The busy garden by Mary Luciano. Illus. by Nandina Vines

The Busy Garden is a colourful and beautifully illustrated picture book telling of life in the garden of a big house. The creatures in the garden all have a job to do each day to keep their home a safe and thriving place. There is Alma the ant, Wilma the worm, Beatrice the bee, Lenny the lizard and Sienna the spider. Their day begins early as they go about their business of weaving, darting, organising, burrowing, building, searching and gathering. During the morning the two energetic children of the house enter their domain and the creatures are disrupted by heavy footprints, the picking of flowers, webs being destroyed and worm holes being covered over. Once the children leave, the creatures go back to their work helping each other to get things right again.

The story is told in clever rhyme and each creature is introduced across a double page spread with delightful and detailed illustrations to engage the reader:

Lurking on the leaf of a willowy palm,
a spider sat perfectly still.
This was Sienna, all elegance and grace,
preparing to unleash her skill. 

She surveyed the garden, then began her work,
weaving a thread so thin.
A beautiful pattern with a hidden motive
- to catch unsuspecting guests in.

This is an enjoyable story which would be perfect to share and discuss with younger readers before a garden exploration.

Themes: Nature, Gardens, Insects, Collaboration.

Kathryn Beilby