The Watering Can - by Julien Baer (Hardcover)

About the Book

"When environmentally conscious Nina decides to repurpose an old watering can, she discovers it has magical growing and shrinking properties."--

Book Synopsis

A whimsical book about a magical watering can that can make more than just flowers grow, from the illustrator of The Night Walk and Our Fort.

This silly story about the power of everyday things will inspire kids to reuse and recycle objects in their own life in new ways.

On her way home one day, Nina finds a yellow watering can on the sidewalk. "It's just an old piece of junk," says her neighbor. Nina disagrees. She likes to recycle and save what she can from the trash. Besides, today is her day to water the plants, so she brings the bright can home and gets to work. But a tremendous surprise awaits her, because this is no ordinary watering can; in fact, it just might be magic.

With echoes of Alice in Wonderland's enchanted potions, and the giant mess in The Cat in the Hat that must be cleaned up before Mom gets home, The Watering Can is a delightfully zany and colorful story that makes us reconsider the everyday objects all around us and consider new ways to reuse and recycle. A city street can be a wondrous place, especially as imagined by the pop singer and artist Julien Baer and New York Times-acclaimed illustrator Marie Dorléans. For ages four to seven years old.

Review Quotes

"It's a sorcerer's apprentice tale, but with a logician's twist: Nina's observation and analysis keep things more or less in check." -- Publishers Weekly

"Some readers may feel the smiling influence of Lewis Carroll hovering over The Watering Can...As in Alice in Wonderland, here a curious, resourceful girl stumbles upon an ordinary object that is revealed to have transformative capacities... The fine lines and bright colors of Marie Dorléans's illustrations bring a 1970s vibe to this cheerful story of imaginative excess for readers ages 5-8."
--Meghan Cox Gurdon, The Wall Street Journal

"This whimsical story about the power of daydreaming will resonate with any child, anywhere, looking to entertain themselves on a dull afternoon." --Sara Keating, Irish Times

About the Author

Julien Baer is an author, composer, photographer, and performer. He has made four musical albums and composed three sound books illustrated by Philippe Katerine. He is also the author of The Book in the Book in the Book (2019) which was illustrated by Simon Bailly.

Marie Dorléans studied art and art history at the School of Decorative Arts in Strasbourg, France. She graduated in 2010 and has worked as a children's book illustrator since then. Her previous book, Night Walk, won the Prix Landerneau in the best children's book category and was voted as one of the best illustrated children's books of 2021 by The New York Times and the New York Public Library.