Miguel's Community Garden - (Where in the Garden?) by Janay Brown-Wood

About the Book

"Miguel searches for sunflowers to take to his community garden party in this vibrant, diverse exploration of gardening and healthy eating"--

Book Synopsis

Miguel searches for sunflowers in his community garden in this vibrant exploration of growing food and healthy eating, from the Where in the Garden? series.

Miguel is throwing a party at his community garden for all of his friends, and he needs help searching for sunflowers to complete the celebration. What do we know about sunflowers? They're tall with petals and leaves--and, hold on, is that a sunflower? No, that's an artichoke. Where, oh, where could those sunflowers be? Can you help Miguel find them in time for his party?

The second title in the Where in the Garden? picture book series stars a young Latino boy who visits his community garden with his two dads to explore the fruits and vegetables growing there. Playful text guides young readers to hunt for visual clues and compare and contrast the unique characteristics of sunflowers against apricots, spinach, mushrooms, and other produce that grows in Miguel's community garden.

Artist Samara Hardy brings this multi-layered story to life with vivid, cheerful illustrations created from layers of hand painted ink and watercolor texture. Back matter includes a refreshing sunflower seed salad recipe for little chefs and their adult helpers to try together.

Review Quotes

"A charming, educational book about the plants that can grow in their gardens. . . . Brown-Wood's words coupled with Hardy's illustrations create a colorful book for kids. . . . Perfect for introducing kids to nature and a taste of the garden-to-table experience. A great book for the green shelves."--School Library Journal

"[A] cheerful second entry in the Where in the Garden? series. . . . Illustrations done in Photoshop with layers of hand-painted ink and watercolor textures depict a cheery, thriving urban garden teeming with bees, ladybugs, birds, and earthworms for children to spot. . . . This appealing title delivers plant facts in a vibrant, harmonious setting."--Kirkus Reviews

"Hardy's colorful double-page spreads feature lots of garden detail and thoughtfully depict each plant feature Miguel examines. Along with the lesson on some basic plant biology, this book offers a breezy introduction to gardening."--Booklist

About the Author

JaNay Brown-Wood grew up with a passion for writing and drafted her first series of unpublished picture books in the second grade. After earning a BA in Psychology from UCLA, an MA in Child Development from CSU, and a PhD in Education from UC Davis, JaNay still loves storytelling! Her first book, Imani's Moon, was a NAESP Children's Book of the Year and a Reading Is Fundamental Multicultural Book Pick. She lives with her family in California.

Samara Hardy has always loved to draw. Unfortunately for her parents, this was often on their walls and furniture...with her mother's lipstick. Realizing she might make a career out of this, she graduated with a degree in Illustration from Falmouth University and has since illustrated all kinds of wonderful things from picture books to reusable bags. She spends her days scribbling away and drawing by the sea in England.