The Art Garden by Penny Harrison and Penelope Pratley (Children's, Picture book 10E/10E)

February 2018, EK Books, 32 pages, Hardback, Review copy

 Summary from EK Books

Sadie wants to be a painter, just like her best friend, Tom. She loves playing with colour and finding shapes in unlikely places. But whenever Sadie picks up a paintbrush she makes a big mess. So instead, she spends her time working in the garden or playing with Tom. But, one day, Sadie gets a look at things from a different perspective — and makes a big discovery about herself and her own creativity. The Art Garden is a whimsical story about friendship and finding our creative flair. It encourages children to explore different ways of expressing themselves and celebrates the importance of individuality and self-acceptance.

Nayu's thoughts

This is a book that I think everyone will relate to. It examines what happens when you try out a talent you think is cool, like Tom's art, but, like Sadie, unfortunately you aren't that good. It's not necessarily that Sadie needs lots of practise (any talent needs to be repeated lots to get better at it) but she was trying out the wrong talent. Her frustration is hard to watch and read about with the gorgeous colour palette and illustration style, but I promise when Sadie figures out what her talent actually is her soul shines (not literally) and she loves her new found passion which I'm sure she will continue with for a long while. 

The best part of the book was the fact that Sadie's cute guinea pig was on almost every single page! I love when characters in picture books have faithful side kicks, because it adds another dimension to the tale. I'm sure readers of all ages will enjoy Sadie's tale for years and years because the illustration style isn't obviously for children (super cute and bright) - when I first saw Sadie I thought she could easily be an adult! The story itself is inspiring and a pleasure to read, this is definitely on my reread list!

Find out more on Penny's website and Penelope's website. 

Suggested read

For another book about being yourself be sure to check out Be A Friend by Salina Yoon (Children's, Picture book, 10E/10E)