A Garden Called Home deals with a few things. The narrator, a young girl, is concerned that her mother is depressed in winter. She was born far away and snow was not part of her life. They go to visit their relatives and mama is very happy. She shared the area with her daughter on walks and talking about the plants that grow and what their purposes are. When they return home, her mother is unhappy once again. The young girl learns about the plants in their neighbourhood by visiting the library and going on walks. She then shares all she learns with her mother. In the spring they plant their own garden and mama begins to smile again. I liked a lot about this book. There is the immigrant experience, depression in winter, sharing of culture and homeland, using the library to learn more, mother/daughter bonding, and new interests, new beginnings. The illustrations are wonderful and this is a delightful book. I will share this with my grandchildren when I return home in the spring.

This is a sweet story with beautiful illustrations. While the main point is the blending of cultures and how every place has it's own beauty, that isn't my favorite part. I love the compassion and effort the narrator shows to make her mother feel better. Insead of just using kind words, the narrator takes action and does research to find information about plants in their new home. I can see this story inspiring families to create their own gardens.

One of my favorite kids' books I've read in a while. Such a beautiful combination of how much our homeland, our birthplace, will always feel like home as well as how we can make anyplace a home with enough attention to splendor. It was a great mix of the sweetness of family ties and how important and wonderful it is to learn about the nature around us. Lovely!

A sweet story about a mother who misses her home country. When she visits, her daughter witnesses her come alive in nature. The young girl then helps her mother learn to love their current home by surrounding themselves with plants. While I loved the mother/daughter bonding in this book, I didn’t like the message that the young girl felt the weight of taking care of her mother.

Such a beautiful picture book about the outside world for little readers. The story is easy to follow and the accompanying art work is really lovely. Would def recommend!

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada, and Tundra Books for this arc.

This book was so so lovely. The art was incredible, and the story was touching.
A girl wonders why her mother hates the winter but after a trip to her mother’s homeland she begins to understand. The girl uses a love of the natural world to make connections between her home and her mother’s past.
4/5 stars

I received an electronic ARC from Penguin Random House Canada through NetGalley.
Readers meet a young girl and her mom during the winter. All her mom does is sit inside wrapped in a blanket jacket and look sad. Her daughter stays inside with her. Then the two fly to China and spend time with her mom's family. Mom is so overjoyed to be home, she blooms into a completely different person. This person vanishes when they return home until her daughter draws her out to see the nature around them in their new home.
Beautiful illustrations and a tender look at moving to a new country and missing home. I love how the girl convinces her mom to explore and see beauty around them. This results in a garden that combines both places.

This helped me understand a bit more what an immigrant experiences when moving to a new country. It was a beautiful book about a Mother and young daughter. They really connect through gardening. Sweet illustrations. Definitely recommend.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

*Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.*

When a little girl first notices that her mother struggles with winter, she wonders why because all she sees are reasons to enjoy the season.

It takes a trip to her mama’s homeland to understand why she's so blue during the cold months. Before our eyes and alongside the little girl, her mother blooms and comes back to life from being in the environment she grew up in and the one she’s so fond of.

Eventually, they have to come back home but the little girl is decided to help her mother appreciate their surroundings and all the bountiful nature around them. Together, they share beautiful, key moments led by their openmindedness, compassion and trust in each other.

It is such a tender story of resilience, healing and love. What a pleasure it was to witness the motherly bond that leads them to share their knowledge with such passion.

As for the illustrations, I have nothing but praise. They paired exquisitely with this gorgeous tale and brought so much life to this already lively story.

The cherry on top was the Mandarin/English glossary of plants included at the end. What a gorgeous addition.

This is a nice book but a bit sad. Winter is coming, snows on the ground, and everything is chilly. A daughter and her mother live in their home and the daughter loves the outside in the snow, but her mom does not. Mom takes her daughter on a vacation to where she grew up, where it’s always warm and sunny. The daughter learns what her mother loves about home and tries to find those same things in their home back in the winter place. As I mentioned before, this was an interesting, read. It’s deep and reflective and leaves room to think and have discussions about families, in particular immigrant families who are making new lives.

A Garden Called Home stole my heart from page one! The illustrations are perfect and lively, especially when Mama takes the little girl to Taiwan to see how beautiful the country is. I love that this book manages to speak to several issues in just ~50 pages: homesickness, (maybe) seasonal depression, loneliness, environmental cycles and processes, plant identification in both Mandarin and English, and the ability for everyone of any age to learn more about our beautiful world.

A Garden Called Home makes an excellent edition to any SEL library or class-set, or even your home library! I've read this book a couple of times and I'm so excited to read it again and again. Get this book!

I received an e-book ARC of this title from Netgalley and am never compensated for any review.

