The Concrete Garden by Bob Graham
Published by Candlewick Press ISBN: 1536233803
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads

This beautifully illustrated picture book addresses the Covid 19 pandemic in a gentle, reaffirming way. After the long winter, children in a large apartment building work together to create a masterpiece on the outdoor basketball court using colorful chalk.  Each child contributes to what will become a beautiful concrete garden.  Meanwhile, inside the building, a lonely woman takes a picture of this garden and sends it to her mother in Iran.  Her mother sends the picture to everyone she knows, connecting people across the globe by sharing the joy of children’s artwork.  When the rain comes and washes away the garden, the children are not upset.  They demonstrate their resilience by finding a different creative way to play together.  Children will enjoy the fun illustrations that really look like kids drawings created by a diverse group of children. This book also creates an opening for children who are ready to talk about the pandemic, but this does not need to be the focus of the book. In fact, the only direct reference to the pandemic is through the illustrations that show some people wearing masks. Some readers will relate to the feeling of the kids spilling out of the building after being cooped up inside, though lockdowns aren’t specifically mentioned.  Others will see the residents of the apartment building cheering for the kids and remember the way people cheered for essential workers.  This book is also great for children who don’t need to process the pandemic as it shows the beauty of a community working together.

Reviewed by Lindsay Varnum, Orono Public Library