Scan barcode
crypticspren's review against another edition
3.0
This is a sweet story based on the Green Man. It's a little deep for a children's book, but overall it was satisfying to read, and I bet it would be perfect for Pagan children!
shahrun's review against another edition
4.0
This story perfectly blurs the edges between reality and garden magic. This book will take you on a magical journey through the seasons with young Lucy who gains a passion for gardening and nature through her grandpa. The reader joins in with her discovery of the magical mysterious green man Lob. The story took some unexpected twists and turns. Some funny, some sad. I love the amazing illustrations through out.
tashrow's review
4.0
Lucy loves spending time with her grandfather in his garden where he tells her stories of a mysterious helper who lives in his garden named Lob. Lob is a Green Man who is rarely seen but his presence is felt in the energy in the air, the thriving garden, and the little jobs that are mysteriously finished. Her grandfather tells her that only special people can see Lob, and Lucy works hard to try to see him. Eventually she catches moving leaves, then bright green eyes, but little more because Lob is so shy. Lob has been working in that garden for years, but when a sad event happens to her grandfather and to the garden and his home, Lob must find a new place to live. Lucy, mourning her grandfather, hopes that Lob will come to her home in London and live in the park nearby. After months of waiting, she wonders if Lob was really real after all. Meanwhile, Lob has been struggling to find a place to live and work where he is understood.
Newbery has written a novel for young people that has a lovely old-fashioned feel to it. After the changes at the garden and cottage, the story has alternating chapters of Lob and Lucy. Readers will never question that in this book, Lob is most definitely real. The adventures that Lob has in getting to a garden where he can work and be appreciated really carry the book forward. Additionally, the wonder of gardens and growing things is a special element here that weaves throughout the book. It is a joy to read a modern book for children that has its roots so firmly in the soil.
In the Lob chapters, Newbery has created verse that speaks in Lob’s voice directly. They are wonderful poems, with an ancient quality and a firm tie to nature. Set aside in a larger font, they are moments of stillness in the book that one looks forward to as a reader. Newbery’s prose is equally evocative. Take for example this passage when Lucy heads out into the dark evening on Page 41:
"The gap between indoors and out, tameness and wildness, lightness and dark, stretched wide and wider in the flittery dusk. Lucy didn’t want to go in, not yet. Stars were pricking the sky, tree branches stretching out to muffle them."
In this book, one visits the wonder of nature again and again. A beautiful book to share in the spring of the year with a class that will stretch imaginations and will have everyone looking for friendly green eyes in the bushes. Appropriate for ages 8-11.
Newbery has written a novel for young people that has a lovely old-fashioned feel to it. After the changes at the garden and cottage, the story has alternating chapters of Lob and Lucy. Readers will never question that in this book, Lob is most definitely real. The adventures that Lob has in getting to a garden where he can work and be appreciated really carry the book forward. Additionally, the wonder of gardens and growing things is a special element here that weaves throughout the book. It is a joy to read a modern book for children that has its roots so firmly in the soil.
In the Lob chapters, Newbery has created verse that speaks in Lob’s voice directly. They are wonderful poems, with an ancient quality and a firm tie to nature. Set aside in a larger font, they are moments of stillness in the book that one looks forward to as a reader. Newbery’s prose is equally evocative. Take for example this passage when Lucy heads out into the dark evening on Page 41:
"The gap between indoors and out, tameness and wildness, lightness and dark, stretched wide and wider in the flittery dusk. Lucy didn’t want to go in, not yet. Stars were pricking the sky, tree branches stretching out to muffle them."
In this book, one visits the wonder of nature again and again. A beautiful book to share in the spring of the year with a class that will stretch imaginations and will have everyone looking for friendly green eyes in the bushes. Appropriate for ages 8-11.
More...