I received an advanced copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Brightly colored and with interesting facts about nature, "A Garden Called Home" shows a little girl who wants to have fun outside, especially in winter. Her mother takes her on a trip to visit their extended family overseas. There, the girl learns about different plant life and gardening tips. Back home, she loves hearing a chickadee song and seeing buttercups grow. With information on pronunciation in the back, readers can enjoy learning about yarrow, larkspur, and many more types.

A lovely slice of life story that shows the sweet bond between a girl and her mother. A Garden Called Home follows a girl tries to bring the feeling of "home" to her mother after seeing how homesick she is feeling. It is heartwarming to see how the daughter takes an interest in her mother's place of birth and is determined to give her happiness and belonging no matter where they live. Included in the story were also many facts about plants in different seasons. I even learned quite a bit reading this one as well.


*Received through Netgalley for my honest opinion*

This book is absolutely beautiful and beautifully written. My heart went out to the homesick mama. I know the feeling, even though I've lived in Canada most of my life, I still get times of homesickness for my family in England. So this book really touched me. I thought this was honestly so sweet and at the end, when she just wanted her mama to see the beauty in her home and to be happy there too, I thought it was the sweetest thing.

This book is an absolute must have for immigrant families, especially those whose children were born in their new country.

This is a cute colourful book with beautiful animations for younger children. This story is beautifully written, and I think that this story is relatable to many immigrant families. The mother in this story doesn’t like winter and never experienced a cold snowy winter back before immigrating. The mother likes to spend her time indoors, but the child is longing to go outside with her. They take a trip to visit family back in Taiwan, where the mother and child connect with the outdoors. The mother educates her daughter (and the reader) about nature and the garden she always knew. She teaches her child the Mandarin names of the vegetables that were grown. Upon arriving back from their family trip, the mother goes back to staying inside again. The little girl takes it upon herself to learn about the nature around them here and convinces her mother to come outside and enjoy what her new home has to offer. They begin to plant a garden in their own backyard, where the child then immerses her mother back into a hobby that she loves while teaching her mother the English names of the plants. This is a very well written story of a first-generation child in another country connecting with their parent’s homeland when they finally get the chance to see it, but the story comes full circle when the child teaches the immigrant mother to maximize her joy and love in her new country. Thank you for having a guide to the words used in the story (both English and Mandarin). This book is a great read for any child and would be a perfect addition to any school or public library.

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada, Tundra Books and NetGalley or providing me with a free electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a sweet book! A Garden Called Home is the story of a young girl whose mother immigrated from Taiwan to somewhere with cold, snowy winters. The girl observes how her mom is sad and cold at their home, but when they go to Taiwan to visit family, her mom blossoms and the pair go on lots of outdoor adventures. When they return to their snowy home, her mom retreats inside. The girl is excited to learn about the plants and animals that live in their area and the text weaves interesting scientific information into the story. The girl shares all the cool facts she's learned with her mom and her mom is inspired to explore outside with her! The illustrations are bright and beautiful. The backmatter includes meanings and a pronunciation guide to the different plant and animal name. This picture book is on the longer side, so would be better for older pre-schoolers and up.

#NetGalley #AGardenCalledHome

Discovering a love for nature in all seasons This little adventure is about a girl and her mom and how they discover the wonders of nature in its many seasons. The girls mom doesn’t like winter and they travel to her home to show the daughter many new things.
Joining her mom’s discovery they both soon learn the joys of all seasons and the wonders of each.
Well written and great illustration.
Detailed writing that every nature lover will adore. This would be great in the classroom.

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada, and Tundra Books for this incredibly touching arc!

5/5 stars!!

This book was so so lovely. The art was incredible, and the story was really, really touching. I don't live where I grew up anymore and get incredibly homesick, not only for my childhood home and family, but also the wilderness, lakes, and landscapes that shaped me as a person. Her mother's intense dislike (SAD?) of winter and anything cold and how she just came alive when she went home was incredibly relatable. I absolutely loved how she shared her home and culture with her daughter, then when they went back to their home and the mom got sad again, the daughter went out to learn about their new area so she could teach her mom all the things about plants and trees she was taught on their trip. 🥺 Their relationship was so lovely. I just loved this little book!!

I really enjoyed this! I loved the little peek into a different culture, as well as an how immigration affects first and second generation families. The descriptive language used was really great, and the illustrations did a good job of showing the different landscapes.

I also enjoyed the idea that kids can teach adults, too-as a mom, I know this firsthand! Overall a very enjoyable book.

This is one of the most stunning picture books I have read and was an instant five-star, new favourite for me. I adored the style of illustrations, as well as the beautiful exploration of culture, family, and how we can connect with our culture and family when we aren't physically near them. The mother-daughter relationship in this book is beautiful and the treatment of the cultural significance of food is beautifully handled. Thank you for the opportunity to read this beautiful book.