Pearl’s Garden

Carolyn Olson

$18.95

As young Pearl tends to her urban garden in the tradition of her mother and grandmother, her dedication and generosity inspire family members to share in the work and reap the rewards.

Pearl wanted a vegetable garden. The city’s gardener, James, told her, “We’ll deliver the soil, plants, and seeds. But first you’ll need to okay it with your mom.”

Pearl promised to do all the work. She and James planted squash, cucumber, broccoli, corn, carrots, and more. She knew her backyard garden would keep her busy all summer.

Every day Pearl watered and weeded. She coaxed the plants along. Pearl’s mom and auntie and grandparents watched her care for the garden. They remembered long-ago summers when they also tended the family garden—and how hard they worked. 

Soon it was time to harvest all those vegetables. Pearl realized she was going to need some help. Everyone was busy, but Pearl had an idea.

Pearl picked onions and garlic and tomatoes and peppers. She made fresh salsa for snacking. Her whole family enjoyed it. And then Pearl asked if anyone could help in the garden that week. How could they refuse? Pearl smiled: Her bountiful backyard garden might get harvested after all.

Written and illustrated by Carolyn Olson, Pearl’s Garden celebrates the power of urban gardens to bring people together—to share memories, to raise plants, and to savor fresh flavors.

Carolyn Olson is a narrative artist working and living in northern Minnesota. She uses gouache, oil, and pastel to depict everyday life stories. Her “Essential Workers” series celebrates the work carried on during the COVID-19 pandemic. She lives in Duluth, Minnesota.

• Hardcover Picture Book
• Ages 3–7
• 32 pages
• Fully Illustrated
• 10 in H | 10 in W
• ISBN: 9781681342818

Advanced Praise

The city gardener who comes to Pearl’s community center is encouraging everyone to plant a garden in their yards. But in Minnesota where Pearl lives, there are a lot of reasons why people don’t want to plant a garden. Minnesota has a very short growing season, the soil is heavy and full of clay, and people are busy with their lives and don’t want to bother. But Pearl perseveres and plants a garden which, by the late summer, is producing so much that her family can put some of the food away in the form of jarred salsa, tomato sauce, and green beans, but she also decides to invite her neighbors over to have dinner to share the abundance. Funky, modern artwork is a perfect complement to the urban setting and shows the warm relationships of the family and the community. This book would be perfect for introducing a unit on gardening or starting a community garden.

VERDICT: A terrific addition to any library needing picture books about gardens and gardening.

— School Library Journal 

When Pearl learns about a local initiative to turn yards into gardens, she's excited to get started. The city will provide soil, seeds, and plants, but first she has to get her mother to agree. Family and neighbors weigh in on how much work a garden can be, often drawing on their childhood experiences when they had no choice but to do the work. Undeterred, Pearl moves forward, spending her summer watering and weeding as her brothers pursue their own interests of music and theater. When the harvest comes in, the story takes a “Little Red Hen” tone, with no one wanting to help Pearl until they start tasting her delicious vegetables. The vibrant illustrations take prominence on each page, as exaggerated figures and saturated colors create arresting images of domestic life. The lengthy text is produced printed in a small font, tucked into the corners of the art. Themes of sustainability, perseverance, and family love combine as everyone eventually comes together to support Pearl and start planning for the next planting season.

— Booklist

Dynamic folk art and dialogue-filled text tells a story of summer garden success in this bright-eyed book from Olson. Inspired by a city gardener offering “soil, plants, and seeds,” young Pearl determines to create a vegetable garden in her family’s yard: “some lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, and onions. Plus a few other things.” Though neighbors and relations express some skepticism about the project’s feasibility, the protagonist commits to the endeavor, and “each day she watered and weeded, coaxing the plants along.” When it’s time to harvest, help is initially hard to come by until folks taste the food’s goodness. The next time Pearl asks for assistance, she gains an abundance of helping hands in the significantly scaled vegetable patch, and eventually the whole crew feast on a meal made from the abundant crops: fresh marinara and a green salad. Crisp black outlining, stylized figures portrayed with brown skin tones, and a mosaic-like garden of flattened forms combine to produce a portrait of community vibrancy that showcases how gardens can yield both food and fraternity.

 — Publishers Weekly