Product Description

As the sun's warmth brings their garden to life, small children watch the small shoots became all kinds of tasty vegetables in eye-catching colors. Full color .

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #260010 in Books
• Published on: 1999-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 1 pages

Amazon.com Review
"We're planting the seeds for a surprise garden. Can you guess what we will grow?" Trace the progress of three small children (and various and sundry dogs, ladybugs, spiders, worms, and butterflies) as they loosen the soil, poke seeds in one by one, water the garden, and watch the small green shoots grow. Surprise! The gardeners find carrots and radishes, broccoli and cauliflower, peas, beans, squash, and even a sunflower. When it's harvest time, the children have a garden party to eat all their delicious produce.

Shari Halpern's gorgeous cut-paper collages look good enough to eat. The sweet, simple features of the young gardeners speak volumes about the thrill and mystery of watching tiny seeds turn into a garden full of flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Readers will have a hard time resisting the allure of planting a "surprise garden" once they've finished this delightful picture book, which also includes a helpful guide linking seeds to plants. Zoe Hall and Shari Halpern have teamed up for several other nature-loving books: Fall Leaves Fall!, It's Pumpkin Time!, and The Apple Pie Tree. (Ages 3 to 6) --Emilie Coulter

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1?Three children are given various seeds for a surprise garden. They plant them, and mark each seed's place with a different color stick. They water and wait, and?voila!?in due time, there is a beautiful garden full of peas, beans, squash, spinach, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, radishes, watermelon, and a sunflower. The colorful collages are pleasing and lively. The last page identifies all of the seeds. The problem with this pretty book is that its readers and listeners are in danger of believing that this could really happen. This is a fantasy garden, complete with a bunny who takes only a small bite of lettuce. Seeds of every kind sprout and grow into lush plants, and everything from carrots to watermelon is perfectly spaced. The dust jacket expresses hope that this book "will encourage children to grow surprise gardens of their very own." If it were used as the beginning of a realistic conversation, it would be fun to read.?Carolyn Jenks, First Parish Unitarian Church, Portland, ME
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Ages 3^-6. "We're planting the seeds for a surprise garden. Can you guess what we will grow?" So begins this charming picture book, which is as informative as it is appealing. The brief first-person text describes what the children do with the variety of seeds they have been given: they plant and water them, then watch them sprout and grow into marvelous vegetables, perfect for enjoying in a festive salad (and for little ones to identify). Halpern's collages are a true delight: the cut-paper shapes are crisp and bright, and the clever use of perspective makes every page different. As a bonus, children can turn to the final page, where they'll find a picture of the seed alongside the vegetable that it yields. Stephanie Zvirin

Customer Reviews

Vibrant Colors
The virbant colors and bold pictures make this book a real eye catcher! Preschoolers will enjoy learning how a handful of seed will sprout, grow into plants and produce vegetables you can eat! Great book to read and keep on your shelf during spring planting season.

Great for preschoolers
The Surprise Garden is a great book for showing young children how a seed becomes a plant. The book engages children by having them guess what fruit or vegetable the plants will become. The illustrations are bright and colorful and are peppered with animals and insects that my kids loved to find. The last page shows what each fruit or vegetable seed looks like and it's fun for kids to try to guess each one. This is a simple educational book that young children will love.

A MUST for any early childhood classroom!
I am a Pre-K teacher and every year as I gather books to read to my class in the spring The Surprise Garden is always at the top of my list. The colorful, cut-paper illustrations mesmerize the children and the text is just perfect for preschoolers. The Surprise Garden is a "must have" for any early childhood classroom in the spring.