensory descriptions in just a few words. Hu (All You Need) transforms every spread into an inviting mise-en-scène, inserting subtle enhancing details such as tiny symbiotic bugs to help roots root. Fox (Volcano Dreams) appends "How to Grow Your Own Wintergarden" directions at book's end, presented as an easy-to-follow guide, including further suggested reading; Hu adds the girl and her always-nearby pooch, diligently working together to make their next garden grow. Fox realizes that winter may sometimes feel somberly isolating, but her literary response is a welcome, nourishing antidote. --Terry Hong