A gentle, probing picture book from award-winning author Kyo Maclear and celebrated illustrator Katty Maurey about the special relationship between a grandfather and his grandson, and the many traces, memories, and even ghosts with which we live.
A New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Book of 2024 and a Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book of 2024, with SIX starred reviews!
There’s a ghost in Grandpa’s garden. It leaves tracks by the path where there was once a cool, dark stream. It makes mischief by knocking over flowerpots. And sometimes, it leaves behind a gift perfect for a curious boy in the form of little treasures from times gone by.
The boy who is the narrator of this picture book loves spending time with his grandpa in the garden, enjoying the natural world, listening to memories of how things used to be, and making up stories about the friendly ghost. With Grandpa as his loving guide, the boy learns to look closely at the garden and marvel at its mysteries, to uncover the layers of history that make up this special place, and also to fashion new things from all that he has found.
Praise
A New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Book of 2024!
A Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book of 2024!
“Maurey's lush oil paintings portray the shapes, textures, and colors that unfold in layers of vegetation, thick underbrush, and tree trunks and branches found in a grandfather's garden. The artist's ability to capture dancing contrasts of light and shadow, depending on the time of day and the weather's shifting temperatures, results in a transportive visual feast, and triggers both the grandfather's memory and his visiting grandson's imagination. Maurey's garden invites the reader to slow down and look, then look again.”
—2024 New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Jury, Caldecott medalist Doug Salati
STARRED REVIEW! ? “[A] gentle meditation on change and memory… Quiet spreads in cream, moss, and sand set the story in a garden of sculpted forms as child and grandfather contemplate the work of the ghost, who sometimes leaves tracks and knocks over pots, and sometimes deposits small treasures, like a tiny statuette they find in a bird’s nest. Grandpa’s memories feel a bit like ghosts, too, the book reveals… Yet he knows where they are: ‘He says memory has a geography just like the world.’ [A] contemplative journey into a realm where past and present reside cheek-to-cheek.”
—Publishers Weekly
STARRED REVIEW! ? “This quiet yet powerful book perfectly captures the emotional resonance of fleeting moments and the imprints they leave behind. Maclear’s stunning text is lengthy yet deliberately paced, suggesting the meandering feeling of revisiting memories. Rendered in a light, earthy palette, Maurey’s dreamy gouache illustrations are a natural complement to the text, further evoking feelings of stillness, remembrance, and the strong yet gentle bonds of family. A subtle but potent look at the ephemeral nature of life—and a reminder to cherish memories.”
—Kirkus
STARRED REVIEW! ? "Maclear’s spare lines beautifully evoke the contemplative, observational tone of the story, emphasizing the still moments when the boy and his grandpa pause to look, listen, and remember. Maurey’s foggy, shadowy paintings, full of dusty hues of pink, blue, green, and purpley gray, softly render a garden settling down into the colder seasons, with fallen leaves and branches littering the ground... A subtle yet poignant meditation on the animating power of memory... A gentle, artful, and quietly enchanting book with a matter-of-fact embrace of change and the passing of time."
—Booklist
STARRED REVIEW! ? “Maclear’s latest picture book is a gentle meditation on the often magical relationship between grandparents and grandchildren… The focus is on the intergenerational bond between the two and how their time together is steeped in creativity and memory. This feeling is deepened by Maurey’s light-filled gouache illustrations, which draw readers into examining each page to find hidden ghosts, some clearly from the grandfather’s childhood… VERDICT: The sensitive treatment and outstanding illustrations warrant a recommended purchase; this is a loving story with beautiful artwork for a broad audience on the importance of grandparents and memory.”
—School Library Journal
STARRED REVIEW! ? “The subtle spirit roaming throughout There’s a Ghost in the Garden gently speaks to the enduring nature of memory… There are many poetic instances of the past leaving a mark, and being felt in the present… Like a leisurely, observant stroll through nature, Maclear’s spare, serene text takes a contemplative path… Imbued with botanical magic, Maurey’s gouache paintings are earthy and ethereal. Shadowy figures, real or imagined, can be spotted in the mossy green and rusty brown foliage, or behind diaphanous, sun-lit window curtains. Ambient, atmospheric, and mysterious, There’s a Ghost in the Garden conjures connections to the past and celebrates the bond between generations.”
—Quill & Quire
STARRED REVIEW! ? “Awash in oversized and atmospheric watercolors, this story follows a young unnamed narrator who uses first person voice to describe his days digging and planting with his grandfather… This is a dreamy tale, focused on sensorial observations about smells, sounds, and sights rather than plot. Maurey’s self-assured and satisfying paintings showcase small moments that will resonate with readers: the boy gently placing a delightful round pebble in Grandpa’s hand, a rabbit hiding behind a tree trunk, an evening bonfire, with the pair feeling safe and warm together… A picture book for a wide range of readers, ... this book leaves a lot of room for discussion and introspection. Children lucky enough to have grandparents to visit will recognize the slower, peaceful world of the older man. It could also be read as a comforting story about loss—everything has a season, both in the garden and in our lives. With its rich figurative language, delivered in sophisticated and poetic prose, this would be an excellent choice for adult ELL students or older adults.”
—Youth Services Book Review
"The subtle and soulful story of a little boy who believes a ghost haunts his grandfather’s garden. In the course of trying to discern the source and nature of the ghostly presence, the boy discovers that his grandfather also had a childhood, that inside the old man lives the ghost of a long-ago boy... What emerges from the story is the intimation that forgetting is a kind of death, but we can come back from it through memory and love, which twine the lifeline tethering us to everything that is beautiful and enduring."
—The Marginalian, Maria Popova
